34b 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



October 10, I'JIT 



iu price; also tliat it is more diflicult to obtain carpenters than worUers 

 in the substitute field. 



Nine thousand standard gauge freight box cars have been ordered by 

 the government lor use in transportation behind the lines in France. The 

 cars are of standardized type and are being built rapidly. It is said that 

 they are of wood, with steel braces, etc. 



The box cars for the American lines in France have about three times 

 the capacity of the standard gauge box cars used by the French railways 

 until recently. They have the same coupling eouipment, etc., as the French 

 rolling stock, so as to be interchangeable with it. The iron railing which 

 runs the length of the car along the top is u.sed to throw a tarpaulin over to 

 protect the contents of the car from the weather. The inside length of the 

 car is 36 feet and its capacity 33 tons. 



Old Vessels to Be Used Again 



Vessels of many kinds are scarce and costly, and new construction is so 

 expensive and so slow, that the marine grave.vards everywhere are lielng 

 raked over tor veterans of the sea long since laid away to rot and rust, 

 but which, with a little fixing, may be made fit for a few more trips. 



The old Schooner Evolution, recently raised from a four years' sleep in 

 the mud at Tortsmouth, N. H., is a fair example of what may be expected 

 of the resurrection. Hundreds of old tubs ornament the coves and creek- 

 mouths of the Maine coast, and many of them might be patched up and 

 made to serve a while yet. Even the historic relics and replicas are to be 

 made to help bear the burden of war. 



The Properties of Greenheart 



C. H. Pearson, the well known importer of fine foreigu woods, 29 Broad- 

 way, New York, has written to H.\bdwood Kecord concerning the properties 

 of greenheart. He takes exception to certain statements contained in a 

 recent article in this paper, and he presents additional facts, which make 

 his letter valuable for the information it gives. A summary of his letter 

 follows : 



In the fir.st place, true greenheart is rarely used for fishing rods. While 

 it is admirably adapted for this line of manufacture, practically all of the 

 so-called greenheart employed in making fisbing rods is Surinam green- 

 heart an entirely different wood known sometimes as washlba or fi'thaliara. 

 It is 'not correct, therefore, that "its highest use is in the manulacture 

 of fishing rods." As a matter of £act, it is one of the foremost .shipbuilding 

 and other naval construction wodrts and outlasts teak, oak and mahnsriiny. 

 These uses deserve prime consideration in referring to this wood and its 



Those who know greenheart best and have handled it from the stump 

 to the flni.shed product in the form of quoins, miter posts or keel blocks 

 do not attribute to it the liad quality of splitting or checking. All writers 

 on greenheart. who are familiar with the wood, tell us that it opens at the 

 ends, but thev also state that these splits rarely extend for more than 

 two or three feet in from the ends. Comparing this condition with that 

 of Spansh cedar, a wood noted for its staying and non-checking qualities, 

 trequentlv splitting from end to end. and many logs in the average shlii- 

 ment opening "like the mouths of alligators, ' it may be appreciated that 

 greenheart is not prone to check excessively. 



Ti-ue greenheart even if exposed to the direct rays of the sun, for many 

 months does not < pen from end to end. , 



The reason whv logs are ki-pt in the water is to avoid unnecessary 

 handling. Thoy are lirought down the streams and rivers and stored at 

 convenient points on river banks where loading directly upon steamers is 

 possible If there is another motive for storing them in the water, it is 

 tor the purpose of preventing borers from getting into the sapwood. (Jreen- 

 heart logs at jource of origin are never purposely buried in mud to prevent 



Men who have handled greenheart logs in the sawmill for years do not 

 claim that this wood behaves difTerent from any other kind of like weight 

 and hardness. The alleged freakiness of "(lying open before the saw has 

 time to open them" is a mvth. Tliis may be possible under conditions in 

 which the log is nut properly fastened on the truck, while the saw is pass- 

 ing through it. Such splitting may take place with any log of very hard, 

 heavy wood, if it is not properly clamped on the truck. 



The last but not least of the errors in this brief note Is the reference 

 to its supposed poisonous qualities. True greenheart is NOT poisonous, 

 .lust why this statement persists is diflicult to understand, for no one 

 appears to know of a single case of poisoning as a result of splinters get- 

 ting into the hands of workmen. 



England Issues Shipping Rules 



Of Interest to the hardwood lumber industry, it is believed, are several 

 recent rules and regulations relative to the international timber and lum- 

 ber trade. For instance, the American Consul General in London has 

 cabled under recent date as follows : 



"Controller Timber Supplies announces application for licenses to import 

 from Canada and rnlted States will be recommended on following terms: 

 In any unrequisltioned space under deck of British or allied steamers and 

 in neutral steamers if approved by interallied cbnrtering executive. Tim- 

 ber must not displace foodstuffs or munitions. Shipment must be within 

 three months of application. Importers must be liouud to sell soft wood 

 at cost plus ten per cent, provided price so calculated does not exceed by 

 one-third prices current during last week January, 1917." 



The consul general at London has al/io cabled that the British Board of 

 Trade has given notice of an agreement with the French Government for 

 issuance of licenses for import into the United Kingdom of French goods 

 other than wood and timber, woodworking machinery, and various other 

 articles, which presumably are needed more in France than in England. 



The Exports Administrative Board has decided that combination ship- 

 ments of various articles each valued at not over .$100 may leave the 

 country by permissicn of the collector of customs at the point of exit, 

 except to enemy countries and European neutrals. 



It Is announced by the Exports Administrative Board that for exporting 

 hardwood and other lumber on the rresident's proclamation embargo list 

 of August 27, shippers must use Application Form .\1 for proposed ship- 

 ments to European neutral countries, and Form A-2 for proposEd ship- 

 ments to other neutrals and to allied countries. 



The export board is co-operating with the Canadian food controller with 

 a view to facilitating lumber camps near the nttrthern border of this 

 country to obtain supplies of foodstuffs without special license tor their 

 export. Jt has also been decided that exports to Canada in transit for 

 the allies need not have a special license for each shipment, provided the 

 shipments contain the same commodities for which license has been 

 granted to the same shipper in the case of such shipments. 



The Canadian government has embargoed shipments to Scandinavia and 

 Holland of wood, wood manufactures and many other articles. 



Ethyl Alcohol from Wood as Good as Any Other 



There is no reason for discriminating against ethyl alctihol made from 

 wood in favor of that from grain or molasses, according to the government 

 chemists of the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis. The amount 

 of impurities in commercial ethyl alcohol, they say, is very small, and the 

 impurities are probably less objectionable when wood is used as a base 

 than when grain or molasses is used. 



The prejudice against the use for some purposes of ethyl alcohol made 

 from wood is probably accounted for, the experts say, by a confusion with 

 methyl or "wood" alcohol, wliich is poisonous. Both products are derived 

 from wood, but are radically different. The ethyl, or grain alcohol, is made 

 by reducing the wood to sawdust, treating the sawdust with an acid to 

 produce chemical sugars, and converting the fermentable sui'ars into alcohol 

 l\v fermentation, as in the case of grain or molasses. Wood alcohol, how- 

 ever, is obtained by condensing certain gases which are liberated when, the 

 wood is heated in air-tight retorts, so that it decomposes without burning. 



Ethyl alcohol has, it Is stated, been commercially manufactured from 

 wood in this country for several years. It is suitable for any use to which 

 ethyl alcohol from any other base is put. Iniprovements on the processes 

 which have been ccveloped at the Forest Products Laboratory have made it 

 possible to decrease the former cost of productinii. 



West Virginiaps Protest Car Shortage 

 Thirty lumber operators on the Baltimore & Ohio lines from Clarks- 

 burg to Richwood and Pickens, W. Va., met at Richwood in late September 

 to act on the shortage of cars. The meeting revealed a serious situation 

 in the lumber industry In that section. The matter has been actively 

 taken up with Baltimore & Ohio oflicials many timos during the last few 

 months. Many promises have been made but in spite of this the supply 

 has been growing less for tlie past three months. It was the sense of 

 the meeting that while B. & O. otiicials have made every effort to improve 

 the supply, the matter is really in the hands of the National defense. 

 .V committee of five was appointed to go to Washington to handle the 

 matter. 



.-Vccording to evidence presrnti'd. many cars diverted to the southern 

 district by the Council of National Defense have given southern shippers 

 more than their quota, this at the expense of those located at more 

 easterly points. It was stated that as a result of surplus of cars in some 

 southern points, which It was claimed existed, consignment shipments 

 have become more common. 



It was shown that the supply on the West Virginia and Pittsburgh 

 division of the Baltimore and Ohio has not been more than fifty per cent 

 of normal for the past six months ; that thousands of cords of pulpwood 

 and bark are rotting In the woods because of inability to get cars. The 

 evidence brought the claim that the West Virginian and Pittsburgh ship- 

 pers feel that they are being discriminated against either wilfully by the 

 Haltiniore and Ohio officials or on tlie other hand that the Baltimore and 

 tHiio is not receiving its just proporlion of cars. 



Late Washington News 

 (Special dispatch to II.midwoo[> Record) 



Wnshlngton, D. C., Oct. 9. — The war industries Board, Council of 

 National Defense is endeavoring to settle an appareni conflict between 

 the shipping board and the Navy Department, which are on the market 

 for quantities of lumber and timber suitable for shipbulldirig. The matter 

 is l)eing dealt with by the lioards' committee on clearance of which Rear 

 .Vdmiral Fletcher and Col. Pierce are members, and they are being assisted 

 by Bear Admiral Rousseau, It is reported. 



Willie the shipping board has commandeered large timbers for wooden 

 ships the Nav.v Department bureau of supplies and accounts has Issued 

 a call for millions of feet of material much of it of the sizes commandeered 

 by the shipping board. The situation Is aggravated liy the report that 

 the navy wants to pile up yard stocks for future use, while the shipping 

 board needs lumber immediately. Lumbermen are submitting bids on 

 the navy stuff subject to some authority determining the priority of 

 orders of the shipping board and the navy. 



The latter has the power to commandeer also, but has not exercised 

 it as to lumber purchases. The outcome of the situation, it Is re- 

 ported, win be some agreement for co-operation of the navy in the joint 

 |)urchaslng agency of the war Industries board, which is buying materials 

 for the war and other departments and the allies. .Vmong other lumber 

 material, the Navy Department is calling for 1,142.000 feet of ash of 

 different grades; 3.500 feet of hickory; 152,000 pounds of llgnum-vltae ; 

 .".S.SOO feet of mahogany ; 33,000 feet hard maple ; 3,000 feet walnut : 

 131,000 feet poplar; 200 oak piles; miscellaneous quantities of green 

 bending oak. white or red ; plain domestic white oak, green ; and a total 

 of 297,000 feet of either white or red oak for various purposes. 



F. M. Paxton, who was said to have been appointed assistant pur- 

 chasing agent of the Emergency Fleet Corporation to deal with hard- 



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