SeptiTiihcr 10, 1915 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



27 



Wagon Bows of Oak 



It formerly was the almost universal custom in the country to make 

 wapon bows of ash. The bows were found on various sorts of vehicles 

 from the old "prairie schooner" with its enormous white tent, to the 

 smaller one-horse buggy with its leather top, but the bows were nearly 

 always of ash. Custom has undergone a change in the use of wood for 

 this purpose. Ash is as. good as it ever was, but other woods have been 

 found satisfactory. Oak is in common use for wagon bows, and hickory 

 ^•ivcs excellent service. A large manufacturer recently stated that last 

 year be made 500,000 sets of bows, or 2,000,000 pieces, and these were 

 divided in the proportion of one-fourth ash and three-fourths oak. 



Circassian Walnut Prices 



It has been the commonly acccpti'd opinion in this country that the 

 recent high prices of Circassian walnut are due to the difficulty of bringing 

 the logs out through countries engaged in the war : and there is no ques- 

 tion that the price is greatly influenced by that fact. A recent report 

 from the British consul at PotI, in the region where the walnut grows, 

 makes It appear probable that the wood's price would have advanced if 

 there had been no war, because of the actual scarcity of merchantable trees 

 and the increased cost of bringing the logs out of remote districts, where 

 they must now he sought. The price of logs at the shipping ports has 

 increased nearly one hundred per cent in the last two years. 



American Emigrants in Canada 



The treeless plains of western Canada continue to allure American 

 farmers, and In the last ten months 30,000 of them have settled in that 

 country where land is cheap. They have taken with them about $25,- 

 000,000 in cash. Canada encourages the immigration of Americans. Since 

 the war began, the number of settlers entering that country from the 

 I'nited States has been nearly twice the number from all the rest of 

 the world. 



Indiana Forestry Building Dedicated 



Gov. Ralslon. ex-Vice-I'resldent Fairbanks and Warren T. McCray, 

 president of the state board of agriculture of Indiana, dedicated the new 

 bungalow erected by the state board of forestry at Indianapolis on Tues- 

 day, September 7. The bungalow is in an architectural way one of the 

 most attractive at the state fair grounds where it was erected. It 

 contains au educational exhibit of native woods, veneer products, photo- 

 graphs of forestry conservation and the development of the farm wood 

 lots. 



\V. A. Guthrie, president of the state board of forestry, introduced 

 the speakers. He addressed a large audience of men and women. Mr. 

 Fairbanks spoke on forestry conservation in Indiana, and complimented 

 Mr. Guthrie and his board and Governor Ralston for the encouragement 

 they are giving the movement. Mr. Fairbanks said the state has not 

 done as much yet as it is going to do ; that in the beginning Indiana 

 gave no attention to forestry as there were literally forests to burn. 

 Mr. Fairbanks said : 



"The plan of this world is that we should conserve our natural re- 

 sources. In traveling over the world I have 

 found that a low order of intellect and activity 

 prevails in those countries that have used up 

 their forests and are now barren of trees. This 

 is true in Korea, but in Japan trees are being 

 planted in every available space. Japan is tak- 

 ing thought of the future." 



Governor Ralston said that the state board 

 of forestry is dealing with one of the greatest 

 subjects that is before the commonwealth. He 

 said : 



"We have had so many natural advantages 

 that we have not appreciated them as we 

 should. Our marvelous wealth has led into 

 unconscious waste. It behooves every citizen 

 to contribute even in a small way to the con- 

 servation of our natural resources." 



Mr. McCray spoke briefly and congratulated 

 the board on the successful culmination of its 

 efforts. 



Wooden Water Pipes Give No Sign of 

 Decay 



The water department of the city of Luding- 

 ton, Mich., is removing the wooden water mains 

 which have been in continuous operation with- 

 out any trouble for the last thirty-three years. 

 The reproduction shown herewith gives an idea 

 of the size of the pipes which were made from 

 white pine and were put in the ground thirty- 

 three years ago. 



The pipes proper are about twelve inches in 

 diameter and two inches thick. They are 

 joined with a wooden thimble an inch thick, 

 one of which is shown resting on top of two 

 pipes in the middle, another being shown in- 

 serted in one end of the pipes in the middle of 



the pile. The mains have withstood all tests they have been put to, having 

 resisted the pressure of a size of 125 pounds. They are being removed now 

 not because they are in disrepair and showing any signs of deterioration, 

 but because the pressure is going to be increased to such an extent that it 

 would hardly be practicable or a fair test to leave the old pipes in on 

 account of the fact that they are not thick enough to withstand the 

 increase. 



Coat Hangers in England 

 An English trade paper says that the wooden coat hanger business has 

 been greatly affected by the war. These have been sent to England in 

 large quantities in the past from Germany. They should be made of hard- 

 wood and they are chiefly sold In two or three designs. For the usual 

 circular-shaped banger, which can be bought by the public at as cheap 

 as two cents each, German manufacturers have quoted a c. i. f. price to the 

 importer of $1.12 per gross. 



Postal Savings System 



The popularity of the Postal Savings Bank among Chicago's foreign- 

 born is forcefully brought out in statistics dealing with the nationality 

 of postal savings depositors just compiled by the Post Office Department 

 at Washington. On July 1, the total deposits at Chicago amounted to 

 $3,26T,532 — a net gain during the fiscal year ended June 30 of $961,600 

 or 42 percent. The foreign-born own nearly three-fourths of the total 

 deposits with $2,345,160 standing to their credit. The accounts of .\mer- 

 icau-born depositors total $919,372. The Russians lead all other foreign- 

 born depositors with $518,502 to their credit ; then follow the Austrians 

 with $337,737, tlie Germans with $208,246 and the Italians with $258,083. 

 Representatives of every nation of Europe are among the depositors. 

 There are 1,593 depositors who have reached the $500 limit, and can 

 deposit no more, despite their appeals to do so. Of this number 1,150 

 are foreign-born. 



The postal savings service at Chicago has been seriously handicapped 

 from the start by unfortunate restrictions in the original Postal Savings 

 Act, which forbid the acceptance of more than $100 a month from a 

 depositor and fix $500 as the maximum amount that may be accepted 

 from him. The restrictions have proved particularly disappointing to 

 the foreign-born, who often insist on depositing their entire savings at 

 one time and can not understand why the United States government, in 

 which they have implicit confidence, is willing to safeguard a part of 

 their savings and not all of them. Vast sums of money, earned by honest 

 labor in Chicago, have thus been driven back into hiding and lost to 

 local channels of trade. 



In a recent report to the Post Office Department, Postmaster Camp- 

 bell said : 



"We have had numerous inquiries from Intended patrons who desired 

 to deposit more than $100 each month and a great many who desired 

 to deposit more than $500 in all. These inquiries come principally from 

 people who have sold real estate and are receiving more cash than can 

 be deposited with us. Frequently patrons desire to deposit $300 or $400 

 or more at one time, and when they learn that they can not do so. 

 they are very apt not to start any account with us. They do not desire 

 to deposit $100 each month and keep the remainder at home." 



UNDER GllOUND THIP.TY-THREE YE.\RS 



