30 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



lid ash are being taken in 

 fair q an1 nail plants outside the 



which are placing fair orders for future supply. 

 Heavy oak, most of it in timbers that can be 

 used for bridge, miue. railroad and warehouse 

 uses, is mostly want 



Ihe confidence that Pittsburg firms feel iu the 

 situation is shown by the purchases of timber 

 which tbej are making. There is not a large 

 firm in the city which has nol men oul -outing 

 for timber trails. Many of these firms are "cut 

 out," or nearly SO, where their mills are now 

 located and must entrench themselves in order 

 to keep in line with their competitors. Pennsyl- 

 vania timber is practically exhausted. The best 

 tracts In Wcsi Virginia are now strongly held 

 and Pittsburg tirms are constantly going farther 

 south, in every county in Ohio and western 

 Pennsylvania along the lines of the railroads 

 that lead out from 1 Lgents are buy- 



ing up small tracts of hickory, ash, second 

 growth oak, hen b and maple timber 



that ten years a_o would nol have I □ looked 



at by good buyers. Hard* 1 iirms realize that 



the coming year is going to make a very seri- 

 ous demand on their powers for supplying trade 

 and are entrenching themselves with large pur- 

 chases wherever possible. 



Buffalo. 



Still a trifle slow is a good part of the hard- 

 wood trade. However, it Is everywhere believed 

 that there will be plenty of business this fall. 

 Basswood and chestnut have sold in restricted 

 districts. Thick map],- is quiet, but the demand 

 for poplar has been light for the most part. 



There are a good man* w Is taking the place 



of poplar and the producer made a mistake In 

 not knowing the fact, healers say that thej 



can buy certain hardvi Is in Michigan no.. 



less than ii fall. One white pine 



dealer is asking his friends if it is sate to take 



a lot of bassw I his mill Is offering, lie Is 



usually told to stay out. 



As to oak. there has been some slackness, and 

 the prospect is of some further approaching of 

 plain and quartered in price, iiak mills are not 

 Insisting on turning out quartered now at the 

 expense of plain and so there is prediction that 

 the two will change places before long. 



Elm. ash and birch in the north and yellow 

 pine and cypress in the south are reported active. 

 There has been a slight advance In yellow pine 

 every week for some time past and it Is now 

 so high that the hemlock producers say it is out 

 of competition with their trade and have ordered 



an advance of ." cuts in everything and a 



dollar in No. - hoards and ship lap. They got so 

 far behind their orders that this proceeding was 

 absolutely necessary. It will now be proper to 



bring In hemlock from Michigan upete with 



Pennsylvania hemlock and low-grade yellow pine. 



There is some show of the city making more 

 use of hardwood lumber than it has done for 

 some time, but the expensive building Industry 

 is reviving very slowly and does not promise to 

 be large this season The door manufacturer can 

 sell all he can make If he is up In hardwood 

 doors and is as far behind his orders as ever. 

 The seaboard cities are building actively, but 

 southward the industry is slack. 



Some Buffalo hardwood dealers say that they 

 are putting in more oak than they are selling, 

 but they ca'l that a safe proceeding and expect 

 un before another season. 



Saginaw Valley. 

 k maple, which is used extensively In the 

 manufacture of agricultural Implements, appears 

 to be just a little slow, but maple which goes 

 Into flooring is holding its own. One reason for 

 this is the stronger demand for flooring this 

 year than last and the better prices obtained. 

 At interior milling points log run maple is a 

 little slow, owing, doubtless, to the large quan- 

 tity teing manufactured, and is quoted at $14 



and $14.50. Beech is still a good seller, being 

 utilized largely for door and window screen sash 

 and for flooring. It takes on a good finish 

 and is becoming quite popular. Trade in this 

 community is considerably better than last year. 

 There is not much snap to the movement of 

 Basswood Is doing fairly well 

 and prices are well maintained, while elm is 

 ibly as rega ud demand 



than It was last year. On the whole neither 

 manufacturers nor dealers have cause for com- 

 plaint. There is no boom, but a steady and 

 .factory volume of business appears to be 

 general. 



Grand Rapids. 

 Trade in hardwoods is always slow here dur- 

 che furnltui manufacturers giving 



all their attention to selling at this time. Mar- 

 ket i general are showing Improve- 

 ment. .Most dealers report a strong demand for 

 ash. while elm birch and beech are holding up 

 well. I'i swood ni'.- a little weak. The 

 market for li.iildin._- lumber in general is stronger 

 than it has been for the past th 



Indianapolis. 



The hardwood lumber situation continues 



quiet, which is usual at this season of the year. 



There Is a decided Improvement this season 



over the business of last summer. The first 



half oi 1905 has ere led by a comfortable 



margin the business of the corresponding period 

 L904. Furniture manufacturers are I 

 as they prefer to wait until i 

 furniture • aded before en- 



tering the markel for linn rdwood men 



them to begin placing orders by August 

 1. and from then on the hardwood business 

 will no doubl pick up very perceptibly. 



UCosl oi lie orders for hardw ig the 



past few weeks have been for finishings for 

 residences. It is said .that at the present time 

 no less than se\ . ■ i 



1 in Indianapolis, at an estimated cost of 



$2, i. The building boom thai has chs 



terlzed this spring still continues with no ap- 

 parent abatement. 



plain and quartered oak still leads In the 

 demand foi ds. There has been no 



change in prices. Most of the yards are well 



stocked with the various grades Of hardw I 



lumber, and almost any order can be filled 



easily. 



Cincinnati. 

 There has been no essential change In the 

 hardwood situation the past two weeks, con- 

 trary to customary midsummer dullness. The 

 domestic demand has been fairly good, while 

 moderately numerous inquiries have been re- 

 ceived from expi Further Improve- 

 ment Is expected In the domestic trade, as the 

 movement of crops lias started and the farmers 

 id have plenty of money. 

 Plain oak has been, as usual, the foremost 

 seller and prices have been sustained on a firm 

 basis. Quartered white and red oak have also 

 met wiDi qaite a ready demand. Gum and 

 ash were in about the same request. The bet- 

 ter grades of poplar seem to be tending up- 

 ward, but culls are as quiet as ever. 



there i- so little demand in the export trade 

 some of the exporters here have ceased to buy 

 new stocks and have withdrawn their repre- 

 sentatives the. i. toe had in the eastern held. 



Chattanooga. 

 The hardwood market continues dull, although 

 Is some activity In the demands for quar- 

 tered and plain oak. Stocks continue short and 

 In fact there is scarcely no plain oak on the 

 market. The dullness In the hardwood market 

 is still the cause of much discussion among local 

 lumbermen who are puzzled to know that the 

 activity in the demands for all grades of pine 

 Is so great when there is so little demand for 

 hardwoods. Some attribute It to the season and 

 others to the conditions In the far east. They 

 believe that as soon as peace Is declared In the 

 Russo-Japanese war the export trade will be- 

 come more active. Because of the fact that 



St. Louis. 

 There has been bin little change in the St. 

 Louis hardwood market the past week or ten 

 Demand continues comparatively quiet, 

 witli but little disposition shown to urge mat- 

 ters at either the buying or selling end of the 

 line. The geneial opinion seems to be that 

 the present dullness will shortly be broken by 

 a resumption of activity among buyers, as stocks 

 are rather low in their yards and iu some cases 



badlj in i I ol replenishment. Stocks at mills, 



are far from heavy, though they are better 

 now than the. have been for six or eight weeks 



Plain oak is the leader In the call for oak 

 stock. Quartered is showing some Improvement, 

 although as yel furniture and other manufac- 

 turers are rders tor it in quantities 

 only sufficient present requirements. 



The trade generally are of tl pinion that the 



demand will slew a distinct Improvement in the 

 next four or five weeks, both from the building 

 eleuienl and ihe fi i rii i t ii re ma n ii fact u rers. At 

 any rate those who lone ample stocks of quar- 

 tered oak [eel quite confident that the last half 

 of the year will more than compensate for the 

 present dullness. Poplar is exhibiting more 

 .I the lower grades of the wood 

 have led in the call. Ash has been devoid of 

 teat me. and _: ' i in and Cottonwood transactions 

 are confined in the main to shipments on con- 

 tracts hocked some time ago. 



Nashville. 



Business here is dull just at present. This Is 



tin- season of the year when lumbermeu take 



and it is a big job and generally lasts 



.veral days. Inning this time little business 



is transacted. Business is expected to soon 



in improve in Another [act that tends 



to make business dull is that furniture men 

 from all over the country are now at Chicago 

 and Grand Raplda attending the furniture exhi- 

 bit ions there. They are not buying lumber now 

 on thai account, but are taking orders and will 

 not know how much lumber they want from the 

 sawmill men and dealers for some time yet. 



A teat me of the local market Is the jump 

 taken by chestnut. All grades and kinds are at 

 pries said to be ihe highest ever known. This 

 hardwood Is getting very scarce and It Is be- 

 tleved the supply can never be restored by 

 growth. 



Memphis. 



The demand for hardwood lumber here is 

 though the volume of business 

 closely approximates the average for this time 

 of year. There is no disposition among buyers 

 to place orders for forward shipment, and there 

 is little buying beyond Immediate requirements. 

 The export trade continues quiet, which is a 

 rather serious drawback to the domestic situa- 

 tion, because the lumber which should be going 

 Into export channels Is left on this side of the 

 water to be sold In domestic markets. However, 

 in view of the fact that peace negotiations are 

 making favorable progress, the trade here Is in- 

 clined to regard the export situation as at least 

 somewhat promising. 



The demand for p'aln sawed red and white 

 oak Is still good. Offerings are not large and 

 prices arc pretty firmly held. The prospective 

 supply is not large and the outlook for this par- 

 ticular Hue of oak Is regarded as quite flattering. 

 Ash and cypress are in excellent demand, witti 

 all offerings readily taken. Upper grades of 

 poplar are passing readily Into consumption, but 

 the remalner of the '1st, Including low-grade pop- 

 lar, gum and Cottonwood, as well as quarter- 

 sawed oak, Is rather quiet. 



