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-^ London Hardwood Measurements -^ 



Tho Timbor Trailcs Journal of London has been publishing cor- 

 lesponilenco in recent numbers on the subject of measurements of 

 American liardwoods. G. A. Farber is the latest contributor to this 

 interesting correspondence. He is chairman of the committee on 

 measurements for the National Lumber Exporters' Association of 

 London. Ho writes in substance as follows: 



• ' I quite agree that the London system of measurements is very 

 accurate as to widths and lengths. This has always been acknowl- 

 edged; but where the great difference comes in is in taking the 

 thickness, the dock company being entirely too technical, reducing 

 tho thickness for the smallest fraction of an inch under size. Tech- 

 nically it may be right; but American lumber cannot bo manufac- 

 tured successfully if measurements are to be made on such a tech- 

 nical basis and reduced to next size when found to bo not full 

 thickness over the entire piece. The American hardwood manufac- 

 turers do not make their goods for the London market alone, but 

 for the markets of the world, including their own country, and it 

 can be easily proved that in no other market is the thickness taken 

 in such a technical way as in London by the dock company. Even 

 the London merchants do not apply the dock company 's technical 

 rule, but are practical. 



"Kegarding measuring on the 12-foot basis, the new conditions 

 adopted by the National Lumber Exiwrters' Association stipulate 

 American board rule full contents, which does not mean 12-foot 

 basis. The only difference between 12-foot basis and full contents 

 system is in the fractions. These may, or may not, be in favor of 

 the shipper, according to the fractions as they occur. The 12-foot 

 basis was adopted for the convenience of the export trade in general, 

 so as to show the buyer at a glance the number of pieces of each 

 width his specifications contained, as many buyers have certain cus- 

 tomers for certain widths, and also in order to compute the average 

 widths quickly; it was not with an idea of any gain to the shipper. 

 Moreover, it will be found that the 12-foot basis of measurement also 

 shows gains for the buyer as well as for the shipper, and one should 

 about offset the other, so there is nothing much in this. Take, for 

 instance, a board 1 inch thick, 16 inches wide and 14 feet long. Con- 

 tents full board rule, 19 feet; and 100 boards would be 1,900 feet 

 super. If measured on 12-foot basis, 1 X 16 inches wide by 14 feet 

 long = 16 feet, and 100 pieces would be 1,600 feet, add one-sixth to 

 bring it to 14 feet = 1,866 feet, showing a difference of 34 feet super 

 against the shipper. The difference is simply a matter of fractions 

 occurring most often for or against either method. 



' ' Eef erring to the suggestion that goods measured in merchants ' 

 yards are measured as tightly as possible for selling purposes, and not 

 done so carefully as when measured by the Port of London Authority. 

 American shippers are selling their wood to the merchants, and not 

 to the Port of London Authority, and there is no reason why any 

 consumer should receive a tighter measurement on goods that have 

 not been measured by the dock company than goods that have. I do 

 not know a fairer lot of men than the London merchants, and I do 

 not believe a single one would ask a shipper to accept the dock com- 

 pany's measurement, and re-measure the goods tighter for selling 

 purposes, if he knew that the dock company's measure nearly always 

 shows a shortage on shippers' measure. The trouble is not with 

 the London merchants; it is with the London hardwood brokers deal- 

 ing in American hardwoods. They do not wish to change old customs, 

 and the small effort exerted by them to bring the London merchants 

 to meet the National Lumber Exporters' Association Committee on 

 Measurements more than a year ago was very evident of the lack of 

 interest taken by the brokers to help American hardwood shippers to 

 secure more even measurements in London. 



"Eegarding the 1% per cent shortage referred to, the writer of 

 the letter wishes to know why the buyer should pay for something 

 he does not receive. This is not the intention of the shipper, and if 

 it were the buyer has the remedy in his own hands. He can allow for 

 the 1% per cent shortage in the price he offers. Surely there must 



—30— 



bo some give and take in the matter of measurements of lumber. 

 There are on an average more than 1,000 pieces of lumber in an 

 American carload, and no two men can measure them alike, or in 

 exactly the same place, and there must be some difference. 



"As to the question of thickness whicli the writer of the letter 

 refers to, it is evident that he knows absolutely nothing about the 

 manufacturing of American hardwoods on tlie high-speed mills in the- 

 States, or he would not make the statement he does. If the London 

 trade expects to receive American hardwoods sawn exactly to thickness 

 when dry, they may as well import the logs and saw them in the- 

 United Kingdom where the sawing is perfect. Shippers can supjily 

 only what they can produce, and buyers, I feel sure, understand this> 

 The writer of the letter states that some shippers do cut their goods 

 full thickness. If he means every piece is full thickness, I take ex- 

 ception to this, especially as to shipments from the southern states, 

 such as Mississippi, as even though the wood is cut full thickness- 

 when it falls from the big saw, it does not all dry with the same 

 shrinkage, owing to the different texture of the wood — I refer chiefly 

 to plain and quartered oak. ' ' 



Natural Finish for Black Walnut 



In endeavoring to analyze the reasons for the falling off in the 

 demand for black wabiut, it seems to be the consensus of opinion that 

 it (an be traced directly to wrong methods of finishing. No one will 

 maintain that the old sombre American walnut furniture as it used to 

 be finished in dull black tones, was really fitting for anything ihat 

 was designed to furnish the abode of mankind, more specifically the- 

 home. The old wood finishers were laboring under some false idea 

 of beauty or probably they did not investigate the i^ossibilities of 

 wood finishing to the extent that would enable them to turn out an 

 article that would really be pleasing to the eye. It is really diflicult 

 to find any logical reason for the character of finish that used to be 

 put on walnut furniture of various kinds. 



However, this has all been changed. Even if the furniture and 

 piano dealers and others actively engaged in marketing home furnish- 

 ing products did not take an" active enough interest or did not fully 

 appreciate the potential possibilities in walnut, those whose money was 

 invested in producing lumber and veneers of this wood have realized 

 its possibilities and have given it close study. As a result they are 

 gradually winning over the producers of furniture, interior finish, 

 etc., to their way of thinking, and are gradually prevailing upon them 

 to try out the market with modernized walnut products, so finished 

 that they are really beautiful objects. 



That their efforts are bearing fruit is absolutely proven by actual 

 statistics regarding the production of walnut. Five or six years agO' 

 the output of walnut could be conservatively placed at 35,000,000 and 

 40,000,000 feet a year. One of the biggest manufacturers in the 

 walnut business, a man whose fingers are on the pulse of the con- 

 suming trade and who is in a position to know what he is talking 

 about, says that last year the production, figuring conservatively, was- 

 no less than 50,000,000 feet, of which 35,000,000 to 40,000,000 feet 

 was exported. Thus it can be seen concretely that the actual pro- 

 duction is increasing, and of course it is reasonable to suppose that 

 this increase in production means an increase in demand as the out- 

 puts have been marketed. 



In this connection it is interesting to cite a few specific cases which 

 ■ illustrate the increasing demand for walnut products. One large- 

 Indiana furniture manufacturing concern states that at the January 

 Chicago exhibits, its sales for bedroom suites made up in American 

 walnut in the natural finish, were more than the sales combined for 

 mahogany, white enamel and quartered oak stock. This seems to be 

 a pretty strong statement, but it comes directly from this concern and 

 is absolutely a fact. It can hence be readily appreciated that there 

 is a real and growing stimulus in the demand for walnut furniture 

 and similar articles. 



