42 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



N SOUTHE.RN 



Dermolt Land and Lumber Company 

 DERMOTT, ARK. 



Bad ESect on Wood Alcohol Market 

 The New York College of Forestry at Syracuse announces, as a result of 

 receut Investigations of the wood distillation industry, that the removal 

 of the tariff on grain alcohol has hurt the market for wood alcohol to such 

 an extent that it is now hardly profitable to produce it. The chief products 

 of the destructive distillation of wood are charcoal, wood alcohol and 

 acetate of lime. Charcoal is used for gunpowder, for fuel In the manufac- 

 ture of iron, and for various poultry and animal foods. Acetate of lime 

 is used almost wholly in the dye industries. Wood alcohol is used largely 

 as a solvent and tor various chemical purposes. Beech, birch and maple 

 are the best woods for the production of wood distillation products. Heart- 

 wood is better than sapwood because it does not contain so large a per- 

 centage of moisture. Elm. chestnut and cherry are not desirable woods 

 for the wood distillation industry because they contain too much tannin, 

 gums, etc. 



Increased Lumber Sales in China 

 A recent consular report says lliat a large increase of lumber shipments 

 to Hankow, China, has taken place, owinj: to the building operations neces- 

 sitated by the burning of the native city during the revolution of 1911 

 and to the construction of new railways. Ijirge quantities of timber for 

 crosstles. mostly Japanese, arrived at Hankow during the summer of 191.3. 

 The hardwood came mostly from Japan and Singapore; practically all the 

 crosstles are Japanese oak. Of the soft woods Imported, those from the 

 United States amounted to 14,0.")4,744 superficial feet, or about two-thirds 

 of the total import. American lumber Imports consisted of Oregon pine, 

 western red cedar, and California redwucxl. 



Eecognizing the Value of Wood 

 The LondoQ Timber Tradis Journal insists on putting In a good word 

 for wood as material for shipbuilding, and cites a particular Instance in 

 the present war. It says that when the cruiser Hermes was torpedoed, the 

 wooden sheath kept her alloat for ab.nit two hours, and thus gave lime for 

 the saving of many lives. It Is understood that sIm' was struck by three 

 torpedoes. If this was so, the beneUt of the wooden sheath Is the more 

 remarkable, and suggests that the absence of this in more recent warships 

 may have something to do with such heavy loss of life in both navies. 

 Wood has, on many occasions, temporarily lost ttrf birthright, but scarcely 

 ever permanently. Is this, then, likely to be a return in part to the 

 •'wooden" walls which have proved their worth in days gone by? If not 

 altogether, then in conjunction with armor plate. 



Army Tent Pegs 

 The demand for army tent pegs has been enormously increased In Europe 

 by the calling (,ut of some 20.000,000 soldiers, many of whom are housed 

 in tents. These pegs are made of ash, and are octagonal In section, being 

 about two inches in diameter and eighteen Inches long. A stout wrought- 

 iron band is run around the head to save splitting, and a wedge-shaped 

 point of simihir metal is riveted on at the business end — a circular hole is 

 drilled through the side of the peg, and the article is completed. It is not 

 reported that orders for any of these pegs have come to .Vmerica, but there 

 is no reason why some of the excellent and abundant ash on this side of 

 the sea might not find h niiirktt on the tented fl'-lds of Euroii.'. 



American Hardwoods in England 

 The London trade paper Timber, speaking of American hardwoods, says 

 that the furniture trade l)eing practically .shut down for the present, busi- 

 ness in such a wood as, for example, rod gum, is practically dead. Some 

 business is being done in oak hoards of inferior grade, and for ash and elm 

 there is an intermittent demand, which now and then has reached good 

 proportions. Stocks of all kinds of American hardwoods in first hands are 

 not at all abnormally heavy, and are not likely to be materially arldcd to 

 while so many mills are closed down in the rnite<l Stati"-. 



Black Walnut for Musical Instruments 

 It is reported from some of the centers of musical instrument manu- 

 facture that the indications of black walnut revival are being watched 

 with Interest. Prospects point to the use of that wood, which is generally 



acknowledged to be the finest American hardwood, becoming as universal 

 as it was fifteen years ago. Since then it has dropped into the background 

 in this country, though large quantities of it have regularly been exported 

 abroad, the manufacturers of Great Britain and Germany having a high 

 regard for that wood. 



The reason for the interest of members of the music trades Is that 

 pianos and talking-machines made with walnut cases have long .been popu- 

 lar, and in fact have been the chief sources of consumption for American 

 walnut until the recent change in conditions in the furniture trade. The 

 more general use of the wood in the furniture business will make It 

 easier to sell walnut cases, as most purchasers buy pianos and talking- 

 machines which harmonize with the rest of their furniture. 



Various Uses for Sawdust 

 In Austria sawdust is mixed with tar to make fuel briquettes, of which 

 ..ne factory alone produces 7,000,000 a year. In Germany the sawdust 

 is mixed with rye flour and made into a kind of bread, which is eaten by 

 human beings as well as horses. One German bakery turns out 20,000 

 such loaves per day. In l-'rance sawdust is used for making dyes; in 

 l-^ngland it is placed in spittoons and in America It Is shoveled under 

 boilers to make steam. 



Value of a Name 

 As a curious example of trouble which sometimes follows when Amer- 

 ican exporters do not carefully follow shipping instructions, it is said 

 that on a shipment of ox yokes to Honduras the consigner was requested 

 to declare them as agricultural implements, which are admitted to that 

 country free of duty. These instructions were overlooked, and the ship- 

 per declared them as ox collars. There being no classification of that 

 description they were classified and assessed as collars, taking a rate of 

 twenty-one cents a pound. A correction was In time secured, but at 

 much trouble. 



Turkish Boxwood 



Numerous trees known as boxwood grow in various parts of the world, 

 but there Is only one Turkish boxwood, and It has become so scarce that It 

 costs ten times as much as mahogany. It has been planted all over south- 

 ern and western Europe, but the wood grown there is lighter, and Is 

 Inferior to the best that comes from the tree's native hills in Turkey and 

 I'ersla. It grows In the same region that produces Circassian walnut, in 

 the country south of the Caspian :u)<] Black seas. The tree seldom exceeds 

 a height of twenty-five feet and a diameter of nine inches. Few logs are 

 more than six feet long ; and the majorily that reach market are three or 

 four feet long, and less than five inches in diameter at the big end. They 

 are nothing more than large clid)s, in size and shape. In fact, it Is 

 probable that the club which Hercules is armed with In books on 

 mythology was fashioned after a boxwood billet of common form. The 

 ancients were well acquainted with boxwood and used it for carvings. 



The wood Is yellow. High-grade (not cheap) carpenter rulers are made 

 of it, and the color never fades. No sapwood Is used, for the very good 

 reason that there Is none. It Is a peculiar wood in that respect. Many 

 kinds of trees have little or no beartwood, but few link sapwood. The 

 boxwood may have u layer of sap of the thickness of writing paper, 



I'lanted trees in Europe and .\merica grow with fair rapidity, and the 

 annual rings are fairly distinct: but on Its native hills Its growth Is very 

 slow and the yearly rings scarcely visible. The wood varies greatly In 

 weight ; some of It is little heavier than hard maple, other sinks at once 

 If dropped Into water. It is very hard, but does not measure up with 

 lignum-vltae or ebony. It Is abo!it as hard as lilac. 



The chief use of Itoxwood at present is by wood engravers who make cuts 

 for the printing press. The old style "wood cut" was made with boxwood. 

 Less of that class of Illustrating Is used now than formerly, because half- 

 tones and zinc etchings can be n.ade much more cheaply. Blocks for the 

 engraver, if more than threir or lour inches equare, must be made t".v 

 splicing small blocks together. • 



Slunufacturers of roller skates are large buyers of Turkish boxwood. 

 Shuttle makers used to buy it, but it costs too much now. It Is so scarce 

 that trees are dug out ail»I the roots made use of. 



Boxwood from the West Indies is replacing the Turkish article, except 

 where the best is demanded. The two woods look much alike, but the 

 West Indies trees are larger, and the wood is of less pleasing color. 



reed Water Dlificulties 



"The problem of sidrablc ficd water, although less serious In New 

 England than in other parts of the country, is still a troul>le maker in 

 many plants. The formation of scale and the softening of water are due 

 to the simplest of chemical reactions, and by an analysis of the water a 

 competent chemist can readily predict in advance the proper amounts of 

 suitable chemicals necessary to present scale or corrosion, and not onl.v 

 save the company the expense of frequent boring and replacing of tubes 

 hut obviate the necessity of attempting to force heat through the same 

 substance with which mauy of your steam lines are Insulated. The 

 services of a chemist," said Carl F. Woods, secretary of the firm of Arthur 

 1>. lattle. Inc., Boston. whi'U speaking before a group of street railway 

 operators, "would prevent the purchase of a special compound at $1,000 

 a year which consisted of ninety seven per cent water and three per cent 

 molasses, or obvi.ale the necessity of purchasing a mixture of soda ash, 

 (annin and water under a brand name at eight cents a pound when the 

 principal ingredient can be obtainiMl for one cent a pound." 



