36 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



August 25, 1917 



Pennsylvania's Forest Appropriation 



The Pennsylvania legislature appropriated $807,000 for Us forest worls 

 during the present year. That is $175,000 more than was furnished by the 

 preceding legislature. That ought to he an object lesson for those states 

 which think they have done their whole duty when they have provided a 

 tew thousand dollars to renew and protect their timberlands and the flow of 

 their streams. Pennsylvania is worliing on a program that covers all 

 future time, for the worl; is intended to go on perpetually, and plans are 

 laid ifith that object in view. 



June Exports 



After embargoing export and import statistics, the Custom House au- 

 thorities, under a ruling of the Treasury Department at Washington, 

 have lifted the inhibition, and the figures on the shipments of lumber to 

 foreign countries are once more available. Those for June, which have now 

 become accessible, are especially interesting in that they show the marked 

 Increase in value which has taken place in the spruce shipped abroad, 

 which, of course. Is of the highest quality. The exhibit also once more 

 emphasizes the fact that spruce constitutes virtually the whole export 

 trade, the shipments outside of this wood being very small, and showing 

 a big recession even as compared to the same month of last year, when the 

 forwardings were of a far more general character. As in some of the 

 months that have gone before, no logs of any kind went forward fn June, 

 with the exports of oak boards very small, and poplar likewise ^reduced to 

 insignificant proportions. No box shooks were shipped, and this also 

 applies to the classlflcation of "all other lumber," the division of "all 

 other manufactures of wood" being likewise greatly curtailed. Exports 

 of spruce alone have more than held their own, and there has also been 

 a slight gain in yellow pine, so that in spite of the practical shutting out 

 of various shipments the total value of the exports is little less than that 

 for June, 1916, the totals being .1il47,999 against $155,798. 



Government to Buy All Spruce 



It is reported at Baltimore that the question of supplying the needs of 

 the United States government and those of the Allies with regard to spruce 

 for aeroplanes and other similar purposes has been settled and that m the 

 future the Allies will get tlieir spruce at the same price as docs the .\meri- 

 can government, the price agreed upon with the Pacific coast manufac- 

 turers being $105 per 1,000 feet. This was done not so much to give the 

 Allies the benefit of a lower price as to insure adequate stocks for the 

 American builders of air craft at reasonable figures. Under the new ar- 

 rangement the Air Craft Construction Board at Washington will place 

 orders for the Allies as well as for home use, acting in a way as purclias- 

 ing agent. One consideration that entered Into the action was the fact 

 that the .\merican government was lending the Allies the money to pay 

 for air craft or air craft materials, and was therefore entirely within its 

 right to see to it that the Allies got fair prices, the matter being in a 

 different category from those that concern merely the buying of supplies 

 by the Allies for their own account and with their own funds. Heretofore 

 the authorities at Washington and the .Vllies have had their purchasing 

 agents out after suitable stocks of spruce, and they have been bidding 

 against each other, with the result tliat prices were run up beyond equitable 

 figures, the cost to the home board being greatly enhanced. This will be 

 avoided under the new arrangement, which gives the .\ir Crafts Con- 

 struction Board authority to act for all of the Allies. Under the plan, 

 also, it will no longer be necessary for shippers to Europe to get licenses 

 from the British government, an authorization from Wa.shington beingall 

 that is required to export spruce. Washington will be kept informed con- 

 cerning the requirements and will issue permits tor shipment, accordingly. 

 which will greatly simplify matters. So far spruce is the only wood 

 the purchasing of which has been thus taken over by the government, a 

 specific question to this effect put ten days ago by Harvey M. Dickson, 

 secretary of the National Lumber Exporters' .Vssociation, to Charles R. 

 Sligh, general manager of the board, having elicited the information. Mr. 

 Dickson went over to Washington expressly to clear up this point and he 

 asked Mr. Sllgh, who is a large furniture manufacturer at Grand Rapids, 

 Mich., if the buying agency arrangement would affect any other wood be- 

 sides spruce. The answer was in the negative. Tlie shipment of oak, 

 walnut, poplar and other woods is still subject to litense obtainalile from 

 the British Board of Trade, and the prices charged are matters of indi- 

 vidual arrangements. 



Weights of Hardwood Lumber 



A catalogue coming from a large firm of wood handlers in the West, 

 contains an interesting table of lumber weiglits based on estimated weight 

 of dry lumber per thousand feet. It is interesting in that several weights 

 are given which are not ordinarily given prominence in standard weight 

 tables. The list follows : 



Pounds. Pounds 



Genezero .•1,500 Panels, i/4 in 912 



iTODbark 7,000 Panels. % in 1 205 



Koa :i,.'iOO Red Bean '...'...'.'.'.5,000 



Laurel .^900 Red Cedar 3 500 



Mahogany .1,500 Spanish Cedar 3 500 



Pa.'^o"'' 5.500 Spotted Gum 7000 



Prlmavera 3,500 Teak 41000 



There Is appended herewith official standard weights of hardwood lum- 

 ber as adopted by the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of the United 



States. This information Is not new, as the weights have been in use for 

 some time. It Is published merely as a matter of general interest. 



Conditions. Lbs. per 



Thickness. 1,000 ft. dry. 



and thicker rough 3,500 



and thicker. . .' rough 2,600 



and thicker rough 4,000 



and thicker rough 4,000 



and thicker rough 2,600 



and thicker rough 2,800 



and thicker rough 4,000 



and thicker rough 2,800 



and thicker rough 2,800 



Bevel Siding 850 



S2S 1,000 



S2S 1,200 



S2S 1,500 



and thicker rough 3,200 



and thicker rough 3,800 



and thicker rough, red 3,300 



and thicker rough, sap 3,100 



Bevel Siding SIS 900 



Drop Siding S2S 2,200 



Flooring S2S 2,200 



Ceiling S2S 850 



Ceiling S2S 1,300 



Ceiling S2S 2,000 



Ceiling S2S 1,600 



i" S2S 13/16", red 2,500 



1" S2S 13/16", sap 2,350 



Kinds of Wood. 



Ash 1 



Basswood 1 



Beech 1 



Birch 1 



Buckeye 1 



Butternut 1 



Cherry 1 



Chestnut 1 



Cottonwood 1' 



Cottonwood ^ 



Cottonwood % 



Cottonwood Vi 



Cottonwood % 



Elm (soft) 1 



Elm (rock) 1 



Gum 1 



Gum 1 



Gum % 



Gum l.S/16 



Gum 13/16' 



Gum %' 



Gum H' 



Gum %' 



Gum 

 Gum 

 Gum 



Hickory 1" rough 5,000 



Hickory Axles and Reaches rough, dry 4.500 



Hickory green 6,000 



Hickory Rim Strips rough 5,000 



Maple (soft) . 

 Maple (hard) . 



Oak 



Oak 



Oak 



Oak 



Oak 



and thicker rough 3,000 



and thicker rough 4,000 



and thicker rough 3,900 



thick rough 2.000 



thick rough 2,200 



thick rough 2,700 



thick rough 3,200 



and thicker 



Oak Chair and Eurniture Stock. 1" and thicker 4.200 



Oak Squares. 1" x 1" and larger 4,200 



Oak Wagon Stock and Felloes dry 4.500 



Oak Wagon Stock and Felloes green 6,000 



Oak Plow Handle Strips rough 2,S00 



Poplar 1" rough 1,600 



Poplar %" rough 2,100 



Poplar %" Bevel Siding S2S 850 



Poplar %" Drop Siding S2S 2,000 



Poplar Ceiling S2S 800 



Poplar 

 Poplar 

 Poplar 

 Poplar 

 Poplar 

 Poplar 



'.'.'.'. 13/ i%' 



1' 



Svcamore 1' 



Walnut 1' 



Celling and Partition. . S2S 1,200 



Celling and Partition. . S2S 1,500 



Ceiling and Partition. . S2S 1,750 



Ceiling and I'artition . . S2S 2,000 



S2S to l.l/" 2,200 



and thicker rough 3,200 



and thicker rough 4,000 



These weights have been established from actual tests. It has been 

 the accumulation of information received from different sections of the 

 country, showing the average weights of the different varieties of wood 

 and the different character of manufacture. Attests have been submitted 

 showing the tests to be absolutely acc\irate. 



Railroad Records Broken 



.\li previous records of .\merican railways for volume of traffic moved, 

 for earnings made, for expenses incurred and for taxes paid are rapidly 

 being broken, the Railway Age Gazette shows In an article in its current 

 issue, analyzing the results for the first five months of the calendar year 

 1917, which include the last results for which statistics are available. The 

 only records not being broken are those for net operating Income, which 

 shows a large decline as compared with 1910. 



In the five months January to May, 1917, Class I roads — those earning 

 over $1,000,000 gross each — earned a total of $1,548,348,314. This was 

 an increase of $156,000,000, or 11.2 p.eT cent, over the same months of 

 11116 ; an Increase of $348,000,000, or 29 per cent, over the same months 

 of 1913, which was the banner year prior to 1910. and an Increase of 48.7 

 per cent over the same months of 1911. 



Why Some Shipbuilders Prefer Wood 



The following item concerning shipbuilding with .\ustraliaii woods is 

 particularly apropos at this time. It is from the Weekly Bulletin, Cana- 

 dian Department of Trade and Commerce : 



Owing to their great strength and lasting properties, New South Wales 

 hardwoods are particularly suitalile for shipbiiildiuK. Many of the coastal 

 rivers have bad .sandbars, and th<> continual luinipiiig when the vessels are 

 crossing is a severe trial. Nevertheless many coasters have been running 

 continuously for periods of 20 to 30 .vears and are still fit for service. 

 The harbor ferry service of Sydney, which Is very extensive. Is carried on 

 mostly by wooden steamers, ami preference is given to wood over steel 

 because it is better able to stand the strain of continual bumping. These 

 vessels are 200 to 300 feet long. 



On account of their hardness New South Wales timbers are not so liable 

 to damage by marine insects as softwoods, and frci|iii'iitlv liulls are planked 

 to the waterline with hardwoods and the top sides linlshcd with softwoods. 

 Grown timber suitable for knees, crooks and frames can be supplied in large 

 quantities. Timbers tor small boats are now eiil out of spotted gum, a 

 species of lucalyptus, and this timber is now universally used where previ- 

 ously hickory and elm had to be imported. It is more lasting and bends 

 Just as readily when steamed. 



Considerable quantities of timber suitable for keels have been shipped 

 to the Pacillc coast of North America during the last few years and the 

 trade is growing. 



It might be Inferred from tlie foregoing that the criticism recently 

 heard of wooden ships — that they couldn't Btanil the strain of the open 

 sea — was not taken after considering the facts In the case. 



