May 25, 1917 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



33 



Volume Table for Round Timbers, (Bulletin No. 12, Bureau of Forestry, 

 1912) ; 



Philippine Dlpterocarp Forests, Philippine Journal of Science, Vol. 

 9, Section A. Nos. 5 and 6, 1914) ; 



Commercial Woods of the Philippines, Their Preparation and Uses, 

 (Bulletin No. 14, Bureau of Forestry, 19115). 



Besides this the bureau has for distribution miscellaneous matter 

 in which are annual reports for recent years : "Export Timbers," con- 

 taining a short article on woods for export ; "Forest Resources," and a 

 sold at ten cents apiece, United States currency, 

 number of small wood specimens of over 200 species of wood, which are 



Woodlots Furnish a Great Deal of Lumber 



According to the announcement of the Forest Service the farm wood- 

 lots of the country furnish far more material than is credited to them 

 by general opinion. They not only furnish immense quantities of material 

 for local use, but are important sources of supply for timber for the 

 general' market. 



Much of the choice hickory, ash, walnut and white oak now in use 

 come from the farm woodlots, many of which contain timber every bit as 

 good as that in the larger tracts and fully as capable of yielding high- 

 grade lumber if properly sawed and .^ieasoned. Others have large quanti- 

 ties of pulpwood suitable for paper making, low-grade lumber for boxes, 

 bolts for slack and tight cooperage, and excellent material for veneers, 

 all regular products of the farm woodlots. 



According to the report in 1909 the farmers of the eastern states alone 

 received from the sale of their woodlot products an average of $81 for 

 each reporting farm, or a total of nearly $170,000,000. This was more 

 than the value of the entire potato crop, nearly double that of the 

 tobacco crop, and more than twice that of the combined barley and rye 

 crops. In that year there were nearly 14.1,000,000 acres of farm wood- 

 lots in the eastern and central states. This was a decrease of only about 

 15 per cent from the figures reported in 1S80. 



Building Operations for April 



The record of building operations for the month of April, as shown by 

 the permits issued in 115 principal cities of the United States, reveals 

 the extent of the initial chill to this great industry by reason of the en- 

 trance of our country into the European war. In the light of all circum- 

 stances the decrease may be regarded as quite moderate. These permits, 

 as officially reported to the American Contractor, Chicago, total $86,100,- 

 925, as compared with $94,029,102 for April, 1916, a decrease of S per cent. 

 The January statement this year showed an increase of 11 per cent. For 

 February, and again for March, the totals shrank 5 per cent, when com- 

 pared with the corresponding month last year. There would naturally be 

 some withholding of applications for building permits with the uncertainties 

 of war effects and the significant feature about the April statement is that 

 the decrease was not greater than 8 per cent. 



Of the 115 cities represented in the aggregate 69, or 60 per cent, record 

 losses, while 46, or 40 per cent, show comparative gains. The total num- 

 ber of permits issued for April was 29,823, compared with .32,288 for 

 April, 1916. a decrease of 8 per cent. 



Lumberwomen at Work 



In some of the southern sawmills and lumber yards negro women are 

 taking the places of men who have joined the army and navy. An example 

 of this may be seen at Kiln. Miss., where about one hundred employes 

 of the Jordan River Lumber Company have enlisted and their places have 

 been filled, *\n part, by women. White women now constitute the forces 

 in the store, and colored women in the lumber yard. The experiment is 

 said to be proving wholly satisfactory. 



A New Wood for Pipes 



Tests have been made with the wood of a small western hardwood, 

 known as mountain mahogany, which shows that it is suitable tor tobacco 

 pipes. , Most wooden pipes are now made of French briar wood or of 

 mountain ivy. There is no scarcity of ivy. but briar has become scarce 

 and expensive. Mountain mahogany is found in a region of nearly a 

 million square miles westward of the Rocky Mountains and there should 

 be no trouble in procuring enough of it to meet all demands. Its name is 

 misleading, for the wood is not mahogany but is closely related to wild 

 cherry. 



Handbook for Woodsmen 



A volume small enough to carry in the pocket, and yet containing more 

 than 400 pages, under the authorship of Jay L. B. Taylor, and bearing 

 the title Handbook for Rangers and Woodsmen, is just from the press of 

 John Wiley & Sons, New York. 



The book hears evidence on every page that the author speaks from 

 experience of active life in the woods. He is a United States forest 

 ranger and a graduate of the great open air school of "Savy Hike." 



He gives the advice of an expert on such topics as the clothing a woods- 

 man should wear ; the camp equipment he will need for self and horse ; 

 the tools he needs ; how to build trails and bridges and put up telephone 

 lines; blasting rocks and stumps; erecting camps and other buildings; 

 constructing fences ; packing horses and wagons ; and all about emer- 

 gency repairing of all sorts of equipment and outfit, and first aid to the 

 Injured. 



The lumberman will find in this book much on the subject of woods 

 work, such as estimating timber, felling trees, bucking logs, measuring, 

 surveying law and the methods and instruments used ; fire fighting, camp 



cooking and looking after the meat supply. There is discussion of meas- 

 ures of all kinds, and numerous rules and tables. The book is really a 

 cyclopedia upon the subjects which it covers. 



Samples of Wisconsin Woods 



The public museum of .Milwaukee is planning fo collect samples of all 

 the woods growing in Wisconsin. They will be prepared in a way to show 

 the grain and color of the woods and will form an interesting collection. 

 Huron H. Smith, curator of botany in the museum, says there are seventy- 

 seven kinds of wood native to the state. This is about one-eighth of all the 

 tree species found between Mexico and the .\rctic ocean. 



American Timber Law 



A small volume of much interest and value has just come from the press 

 of John Wiley & Sons, New York, "The Essentials of American Timber 

 Law," by J. P. Kinney. It is interesting reading even for those who 

 are not particularly interested in the points of law whicli it covers. Its 

 statements are concise as to what the law is and what it is not on hun- 

 dreds of matters that may come up any day to plague or perplex those 

 who deal in a practical way with timber. Elaborate citations of cases 

 and authorities are given in the footnotes for guidance of those who may 

 want to make special investigations of the law and of court rulings on any 

 particular subject. Among the larger divisions of the subject are the 

 following : 



Forms of private possession of land and incidents thereof. 



Trees and timber as property. 



The liability of a tenant as to waste. 



Doctrine of waste as applied to timber. 



Remedies for waste. 



Civil liability for trespass upon timber and for the conversion of timber 

 products. 



Statutory liability for timber trespass. 



Contracts regarding growing timber. 



Contracts regarding the preparation and manufacture of timber prod- 

 ucts. 



Contracts for the sale of timber products. 



The inspection and measurement of timber products. 



Transportation of timber by floating. 



Standing timber as included in a mortgage. 



Elm for Shipbuilding 



It may not be generally known that American elm is a competitor of 

 teak as material for certain parts of British war vessels. The heavy 

 parts are of steel and iron, but finish may be of wood. The rails are usu- 

 ally of teak or elm, and the latter wood is in as much demand for that 

 purpose as the former. In the construction of ordinary steamers in 

 England and Scotland, longleaf pine from the southern states is in much 

 demand. The British Isles produce very little ship timber of any kind. 

 Douglas fir from the Pacific coast fills an important place in the English 

 ship building business. 



Chestnut Oak Ties for Treating 



Until recently practically all railroads in the United States accepted 

 chestnut oak on the same basis as white oak. However, tests at the 

 Forest Products Laboratory and at one commercial wood-preserving plant 

 show that chestnut oak is much like red oak as regards ease and desir- 

 ability of treatment. White oak is, because of its durability, one of the 

 most desirable tie woods in its natural state, but is difficult to treat. 

 Red oak is less durable untreated, but takes treatment readily. One 

 rail,way company has already changed its classification so that chestnut 

 oak will be accepted as a treatment tie and classed with the red oaks. 

 Other railroads are proposing to make the same change in classification. 

 The general opinion of railroad engineers seems to be that chestnut oak 

 is more durable than red oak and less durable than white oak. 



British Lumber Situation 



The importation of timber and lumber into Great Britain is totally 

 prohibited, 'except under special license. Restrictions on imports were 

 restricted more and more until finally a sweeping order cut everything' 

 off. The purpose was to divert lumber-carrying ships to other purposes. 



The result of this policy took effect at once in the more rapid cutting of 

 home timber, which was not plentiful to begin with. Y'oung forests are 

 being cut which, in normal times, would not be touched for another forty 

 years. If the present rate is maintained, there will be no growing timber 

 of consequence in the British Isles at the close of the war. The home 

 supply of softwoods will last about a year. Box makers are among the 

 largest users, and low grade stuff can be used for that purpose. The 

 labor tor cutting home timber is a serious problem. Women are taking 

 the place of men in some of the timber-cutting operations. England has 

 about 6,000,000 acres of land that is or has been in forest. 



Boring Insects and Black Wjilnut 



It is claimed that boring insects do not attack black walnut, though 

 they attack Circassian, English and French walnut. Odor of black walnut 

 is a little different from the others, and this may account for this wood's 

 immunity from attacks by destructive insects. It is important in furni- 

 ture which is peculiarly liable to be infested by boring enemies. The 

 testimony in favor of black walnut appears to be of a negative nature 

 thus far ; that is, nobody has seen and reported damage to this wood by 

 insects after the wood has become dry. 



Sawmill Boiler Practice 



Information received from various associations by the Forest Service 

 in regard to the present sawmill boiler practice in various regions makes 



