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"Poplar All Gone" 



One often wonders how public misinipressions on the subject ol' 

 lumber become current. Very frequently it is because it is to the 

 interest of somebody or other to spread the tidings, regardless of 

 their truth. An instance of this came to notice recently. 



A home was to be equipped with fly-screens. It was a rather 

 large house, and the order amounted to something. There was con- 

 siderable competition for the business among the various local screen 

 concerns. One, which happened to be tlie largest and best known 

 of all, quoted on cypress frames, while the others specified poplar. 



The housewife was told by the glib salesman who represented the 

 big concern that the only reason his house was using cypress was 

 because the poplar was all gone! She repeated this to her husband, 

 who happened to be sufficiently familiar with the lumber business 

 to know that there is quite a little jag of pojilar scattered about the 

 country yet, and who consequently laughed when he heard what the 

 salesman had said. 



"Any concern which misrepresents in that way," he suggested, "is 

 likely to be unreliable in other respects. I think we had better do 

 business with somebody else. ' ' 



So the order went to the other screen man, not because he speci- 

 fied poplar, but because the competing house lied about its reason 

 for using another wood. Now, as a matter of fact, cypress may be 

 just as good, or even better than poplar for this particular work; but 

 instead of telling the consumer the wherefores and the whys, the 

 salesman followed the line of least resistance: "The poplar's all 

 gone ! ' ' 



If there are many other screen manufacturers using a similar plan, 

 don't be surprised to see this statement given credence in many 

 quarters in the near future. 



Why Dimension Is Unpopular 



Those who believe that the theory of dimension stock in the hard- 

 wood lumber business is correct, and who wonder why it is not mak- 

 ing greater headway, may find a solution of the problem in the char- 

 acter of material that is often furnished under the guise of 

 dimension. 



"Give a dog a bad name," and it is the same way in the lumber 

 business. One trial that happens to be unsatisfactory because of 

 the inability of the dimension man to produce good material will 

 spoil the consumer for a long time to come. 



"I used to think that dimension stock was a good thing," said a 

 prominent buyer not long ago. "I even went so far as to place 

 orders for it. But I'm cured; never again. The material came in here 

 miscut, twisted and warped out of shape and in such bad condition 

 generally that it had to be remanufactured, and much of it could not 

 be used at all. The next time anybody suggests buying dimension 

 stock to me, I am going to change the subject quickly before the 

 impulse to rise and smite overcomes me." 



Of course, the argument on the other hand is frequently heard 

 that the buyer of dimension isn't willing to pay the price, and that 

 if he gets stung in the quality of the material he gets, he oughtn't 

 to kick; he should have expected it. However, that doesn't help 

 the general proposition any, and the fact remains that if headway 

 is to be made for the idea of using lumber cut to size, it must be 

 properly manufactured so that it will really serve the purpose for 

 which it was intended. 



Keep Your Eyes Peeled 



"Sermons in stones, books in the running brooks," can be trans- 

 lated to mean that the lumberman or veneer manufacturer or any 

 other business man who keeps his eyes open can find suggestions all 

 around him that he can use in his work. 



The hardwood man who goes into a building and sees a new and 

 unfamiliar finish ought to investigate. He may find that a wood which 

 he has not been able to sell for interior trim is actually being con- 

 sumed, and that he ought to get busy. Or if he has occasion to look 

 into a furniture store window, he ought to consider the furniture with 

 reference to the material as well as to the finished product. 



A well-known manufacturer of built-up material said not long ago 

 that he gets a lot of good suggestions by wandering through the 

 furniture stocks in the retail stores, and noting how the work has 

 been handled. He has made it a point to cultivate the acquaintance 

 of the furniture merchants and their clerks, and he is given the right 

 of way whenever he wants to investigate. 



It may seem hardly worth while, to some people, to go to the 

 trouble of looking into hardwood products long after they have ceased 

 to be lumber or veneers or panels, but the wise business man wants 

 to know what his goods look like when they reach the consumer. 



The Purchase of Logs 



In some parts of the country it lias become the custom to pay 

 two-thirds of the jirice of good logs for common. Yet experience 

 has demonstrated that a common log seldom cuts out to as good 

 advantage as this proportion would indicate. It is the good logs 

 that the sawmill man can make money on. The poorer grade is often 

 a losing venture. 



' ' My plan has always been, ' ' said a successful log buyer recently, 

 "to pay only half of the top price for common logs. I know that 

 our mill can't saw up the common and make as much money, even 

 at half price, as it does on good, and consequently I keep that propor- 

 tion in mind. Sometimes it is necessary to offer a little more for 

 the good in order to overcome this disadvantage, but the thing can 

 usually be done if an effort is made in that direction. If the log 

 owner refuses to take a price of that kind, I can often get the logs 

 by naming a round price for the lot. Then it is a question of my 

 judgment against his, of course, but experience is in my favor." 



Speaking of log buying, the use of the rules proposed by the 

 Southern Logging Association ought to help matters considerably, and 

 reduce the troubles which are inherent in this end of the work. While 

 it has been suggested that the farmer or other owner of timber will 

 not consider himself bound by these rules, he is sure to be impressed 

 by the fact that the rules are down in black and white, and the moral 

 effect will be good. At any rate, the universal application of the 

 rules will make it incumbent upon the man who has logs to sell to 

 accept them. 



Hauling Costs Rising 



Sawmill men in the central part of the country report that the cost 

 of hauling is getting to be almost prohibitive. The farmers seem 

 to think that they have been doing the work too cheaply, and are put- 

 ting up their prices right along. In a number of instances the 

 mills have found it to their advantage to put their own teams in the 

 field and do the work themselves, rather than submit to the exorbitant 

 demands of the farmers. 



In sections where the logs are brought in scattered lots, and must 

 be hauled to the railroad, the latter item is an important one, and the 

 log buyer should know something about these conditions when he 

 makes his prices. A quotation which sounds good may be so much 

 higher by the time the logs are laid down at the mill that a good 

 buy may have been turned into one of doubtful value. The cost of 

 hauling is naturally aflfected by the increased cost of feed and labor, 

 but the general impression prevails that the farmer is merely asking 

 more because he thinks he can get it. Hence driving a bargain for 

 hauling is getting to be almost as important as buying the logs 

 themselves. 



A great deal of the oak used on the Pacific coast comes from the 

 eastern part of Asia. 



Forest fires in British Columbia covered more than 300,000 acres 

 during the past year. 



A mountain lion recently killed in the Grand Canyon game pre- 

 serve which adjoins the Tusayan national forest, measured ten feet 

 from nose to tail. Mountain lions and other beasts of prey, such 

 as wolves, coyotes, and wild cats, are killed by forest oflScers and 

 game wardens because they are a menace to stock and to tame 

 animals. 



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