16 



MAKDWOOD RECORD 



The Cover Picture 



FEW PERSONS WILL EVER again see a forest of wild cherry 

 timber. Such have long been scarce, and are destined to become 

 scarcer still. A single tree of this species, if of log size and good 

 form, is no longer common. A member of the Pennsylvania For- 

 estry Commission stated two years ago that he had found it nec- 

 essary to travel over much of that state before he was able to find 

 a satisfactory cherry tree to photograph. Yet central Pennsylvania 

 western New York and northern West Virginia constituted the region 

 of wild cherry's highest development in the primeval forests of this 

 country. Depletion has progressed a long way when an extensive 

 search is required before one of these trees can be found of a 

 character satisfactory for a photograph, right in the center of 

 cherry's natural range. 



The picture which illustrates the front cover of this number of 

 Hardwood Record is unusual. It is a stand of cherry timber which 

 it would not be inappropriate to call a forest. It is about as nearly 

 a cherry forest as anyone ever saw, even in the palmy days of lum- 

 bering this wood, some seventy-five years ago, when the center of 

 the business was in western New York and northern Pennsylvania. 



Pure forests of cherry of large extent were never known. The 

 tree does not grow in that way. Stands of one or two acres were not 

 unusual ; but the habit of this tree causes it to grow dispersed 

 among forests of other kinds of timber. The trunk's form is char- 

 acteristic. It is seldom quite straight, but consists of long, slight 

 curves or undulations. In a forest-grown tree, the branches are 

 clustered at the top, and there are few of them, and the foliage 

 is thin. Such a tree grows slowly, because the summer's leaves are 

 not sufficient in quantity to furnish material for much growth. On 

 the other hand, the open-grown wild cherry is limby almost to the 

 ground, and it grows almost as rapidly as red oak. 



It is the slow-growing forest trunk that produces the valuable 

 cherry lumber of commerce. The annual rings are so vague as to 

 be scarcely visible in a polished piece of wood; but a quickly-grow- 

 ing trunk has rings nearly as conspicuous as those of chestnut, and 

 the wood lacks the evenness and luster so characteristic of cherry. 



The lesson taught by this is that planted wild cherry will probably 

 never amount to much in a commercial way, because if the trees 

 are far apart, the rapidly grown wood will not be handsome; and if 

 close together, so as to produce slow growth, the period of waiting 

 for the timber to come into market will be so long that taxes and 

 interest will eat the profit out of the investment. 



The Story Told by Figures 



OFFICIAL FIGURES compiled by the government are beginning 

 to tell the story of the war's eflfect on the export of American 

 lumber. Heretofore there has been considerable guessing as to what 

 would happen, and some of the guesses have been found nearly 

 correct. The export figures for September are now available, and 

 may be compared with data for the corresponding month last year. 

 It may be said, as a summary of the whole situation, that American 

 exports of forest products have declined nearly everywhere, and have 

 gained scarcely anywhere. Exports to some countries which are far 

 removed from the scenes of hostilities have fallen off to a remarkable 

 degree; but the largest losses have occurred in the trade of the 

 countries actually at war, or in proximity to the troubled areas. 



Italy furnishes an example of the war's blighting influence on 

 trade, though Italy is at peace. In September, 1913, American ex- 

 porters sold 5,878,000 feet of hewed and sawed timber in that coun- 

 try. During September of this year not one foot was sold there. 

 Holland supplies another example. September sales last year 

 amounted to 6,548,000 feet of timber, and not one foot went there 

 during the same month this year. It is less surprising that the sales of 

 this commodity in France and Germany fell from several million 

 feet last year to nothing in the past September. 



The only country in all Europe which bought hewed or sawed tim- 

 ber last September was the United Kingdom, that is, England, Scot- 

 land and Ireland. Sales there actually increased from 15,554,000 

 feet for September, 1913, to 16,263,000 for last September. In- 



cluding all countries of the world, American sales of timber fell from 

 41,165,000 feet in September, 1913, to 21,214,000 feet for the same 

 month this year, and from a value of $824,575 to $347,504. 



The general showing the world over for lumber is about the same 

 as for timber. The total fell from 213,654,000 feet for the desig- 

 nated month last year to 103,329,000 feet this year, a decline exceed- 

 ing one-half. The only portion of the whole world which bought 

 more of our lumber in September this year than last was British 

 Oceania — that is, chiefly, Australia and New Zealand. It thus ap- 

 pears that Great Britain and its possessions were the only portions 

 of the entire world that were able to increase their purchases of our 

 lumber and timber in the face of the war. This is an instructive 

 commentary on what it means to have control of the sea. 



Sales of our furniture abroad have fallen to less than half, when 

 the September of this year and last are compared, that is, from $625,- 

 323 to $252,512. Cuba is the only country that increased its pur- 

 chases of our furniture. 



If there is any comfort in the situation for our exporters of forest 

 products it lies in the fact that the markets abroad are becoming 

 empty and when foreigners again begin buying, they will purchase 

 on a large scale to meet the demands of their customers. There is 

 prospect that this will happen before long. Banking facilities between 

 the United States and many foreign countries are beiog improved 

 for the special purpose of encouraging trade, and when trade again 

 sets our way it will come in greater volume and under better condi- 

 tions than ever before. 



Active Plans for Combating Substitutes 



TaAT CONCERTED ACTION has been necessary and is increas- 

 ingly necessary in order that the firms and individuals engaged 

 in the manufacture of lumber and its finished products may maintain 

 a fair share of their legitimate markets in face of the growing 

 propaganda of wood substitute advocates has been realized for a long 

 time. The realization, however, has been individual and not collective 

 in its character. No matter what the individual ideas of lumber 

 manufacturers might be there could be no possibility of accomplish- 

 ing anything to offset the ill effects of substitute activities without 

 a concerted and aggressive movement binding the lumbermen as one 

 unit in opposition to unfair methods which have been used in many 

 instances in fostering the interests of substitute manufacturers. 



The realization has recently been effected that it will be necessary 

 to enlist the active co-operation of distributors of forest products 

 in a pro-lumber movement in order to get in immediate touch with 

 the ultimate buyer. 



Such a policy has heretofore been diflicult of consummation, as 

 the distributors have for the most part not felt the decreased demand 

 developing from substitutes in lumber, or at least they have not 

 as a class realized that slackness in their business is due in part at 

 least to this changed demand. 



Seemingly they have at last realised the situation they are facing 

 in common with the manufacturers and now seem entirely willing 

 to co-operate with producers, especially to prevent the passage of 

 anti-wood ordinances where these ordinances seem direct results of 

 propagandist work of competitive interests. 



Plans, as a consequence, are being worked out whereby producers 

 and distributors will co-operate with associations now in the field 

 for the purpose of discussing the whole subject. 



The National Lumber Manufacturers' Association is behind the 

 movement and will call a general conference of representatives of 

 all branches of the trade to be held in Chicago during January, 

 1915. In order to prepare an intelligent program and to make the 

 necessary arrangements, the National association has issued an invita- 

 tion to the officers of all of the associations of lumbermen, including 

 the local associations of lumbermen in various cities, to attend a 

 preliminary meeting to be held at the LaSalle hotel, Chicago, on 

 December 17. 



Thus the question is brought squarely up to individuals repre- 

 sentative of lumber organizations and it now devolves upon them to 

 show that they are in earnest and that they fully realize the absolute 

 necessity for checking the inroad of substitutes not only by attending 



