The MiKsiMiipi 1 ii.rt m Mi-miihiii U-rritorv Ims fiillpii BU'iidily and 

 riH-overv from llmid rciinlitioiiii halt IxH-n very Ta\<u\ in both lumber 



■ till' wiiliT it-i-lf i- .(nmTiii'd, but this 

 •■ idiintN U.i\'- M'tiiallv >t:iiti-d riinuiiiK 

 ..I tuiiU-r iii Klill .1.1 i.li'.ilv r.-tn.to.l. A liirgo 

 J - 'PI''j' "* Mc•nl|.lli^ .•iiiii.-. tr..iii «T>t«Tn Tonnessco, 



onstorn Arkannis and MiMi.oippi. Tho nn-HliT imrtion of this nri-ii, 

 if not rcndurod innccossible by hij;h wattT, hiiB iK-en covered with so 

 much surface or harkwatcr Uiat little hea.lway has been possible in 

 it loB?. ilo<vever. thr sitiiirtioii, even in this resiHsot, is 

 to show improvement un.l some mendiers of the trade 

 hold tl.ul, witli favorable weather, n ' i.t of logs may be 



brought out witliin the next tliirty U< • -. As concrete evi- 



dence of the improvement, it may be noted that the Valley Log 

 l<oadiug Company, which had all of its machines out of commission 

 for a number of weeks, has started one of thei-e and is exitecting 

 to start others shortly. This company operates on the Yazoo & Missis 

 sippi line of the Illinois Central and the Memphis-Marianna cut- 

 off of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern. The scarcity of logs 

 is still rather :icutc and production is seriously reduced on this ac- 

 count, not only at Memphis but throughout the valley section. It is 

 doubtful, in the opinion of hardwood manufacturers here, if the 

 amount of lumber being produced is in excess of thirty to forty 

 per cent of normal. There is such an active demand for all kinds of 

 hardwood lumber from domestic sources that stocks are being seriously 

 impaired. This condition — the excellent demand and the scarcity 

 of stock — is resulting in unusual efforts to bring out logs, with the 

 result that rapid progress will be made along this line just as soon as 

 conditions permit. The need for logs is very keen and every hardwood 

 manufacturer, as well as every manufacturer of products made there- 

 from, is anxious to improve the present opportunity by having as 

 much lumber on hand as possible. 



A distinct improvement is noted in conditions in Mississippi and 

 Arkansas from a lumber producing as well as from a transportation 

 standpoint. Most of the private logging roads which were put out 

 of commission by the high water have been able to resume and more 

 logs are coming out. All train service over the Yazoo & Mississippi 

 Valley line of the Elinois Central between Memphis and Helena and 

 Memphis and Xew Orleans has just been resumed after a suspension 

 of practically thirty days. Schedules are also being maintained on 

 all roads out of Memphis west and southwest. In thi? connection, 

 it may be noted that the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern has 

 just announced through its general offices at St. Louis that it will 

 spend $2,000,000 on its Arkansas lines within the next year, a large 

 portion of which will be used for the raising of the road bed so 

 that it will not be subject to such interference from high water. 

 The Yazoo & Mississippi Valley line also announces that a large 

 sum will be spent during the next few months in raising the bed 

 of its road for the same reason. During every period of high water, 

 it is necessary for service to be discontinued on this line and this 

 results in serious inconvenience to shippers as well as heavy loss to 

 stockholders. A very large percentage of the logs received at Mem- 

 phis comes over the Yazoo & Mississippi line and over the Memphis- 

 Marianna cut-off of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, with 

 the result that these announcements are of particular interest to lum- 

 bermen here who depend on these lin.'s for the transportation of their 

 raw material. 



The market for southern hardwoo.ls is very strong, with every 

 prospect of continuance. Buyers are paying very full prices for the 

 reason that holders are unwilling to sell except at prices which will 

 cover the cost of replacing their stock, j.lus a reasonable margin of 

 profit. Lumbermen appear to have learned the lesson in political 

 economy which teaches that the value of any commodity can be safely 

 measured only by the cost at whi.-h it can he replaced and there 

 is no disposition anywhere to sell lumber cheap because it was 

 manufactured last vear on a reasonably low cost basis. 



The .leninnd i>i p.ui. .;«"d from furniture manufacturers 



and from mnkerti of automobiles and other vebirleti. Manufacturers 

 of agricultural iniplementM ore aUo taking conni.lerable i|uantiticB 

 of stock and there is a good general mi»cellnneouH demand from .lu- 

 mestic sources. There in com]iaratively little doing in the export 

 division for tho reason that ocean freight rates are xtill exceedingly 

 high and that there is almost no freight room available for lumber 

 exjiorts. The export Hituatiun, too, has been further complicated by 

 tin* restrictions place.! upon imports by tho Knglish Government. 



Tho call is excellent for both red and white oak in plain and quar- 

 tered but perhaps the strongest item in oak now is plain red. The 

 supply is comparatively limit(.>d, jmrticularly in dry stock. Gum is 

 moving in as large volume »> offerings will allow l^ecausu the .li-- 

 mand is unusually good for both tho higher ami lower grades. Fur- 

 ther advances have Uiken place recently in both oak and gum ami 

 these items are on the highest basis now for months. While red 

 gum is in good call, it is possible that sap gum in the higher gra.les 

 is even in more active request and is relatively somewhat stronger. 

 The box manufacturers are doing a large business and they are absorb- 

 ing all offerings of low-grade gum as well as Cottonwood. There is 

 no special demand for the higher grades of the latter, however. In 

 fact, cottouwooil in firsts and seconds is jierhnps the most iinsatis- 

 factory item on the list. Hickory is moving in considerable volume 

 and ash and elm are also wanted, particularly in thick stock. Alto- 

 gether the situation is recognized as a particularly strong one l>e- 

 cause of the good demand and the decreased supply. Most members 

 of the trade believe that the present strained relations between de- 

 mand and supply will be seen for some time as it is estimated that 

 it will require at least sixty and perhaps ninety days, even with 

 anything like an early return to normal production, to put stock 

 lists in satisfactorv condition. 



The Uses for Hornbeam 



Although the wood of hornbeam is remarkable for its close grain, 

 even texture, and great strength, it is seldom used for structural pur- 

 poses. To a certain extent this is due largely to the fact that this 

 tree does not usually grow to a very large size. Moreover, the trees 

 which attain sufficient dimensions to be available for buil.ling ]iur- 

 poses are liable to become shaky. It is generally known th.it it makes 

 good firewood, for it burns like a candle. The wood of the European 

 species, which cannot be distinguished fronx that of our American 

 tree, is preferred to any other wood for charcoal to be used not only 

 for forges and for cooking purposes, but also for making gunpowder. 

 At tho great gunpowder factory in Berne, Switzerland, scarcely any 

 other wood is used. 



Hornbeam has of late been much more largely used in this country 

 than formerly, and it is more than likely that its use will materially 

 increase for special jiurposes. The European hornbeam has been 

 found to be peculiarly adapted for making lasts used by the shoe- 

 makers. Largo quantities of this wood are annually shipped from 

 France into England, where it is used almost exclusively for this 

 purpose. It is imported into England in the form of small blocks 

 in the shape of the rough outline of the last. Hornbeam possesses 

 the decided advantage over other woods such as beech and maple 

 for making these shoe lasts. After the withdrawal of nails, the holes 

 so made close up, which is not the case with most other woods. 



While there are no records showing that the American hornbeam has 

 been used for shoe lasts, there is a distinct demand for a good sub- 

 stitute for maple and there is no reason why it should not be em- 

 ployed in this industry in the United States. It is true that the wood 

 is not very plentiful in the forest, but surprisingly large quantities 

 of it could be readily brought together if the last and gunpowder 

 manufacturers would agree to use it. The present uses to which this 

 wood is put in this country are for rake teeth, table legs, drop 

 hammer pins, axles, wagon felloes, garden hose reels, levels, logging 

 wagon tongues, and for parts of a good many farming implements. 



