12 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



June 10, loin. 



bis youth by association witli Iiis father, wlio was a prolossional for- 

 ester in Germany. Mr. Gloodo is the well-known horticulturist at 

 Evnnston, 111. When the tree fell, he secured the base section, and 

 with teams and liouso-movinR appliances, tronsportod it across the 

 prairie to his premises in Kvanston, where U)0 pigantic stub was 

 erected and it still rcnihins, somewhat weathered, but relatively sound. 

 A representative of H.-vrbwooi) Rbcoiid visited it recently and took 

 measurements of the etub as it now stands. The bark is missing. 

 The point where the trunk measures forty-fivo feet in circumference 

 is now twenty inches above the ground. It was stated to have been 

 three feet above in 1902. It appears, Uicrcfore, that the part of 

 the stub in contact with the ground has disappeared by decay, or 

 by the fire tliat killed the tree, or by settling into the soil, to the 

 extent of a foot or more since tlie former measurement was made. 

 The measurement of 1902 w.ns taken with the bark on; the present 

 one with it off. That would account for some of the differences 

 in size. 



The area of the base of the cavity at present, that is, the floor, 

 contains 151 square feet, as nearly as its irregular form could be 

 measured with !i tape line. The hollow narrows rapidly, and at four 

 feet above the floor it is about nine feet in diameter, and nearly 

 circular. The original cavity extended up tlie trunk twenty feet. 

 The stub is not that tall now, and the hollow runs its whole length. 

 The age of the tree is not known, and there is no way of deter- 

 mining that matter. AH the interior growth rings have been removed 

 by decay. The age has been estimated at 600 years, but it is a 

 guess only, though not an unreasonable one. The tree is the com- 

 mon Cottonwood (Populus deltoides). The cavity is a very old one. 

 as is apparent from the efforts which the tree made long ago to 

 heal the wound. This is seen in the new wood which was gradually 

 closing the doorway during the last hundred years or so of the 

 tree's life. 



"American" Quartered Oak 



JUST WHY THE SPONSORS of so-called American quartered oak 

 selected that name for their product is difficult to understand. It 

 is generally known this so-called oak is but a stamped imitation put 

 on inexpensive domestic woods and easily reveals its lack of merit. 

 That even lajrmen can be fooled by such a flagrant imitation and one 

 which ordinarily is glaringly cheap in its appearance is astonishing. 

 Nevertheless this wood is being foisted off on the people and the 

 situation is one which should be met with drastic measures by responsi- 

 ble concerns who are producing real quartered oak and those who are 

 selling it in the production of articles made from this meritorious 

 wood. On the one hand, oak manufacturers should looic into the situ- 

 ation and endeavor to get the co-operation of their customers to bring 

 pressure upon those furniture dealers who are following a policy that 

 cannot bring any lasting benefit to anybody. Furniture manufac- 

 turers, of course, are in the better position of the two to take action 

 that will have results, but everybody interested in oak should take the 

 matter to heart and to mind, and see what pressure can be brought 

 to bear that will really make itself felt. 



Another Trick of the Trade 



THE FACT THAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC is so far removed 

 from the source of supply of raw material, the average layman 

 having no fair conception of the real identity of wood and being 

 easil}' duped, has lead to many gross misrepresentations which have 

 not only harmed the rightful markets for certain standard Ameri- 

 can hardwoods and other products of our forests but have induced 

 many gullible Americans to part with a great deal more money in 

 purchasing certain articles than the value of those articles would 

 demand. 



One instance of this character is the differentiating between 

 ordinary plain black walnut and figured walnut, which differentiation 

 has been established even by some of the best known and most 

 reputable furniture dealers in some of our large cities. It seems 

 in some cases the dealers have found difficulty in matching up cer- 

 tain suits of furniture that they bought as experiments made up in 

 figured walnut. Finding it impossible to exactly match these par- 

 ticular pieces when sold they did the best they could and laid in a 



supply of jdain walnut merely dhowing the grain figure of the wood. 

 This could be secured from the average run of veneer logs. As a con- 

 sequence it was up to them to make the purchasing public believe 

 that the two woods were entirely different and that the supply of 

 black walnut, which has been the dcsiKnation given to figured stock, 

 is exhausted and that the people must henceforth have only American 

 walnut furniture. This policy is working a real injustice upon 

 American walnut which is just beginning to come bnok into its 

 own again, ami should be decidedly discouraged by those responsible 

 for marketing the wood ; and those responsible also for manufacturing 

 the different articles commonly made from it. Inasmuch as this wood 

 is going largely into interior finish manufacture as well as furniture 

 manufacture and similar articles the importance of the situation is 

 even greater. 



There is no just reason for a policy which merely tends to con- 

 fuse the mind of the buyer and further deceives him in his knowl- 

 edge of our woods. There is no reason why the average buyer should 

 not know exactly what he is getting instead of having mis-statements 

 constantly made, which in the end result in his not knowing what he 

 has. It would be just as easy for the dealer to say that the figured 

 walnut articles are more expensive because of the greater scarcity 

 of the wood and make the prices accordingly. In view of the prices 

 that are going for so-called "American walnut" it would seem that 

 they are foisting off this distinction with the idea of making it take 

 the place of figured walnut in the matter of price as well as supply. 



All the Traffic Will Bear 



WHILE THE CLASSIFICATION committees of the railroads 

 are holding conferences and asking among themselves why 

 dressed lumber should not p.iy higher freight rates than rough, the 

 producers of lumber are likewise consulting among themselves and 

 asking wihy dressed lumber should pay more, weight for weight, 

 than unplaned boards. 



The interests of the two parties to the controversy are antagonistic. 

 What comes out of the pocket of one goes into the pocket of the 

 other, and pecuniary considerations must necessarily color the argu- 

 ments put up by each. But a third party has entered the con- 

 troversy, ,ind that party is neither a producer nor carrier of lumber, 

 as the others are. It is the Forest Service. Its investigation of cost 

 of lumber, which has been under way for some time, will, according to 

 present understanding, include the matter of getting the product to 

 market. The same question will naturally come up: To what extent 

 should value be considered in fixing lumber freight rates and should 

 there be, or should there not be, a difference in the rate on rough and 

 on dressed lumber? 



This brings up the old doctrine of "all the traffic will boar," which 

 was promulgated a generation ago by CoUis Huntington, at that 

 time the moving spirit of the Southern Pacific railroad. He an- 

 nounced the policy boldly and carried it out consistently. He justi- 

 fied his course in the same way that the ancient robber did when put 

 on trial, by saying. "What I have taken from the rich I have given 

 to the poor." Huntington's claim was that by charging high rates 

 on commodities which were able to pay, he could accept low rates 

 from those less able to pay, and the low rates made possible the 

 marketing of articles which otherwise could not have gone to market. 

 The principal criticism which Huntington had to listen to in his life 

 time was that he did not always give to the poor what he took from 

 the rich. 



Weight for weight, dressed lumber can be carried as cheaply as 

 undressed, provided no extra care is required ; but if planed stuff, 

 like matched flooring or ceiling, must go in covered cars while rough 

 lumber may make the journey on gondolas, it is readily seen that 

 there may be differences in the carrying cost. It adds to the expense 

 of carriage, if the product must be kept dry on the way; but if 

 both kinds go in the same sorts of cars and are handled and treated 

 in the same way, the justice of charging more freight for the one 

 than for the other is not apparent, unless it is admitted justifiable to 

 proceed on the principle of charging all the traffic will bear. 



That rule, as already intimated, may have a few practical business 

 features not wholly unjust, as well as some which are hard to justify. 

 The principle is tacitly recognized by lumbermen when they ask a 



