22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Radical!) eparture in Lumber Drying 



I -villi:. Kv . net. 4. -Editor Hard- 

 wood Recobd: I have just had a long 

 session with Z. Clark Thwing, general man- 

 ager of tin' Grand Rapids Veneer Company, 

 Grand Rapids, Mich., who is putting in one 

 of his new dry kilns here for the Kentucky 

 Hardwood Flooring Company, and the en- 

 closed article is a direct result of my ses- 

 sion with him. It is the most startling 

 theory I have come across in a long time, 

 and so I have told Mr. Thwing, and dis- 

 cussed the matter with him for several 

 hours. He insists that his ideas are cor- 

 rect and he is backing them up by putting 

 in these kilns under the agreement that 

 they must do the work before they are 

 paid for. The purpose of the enclosed 

 article is not to advertise them, but to 

 give some idea of what it means to the 

 trade should this idea prove correct and 

 commercially practical. — .T. Chow Taylob. 



One of the most novel theories advanced 

 ill some time is that bearing on the subject 

 of kiln drying lumber which claims that 

 the swelling or shrinking () f wood from 

 moisture is due to foreign substances in 

 the sap and that, when these are once re- 

 move,!, lumber will not swell from moist- 

 ure or shrink from its extraction by 

 heat. These foreign substances in the sap 

 must not be confuse. 1 with pitch, turpen- 

 tine, etc., for they are something more ele- 

 mental than they and enter closely into re- 

 lation chemically with the sap in the func- 

 tions that it performs in the body of the 

 tree itself. The gist of the new theory is 

 that when sap has been evaporated by the 

 ordinary drying process, it leaves behind 

 in the wood certain substances in a more 

 or less solid state and that, when moisture 

 ■ lines, these elements, having been a part 

 of the sap, .take kindly to the liquid and 

 :ibsorl ing it. swell out. The wood itself 

 does not expand; the swelling is confined 

 entirely to these substances. This foreign 

 matter varies greatly in its nature in dif- 

 ferent woods and is also found in greater 

 or less quantities, thus causing in somi 



lumber only a slight expansion and in oth- 

 ers giving very serious trouble. There 

 seems to be no relation between the quan 

 tity of sap contained in the wood and the 

 quantity of these foreign substances con- 

 tained in the sap. 



The solving of the drying question hinges 

 on the possibility of extracting these ele- 

 ments from the wood, and the man who 

 advance's the theory claims to have a pro- 

 cess by which it can be done and that, 

 after the wood is treated in this way, a 



e of dry oak. for instance, can be 



taken and thoroughly soaked in a bucket 

 of water all night without swelling per- 

 ceptibly. 



Through the costly experiments that have 

 made in drying lumber, and esp' 

 ly gum, so that when it is dry it will retain 

 its form and not swell, some progress has 

 been made, but if the present theory is cor- 

 rect a satisfactory solution of the problem 



is at hand. In every branch of the \\ I 



working industry the question of swelling 

 and shrinking enters so largely that provi- 

 sion must constantly be made for it. In 

 the manufacture of tight barrel stave-, of 

 oak, for example, one of the greatest prob- 

 lems is that of trying to keep a barrel 

 from drying out and falling to pieces, or 

 at least springing leaks as the wood warps. 

 That is the reason why the barrel has to 

 have a bilge so that steel hoops can be 

 tightened from time to time as the wood 

 shrinks. It is the reason why tanks are 

 made larger at the bottom, it is the- reason 

 why flooring is made in such narrow width-. 



If the correctness of this theory can lie 

 demonstrated and the foreign substances 

 can l>e extracted without materially iu- 



-ing the present cost of drying, it will 



relieve the lumber business of its most 

 troublesome element. 



Netos Miscellany. 



Confusion of Classifications. 



In a circular issued by C. I. Millard, chairman 

 of the transportation committee of the National 

 Lumber Manufacturers' Association, to the mem- 

 bers of the affiliated associations he calls at- 

 tention to the fact that some confusion exists 

 owing to the different forms of classification 

 adopted by the various traffic associations, which 

 are now in effect, governing the application of 

 lumber rates to other articles, and that the 

 classifications now in effect, covering the terri- 

 tory west of the Illinois-Indiana state line, per- 

 mit the application of lumber rates on flooring, 

 ceiling, casing, base, siding and carpenters' 

 moulding, but shipments to points in the Cen- 

 tral Traffic Association and trunk line terri- 

 tories, which cover all stations lying east of the 

 Illinois Indiana slate line, north of the Ohio 

 river, including the articles named cannot be 

 carried at lumber rates. 



He states that it is the opinion of the com- 

 mittee, which is shared by many eminent traffic 

 men. that since the originating lite- publish 

 rates on lumber, rough and dressed, to the 



stations named, that such authorization in their 

 tariffs overrides the restrictions of the classifi- 

 cation associations, and that as flooring, ceiling, 

 siding, casing and base are universally recog- 

 nized as dressed lumber, these articles are 

 clearly entitled to lumber rates. 



It is stated that the provisions of the Hep- 

 burn act include as violation of the law any 

 1 1 billing of mixed articles and the commit- 

 1.. feel that it is their duty to advise all mem- 

 i" rs if this ruling, and suggest that until the 

 movement, which is now on foot to secure re- 

 lief from this unreasonable rate on the articles 

 named is made, the shipping tickets ought to 

 show t lie contents of the car. 



It is believed that those shipments originating 

 on lines which carry these articles at lumber 

 tate up to the point of delivery to their connec- 

 tions at the Central Traffic Association terri- 

 torial boundaries, that their portion of the 

 through rate can only be assessed at lumber 

 rates, lint if the inspectors of these associations 

 find articles other than those taking lumber 

 rates in the car, they will set up the charges 



on the entire carload to the fourth, fifth or 

 sixth class rate, which will result in an over- 

 eharge on the entire carload of from 3 to 5 

 cents per hundredweight. 



There will be a meeting with a selected num- 

 ber of the regular lumber committee of the 

 Central Traffic Association in the near future, 

 at which conference it is hoped that a favorable 

 report will be made to the general meeting to 

 be held at Chicago on November 14 and 15. 



Clever Advertising. 

 Two neatly printed posters containing some 

 terse little epigrams were received by the Hard- 

 wood Record a few days ago. They are being 

 put out by that enterprising wholesale concern, 

 the Moore Company of the Fullerton building. 

 St. Louis, to its many patrons. Under the 

 heading "Sparks of Inspiration for Salesmen" 

 the following constitutes one sheet : 



Some people get results if kindly encour- 

 aged — but give me the man who can do 

 things in spite of hell. 



Many a man looking for sympathy really 

 needs !wo swift kicks properly placed. 



It is not so much difference in oppor- 

 tunity as the difference in earnestness, ap- 

 plication, self-denial, concentration of pur- 

 pose. 



The successful salesman does not ask, 

 "What kind of competition is there in this 

 territory." He satisfies himself that there 

 is, or can be created, a demand for the 

 product he sells, and then goes after busi- 

 ness. All he wants is possibilities. 



Tour time is your capital. The success- 

 ful salesman hoards time as the miser 

 hoards gold. The spendthrift of time is 

 a sure candidate for failure. 



Tlie secret of salesmanship is — work to 

 the utmost of your capacity, without 

 thought of failure, and with the one thing 

 iu view — results — for eight consecutive 

 hours a day. 



The only way a salesman can hope to 

 catch a glimpse of opportunity is to get 

 outside the door and do a lot of active 

 -lurching for her up and down the street. 



Sell yourself what you sell to others. 

 Think over its value ; realize it ; burn it 

 into your mind. Sweep out of your mind 

 like so many cobwebs any apologetic feel- 

 ing regarding it. You are not trying to 

 persuade the business man to waste money. 

 Sou are selling him something he needs. 

 You are helping him to increase his profits. 

 Vim are doing him as great a favor as he 

 does you. 



Keep a-going and don't worry. 

 The other sheet is header?" "About Life and 

 Work," and is as follows : 



Don't worry. 



Keep at it. It isn't what you can do in 

 a minute, but what you can do in a day — 

 :i week — a month — a year — that counts. 



Do not waste your time. 



The man who keeps at it eight hours a 

 day has a right to twice the measure of 

 success due the man who wastes four of his 

 eight. Just try. for one week, taking count 

 of the time you waste, and figure out your 

 handicap. 



All at it. always at it. brings success. 



The waste of time is not always due to 

 lack of brain, power or energy, or ambition. 

 It is just as often due to the lack of sys- 

 tem. 



System enables you to save the minutes 

 and to keep from doing the needless things. 



Trofit lies in continuous effort. 



A big success is a series of small suc- 

 cesses welded together. The Japs did not 

 get into Port Arthur by a single charge. 

 You can't break a block of stone with a 

 single blow, but you can break it with a 

 hundred if you put them all in the same 

 place. 



Idleness is death 



And a search for pleasure is sure to 

 wreck life in shallows and miseries. Safety 

 and sanity lie in systematic, useful effort. 



Keep a-going. 



