April 25, 1917 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



kind, suggests quality in a box; and it may be assumed that a manu- 

 facturer, if he understands his business, will not waste a good box on a 

 poor product. 



The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company of Chicago is advertising 

 its Whalebonite closet seat in the technical field by means of a diagram 

 and cross-section which suggests the laminated wood, covered with a 

 rubber composition, is the method of constructing this specialty. The 

 cross-section, shown under a magnifying glass, gives the idea of 

 strength and resistance, too. 



There is hardly a product containing wood being marketed by means 

 of advertising which could not be helped by studying why the par- 

 ticular kind of, wood used was selected. Whether it is ash, chosen for 

 elasticity or absence of odor; hickory for toughness; oak for general 

 strength and durability; mahogany for beauty of color and figure, or 

 some other wood for something else, the reason is there, and in nine 

 times out of ten the reason can be made to play a part ■ along with 

 other construction features in influencing the reader in the direction 

 of a favorable decision. G. D. C, Jr. 



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Things Look Better at Memphis 



Weather conditions have shown considerable improvement during 

 the past few days and the outlook is considered measurably better for 

 work in the woods. The Mississippi river at Memphis and at all 

 points in the lower valley, too, is falling, and the same is true of 

 tributary streams in Arkansas and Mississippi. This means that 

 there is far less surface water than there has been for some time 

 and that there is a gradual recession of the backwaters piled up 

 against the levees in both Mississippi and Arkansas. The ground is 

 stOl quite wet and it will be some time before substantial progress can 

 be made in the lowlands in getting out logs. But the situation is 

 regarded as improving and the hope is expressed by milling interests 

 tliat the present favorable weather will continue long enough to bring 

 about still further improvement. 



There is an admitted shortage of logs, a shortage which is being 

 felt by many firms in the valley territory. It transpired at the meet- 

 ing of the Commercial Rotary Gum Association here Tuesday, April 17, 

 that veneer manufacturers are threatened with a notable scarcity of 

 logs, and many firms are free to admit that they are short on log 

 supfilies. It is emphasized, however, that continued good weather will 

 go a long way toward the solution of the problem of adequate log 

 supplies, and milling interests may undoubtedly be relied upon to put 

 forth their best efforts to get out all the timber they can. Demand 

 for southern hardwoods is unusually active and prices are attractive, 

 a double incentive for activity along this line. 



The shortage of logs and the high water in the Mississippi and 

 its tributaries have materially reduced output of hardwood lumber 

 during the past two or three weeks, and some of the mills forced to 

 close down for either or for both reasons are still out of commission. 

 The Lamb-Fish Lumber Company reports that both sides of its big 

 double band mill at Charleston are idle at the moment and that they 

 wOl not be placed in operation for several days yet. Their most 

 serious handicap has been the high water in the Tallahatchie river, 

 though log scarcity has also been a factor. George C. Brown & Co. 

 have just resumed at Proctor, Ark., after more or less interrupted 

 operations for some time incident to backwaters and log scarcity. 

 The several plants in North Memphis put out of commission by the 

 high water are still idle, with a single exception. It wUl be some 

 days before they are able to resume, as time must be allowed for the 

 waters to recede. Shortage of cars for the shipment of output has also 

 proved a deterrent to hardwood lumljer manufacture. Some firms are 

 able to go only so far before making shipment, and when they are 

 unable to secure necessary equipinieut they have to stop. Altogether, 

 it is quite safe, in the opinion of prominent hardwood manufacturers 

 here, to describe output in the valley territory as rather sharply below 

 normal for this time of year. 



Traffic conditions have shown little, if any, improvement. Con- 

 servative authorities place the estimate of cars furnished as against 

 cars required as rather below thau above 25 per cent, taking the 

 southern hardwood territory as a whole. The report of the action of 

 the Southern Hardwood Traffic Association, at its meeting held here 

 the 17th instant, published in full elsewhere in this issue of Hardwood 

 Record, shows the situation so bad with respect to car shortage that 

 an appeal for legislation legalizing a car pooling arrangement was 

 made both as a measure of national defense and as a means of securing 



an equitable distribution of ears. Secretary Townshend has appealed 

 to the Interstate Commerce Commission for relief and has likewise 

 appealed to all members of the association for prompt co-operation 

 with the carriers by loading and unloading, by loading above marked 

 capacity and by protecting flat cars and other equipment while loading. 

 But. nothing done so far has brought any decided measure of relief, 

 and hardwood interests are still struggling with carriers who insist 

 on a radical advance in rates on lumber and who persist in their failure 

 to furnish more than 25 j)er cent of the equipment needed to handle 

 shipments of lumber. 



Seeking Boxwood Substitutes 



The Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis., is investigating 

 the supply of woods that may be substituted for Turkish boxwood, 

 which is so scarce that it can no longer meet demands, and the price 

 has advanced to such a degree that many former users cannot buy 

 it. It is used chiefly in this country for wood-engravers' blocks, 

 ilraf tsmen 's scales, chessmen, roller skate wheels, small handles and 

 certain kinds of turnery and novelties. It was once the almost exclu- 

 sive wood for shuttles, but high price shut it out nearly thirty years 

 ago, and its place was taken b.y persimmon and dogwood. It now 

 appears that it must give other places to substitutes. 



The wood is hard, has small pores and is of yellow color. No 

 other wood is known that can measure up to it in all respects, but 

 there are several in this country which give promise of filling box- 

 wood's place for some purposes. They are woods with small pores 

 evenly distributed. Among such are the following: 



Florida boxwood (Bchaefferia frtittsccns), which grows in the southern 

 part of the Florida peninsula. 



Waahoo (Evonymus atropiirpttrcna) , which belongs to the same family 

 as the foregoing, but ranges from New York to Montana and south to 

 Oklahoma and Florida. 



West Indian boxwood (Tecoma pcntaphylla) , a native of Cuba and 

 neighboring islands. 



Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) , a well-known bush which occa- 

 sionally becomes a small tree. 



Laurel {Rhododendron maximum) is abundant in some mountain re- 

 gions, but the truulis are small. 



Kalmia (Kalmia laiifolia) or mountain ivy is generally of small trunk, 

 hut in the southern Appalachians it may be a foot in diameter. Its root 

 is made into pipes. 



Thornapples of the Crataegus genus have wood which may answer some 

 of the purposes of boxwood. 



Andromeda (Andromeda fcrruginea) is another native wood with prom- 

 ise. It grows in the southeastern states. 



A western wood stands tests well. It is madrona (Arbutes menziesii) 

 with a reddish wood which might be mistaken for applewood If judged by 

 appearances. 



Orangewood also has promise. It can be procured from dead trees in 

 Florida and California orchards. 



Torchwood (Ampris mariUma) of southern Florida and mastic or wild 

 olive {Sideroxylon foetidis^hnum) , likewise of Florida, possess qualities 

 worth investigating by those who want substitutes for boxwood. 



There are a number of woods fairly soft, which, on account of their 

 fine tex'ture, might take the place of boxwood for turnery and some 

 other purposes. Among such are buckeye, western yellow cedar, Cali- 

 fornia cypress, the junipers and western yew. 



