26 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Fsbnwry Si, lOlO 



tlnn i> purtlr . '^ 

 '« of tliP wr-il' 



kill lu to Itrilioii Culuiiibiti. 



Tl • ■ n |>nrt i>f il< rnngo. 



• 'ntL-uur Maiiooanv 



" V' " •'iinj'iv ii.i iiinhoganVf 



i over moit of the 

 rc^ Ao from low liillii to mim- 



mi! .it nbiiiulnnt in troo siic. 



Of .inv. li linii il« ii ■• its 



WO' ._v be two f<vt in u iiut a 



thounind ar« tindor two inches in (linmptor to one that nmchos six 

 inches. It belong* strictly in the cIkks of souvenir woods, but beau- 

 tiful furniture might be made of it, tlioiit;li such would bo cx|>cnBive 

 on account of the difOeulty * rial of suitable 



siie. The tree is known to Jedtfoliiui. 



CALiruRMA LaL'KEI. 



The California laurel (Umbetlulnria califomica) bears so many 

 names that scarcely any one can remember them all. Among its 

 titles are bay, myrtle, eajeput, olive, spice, pepper, and sassafras. 

 The last name fits it better Uiau any other, for it is a cousin of the 

 eastern sassafras. Though not the mo!it abundant hanlwood of the 

 Pacific coast, it i« enyllod in beauty by none and in value by few. 

 It is heavy, I hard, and in color is a rich light brown. 



Trees may af its of 100 feet anci diameters of four or five, 



but most of them arc smaller. The commercial range lies in northern 

 California and southern Oregon, but the best timber is found in the 

 coast counties. Seed distribution is chiefly by means of running 

 water; therefore, the densest thickets are in ravines containing brooks 

 at least part of the year. 



There appears to be no regular trade in this wood, even in districts 

 where it is most abundant. Many years ago it was widely ailvcrtised 

 through the fact that the Palace Hotel, San Francisco, which was 

 then the finest hotel west of the Mississippi river, was supplied with 

 furniture made of this wood. The laurel 's popularity did not last, 

 and a few years ago its principal use was found in walking-beams 

 for pumping oilwells. That was a mean use for a wood so beautiful. 

 Otlwell beams in California ought to be made of Douglas fir, and the 

 laurel should be reserved for uses which few other native woods 

 can fill. 



The early farmers in the laurel's range abused it about as the 

 eastern farmer misused black walnut by splitting it for rails. Oregon 

 farmers made gate posts, barn sleepers, and fuel of it, and it was 

 specially chosen for chicken roosts (as sassafras was in the East) 

 under the belief that its odor would kill vermin. 



The wood 's rich, yellowish brown color is frequently mottled in a 

 beautiful manner. It has been found that the color may be darkened 

 and the appearance improved by submerging the logs in water where 

 they remain several months. They sink by their own weight and they 

 never rise again until they are brought up by artificial means. The 

 logs are "laurel" when they go down, but when they come up they 

 are "black myrtle." Cabinet makers pay a good price for this 

 dark, artistic wood which through the instrumentality of baptism has 

 undergone complete conversion in appearance and name. 



Boat builders have long known the value of laurel for planking, 

 trim, decking, and pilot wheels, but it is not in general use because 

 markets do not offer it steadily. Country wagon shops frequently 

 use it in repair work. Cooks employ the leaves to flavor soup, but the 

 taste must be acquired. The strong suggestion of camphor i.s unpleas- 

 ant to the uncultivated taste. The tree belongs in the same family 

 as the camphor tree. Oil extracted from the leaves by steam dis- 

 tillation is used in medicines. It may be called "oil of eajeput," 

 but it is only a substitute for the true oil of that name from the 

 Molucca Islands. XJmbellulic acid is made from the fruit. The wood 

 and leaves contain so much oil that campers in regions where the 

 trees grow will go to considerable pains to procure this fuel for 

 their campfire. The blaze is white and cheerful, in that respect 

 resembling the flame sent up by burning laurel among the mountains 

 nf the eastern states. 



It is a tree of slow growtt. A trunk two feet through may be 200 



• Id. The Inurel is an ii. rj^ncn. Loaves hang from two to all 

 liut there nre usually • •• <!i'nd Ipovob among the 1W« one*. 



Baltimoic l-.^i^uiis Improve 



The statement of cxportN (••( .Iimuary of thi- prrscnt year, com 

 pared with the corresponding month of lOiri, mnkcH in the main 

 an encouraging exhibit. It nhown in the firitt place that the move- 

 ment of stocks has made some gains, and indicotes a continuance 

 of expansion. Whereas December furnished almost the lowest total 

 in values recorded ainco the beginning of the war, with only a 

 small margin of some $<l,000 over the same month of the previous 

 year, .Tanuary diHrloscs gains in various directions, the total being 

 of a charocter to justify rX|icctations that the rcMtrictions upon 

 the foreign movement have served to cause a general scarcity of 

 stocks, and that in the future the necessities of the governments 

 getting lumber will compel these governments to furnish room on 

 vessels of suflicicnt extent to augment the forwarding! to a very 

 considerable degree. The tendency with respect to logs is still in 

 the direction of contraction, but various items on the lumber list 

 make important gains over the same month of last year. Thus 

 gum, which ilid not figure in the exhibit of January, lOl.'i, nt all, 

 appears on Inst month's list with 121,000 feet, while oak, poplar 

 and other woods made gains, though the classification of "all other 

 boards" shows a falling off. Box shooks went forward in some 

 volume, while the shipments of staves were about double those of 

 .lanuary, 1915, in the matter of values, though the number was 

 rather smaller. P\irniture received more attention, and manufac- 

 tures of wood took a jump. Altogether, the exporters hero hove 

 reason to feci hopeful over the statement, which imlicates progress 

 .if tor a long interval of dullness. 



Northern Logging Seriously Hampered 



Present indications are that the output of timber in Wisconsin 

 and upper Michigan for the present winter will be about thirty per 

 cent loss than normal. This is due to adverse weather conditions, 

 and in direct opposition to the reports of a month or six weeks 

 ago, when it was predicted that the amount of logs cut would be 

 considerably in excess of last year. The heavy snow in upper 

 Michigan and throughout the state of Wisconsin is not only hamper- 

 ing the movement of lumber from the yards but is seriously inter- 

 fering with the work in the lumber camps. 



Statistics compiled from reports of twenty large operators in the 

 North show that there will be between twenty and thirty per cent 

 less logs cut this year than usual. The snow has been so deep aa 

 to seriously interfere with logging operations. Those conditions 

 are abating slightly now, but warm weather is liable to make its 

 appearance at any time and the men will not work in the woods 

 in water or damp snow, so it looks as though the camps will bo 

 broken up within a short time. Unless the weather is moderately 

 cold and no more snow falls, it is more than likely that the produc- 

 tion of logs will be materially curtailed. 



The unfavorable conditions are not peculiar to this state alone, 

 however. The situation in the West is very serious. It is officially 

 reported that some of the logging camps in the western states are 

 under twelve to fourteen feet of snow, and operations are entirely 

 impossible. Conditions in the .South are no more favorable. With 

 conditions unfavorable in practically all the lumber producing ter- 

 ritory, therefore, indications are that the glutted market will not 

 be a feature of the coming season. 



The walls of a dry kiln often tell the story of whether or not there 

 is lots of heat going to waste through radiation, and whether or not 

 more is required to keep the kiln in operation than should be. 



The average wood-worker may not in the usual day's work have 

 much occasion to need hand tools, but, just the same, it is worth while 

 for every machine operator to have a full equipment of hand wood- 

 working tools. 



