vN*r *. 



The Lumhermens Round Table 



The Thin Lumber Proposition 



Maiiiifuc'tutiiiu thill IuiiiImt is undouhtoilly a Npoi'ialty, aii<i it 

 appoam to ho one tliat offcru o|i|iortunity. Of course, if every mann- 

 facturpf went in to iiil«' "!' ^ stool; of hiiiiher less than iiii indi 

 tliiek, Uie viihie of the proposition woiiM he redurod; but iiiasiniich 

 as iucb is staple, while thinner dimensions have a narrower niurkct, 

 it is unlikely that tlic idea will bo overworked. 



There is a certain advantage in cutting thin lumber from the fact 

 that a hifKcr proportion of upper grade stock can be gotten out of 

 the loi; ill this w:iy This is piirticiilarly true of quartered oak. It 

 is easier to dodge defects than when inch or other thicker stock 

 is being manufactured. On the other hand, handling charges are 

 greater, wlietJu-r the hiiiilierman is paying his men by the day 

 or by the thousand, for it takes just as long to handle a tliin board 

 as one an inch thick, nnd the men are paid at the same rate, though 

 the quantity piled may be only half so great. Most yard em- 

 ployes dislike hainlliiig thin stock, bei'ause it is more subject to 

 damage, and is harder to pile accurately, because the sticks tend to 

 slip under its light weight. 



There is always .some call for thin stock, and certain mills which 

 have specialized along this line and have made a point of having 

 the lumber on hand all the time have built up a nice business. As 

 suggested, however, it is less staple than inch, and at times thin 

 lumber is mighty hard to sell. But there is room for specialists 

 in this branch of the trade. 



One factor that will help to prevent stocks of thin lumber from 

 getting excessively large is that cutting it requires better methods 

 than inch or thick stock. A country mill, not set up any too ac- 

 curately, might get away with the task of cutting thick lumber, 

 rariations in thickness being hardly noticeable; but errors in making 

 thin stock are so plainly seen that it is out of the question for 

 any but a high-class mill to make if 



Handling Mahoeany Logs by Rail 



Alahogany logging <>iii'rntioiis ;iro of course in a (lass by themselves; 

 jnd taken as a general proposition it is probably true that modern 

 logging methods as used in the States are not practicable. How- 

 ever, one always runs the risk of making a mistake by indulging 

 in broad generalizations, and this is true of a statement of our dis- 

 tinguished contemporary, the American Lumberman, which recently 

 said on this subject: 



"In view of the fact that mahogany tracts produce as a rule but 

 sn average of perhaps one tree to the acre, the old method of 

 employing oxen aud hauling the logs to the nearest small stream 

 to be taken out during the rainy season when high water comes, is 

 still probably the only feasible method of handling a mahogany 

 operation. Certainly the operator who is going to take out the ma- 

 hogany and nothing else could not afford to put in steam logging 

 machinery and railroad facilities." 



In Africa and mo.st parts of Central America and Mexico, ma- 

 hogany logs are handled by men and oxen exclusively, with the 

 aid of the streams. But at least one large operation — that of the 

 C. C. Mengel & Bro. Company of Louisville — has been using a rail- 

 road to good advantage for a number of years. Its Belize, British 

 Honduras, branch receives logs from its Yucatan holdings by rail, 

 about twenty-two miles of track having been laid down. Of course, 

 it is necessary to haul the logs to the railroad, but the use of the 

 latter reduces the amount of labor necessary to get the logs to the 

 coast by a large amount. 



In this connection, the interesting suggestion has sometimes been 

 made that, in view of the scattered growth of mahogany trees, aero- 

 planes could be used to good advantage in the industry, by locating 

 the trees exactly, and enabling the timber-cutters to direct their 

 offorts without the loss of time in cruising that is usually necessary. 

 A Market for Hickory Refuse 



"The old home taste you've hankered for" is the attractive adver- 

 ting slogar which is being used at present by a manufacturer of 



24— 



food products, .\lial packers who an- cn.ii-.niiriiig to produce the 

 tliivor that HiiggestK home methoils are likely to be regular customerH 

 lor hickory refuse, jia hii-korv is the material which is used liy country 

 people in smoking their hams, bacon and other cured ineats. 



That the market is worth considering is snggesteil by the follow- 

 ing statement attributed to F. O. Alton, power engineer of the 

 Columbus, O., Kailway & Light Company : 



"We have in Columbus a woodworking jilaiit in which only two 

 kinds of wood are used. lOighty per cent of the wood consumed 

 by this ]ilant is hickory and the re^'t is ash. The company has 

 1 urned it« refuw as fuel for steam drive for the past fifteen years, 

 but at the present time this prospective customer has been con- 

 vinced that electric drive is l>y far the In'St nnd will install motor 

 operation just as soon as the best method of disposing of its chips 

 nnd sawdust has been decided upon. These hickory chips and saw- 

 dust, however, offer a solution of the problems of one of the larger 

 meat-packing houses in Columbus, which has experienced great dif- 

 ficulty in obtaining hickory wood for the smoking of its hams and 

 sausage. ' ' 



Handling the Tough Customer 



The successful lumber salesman han<lles the customer who is known 

 as hard to deal with by having the (piestions which are likely to 

 develop settled in advance by specific agreement. Most of the dis- 

 satisfaction arising from the settlement of complaints is due to the 

 fact that the buyer and seller were not agreed in their own minds as 

 to the basis on which the (•omplaints were to be .adjusted. In other 

 words, if a. customer is likely to throw out a certain amount of stock, 

 it should be agreed in advance what the value of the stock is. 



A prominent hardwood man has been selling a factory user right 

 along this year, in spite of the fact that his friends told him that he 

 would be robbed every time he shipped a car to that factory. In- 

 stead, he has found the business desirable and jirofitable, and is 

 perfectly satisfied to continue shipment. 



"I api>roached the proposition," he explained, "with the idea 

 of securing myself on every point. When I sold the concern lumber, 

 we discussed each feature of the transaction, and covered all points 

 that could possibly arise in the settlement. The lesult was that 

 everything went through without friction, the low grades were auto- 

 matically disposed of under our agreement, and this 'tough customer' 

 proved quite amenable, on,?e a definite understanding had been 

 established." 



Exports of Logs and Lumber 



The iJepailnicnl ol LoiiiMierce li:is lulilishcd (igiiios sliowiug the ex- 

 ports of forest products from the United States during July, 191.5, 

 with corresponding data for the same month in 1914. The early month 

 was just before the outbreak of the war; the late period shows the 

 exports for a month after the war is a year old. 



In .Tuly, 1914, the value of round logs exported was $151,53.'5. and 

 for last July .$194,457. The largest gain was in oak. 



There was a falling off in the value of hewed timber from $694,993 

 to $444,6.5.'?. The juincipal decline was in southern yellow pine. 



Lumber in July. 1914, $4,61.5,120; last July $2,548,665. The larg- 

 est decline was in Douglas fir and southern yellow pine. 



Railroad ties declined in value from $221,317 to $158,472. 



Box shooks increased from $91,915 to $105,266, while barrel shooks 

 fell from a value of $07,415 to $53,890, and staves from $.560,625 to 

 $401,619. 



The drop in value of export-s of sash, doors and blinds was from 

 .$92,727 to $28,909. 



The total decline in value of all forest products exported was from 

 $8.0.^.-1.2«.''. to $.-.140,270. 



. The black and blue streaks often found in lumber are caused 

 by close piling, which causes the sap to sour or ferment. 



