HARDWOOD RECORD 



. t,,|(.r iiii|K)iiitih|p tnkiiii; n.l 

 ,ninj;i- 111 til.' iii'M i.il.r.l 1\ ili" s.nitli iiikI (Viitrol Aiiii'rifiin 

 <<iiiitri<>A. 



riip iDHtnurc reforrt'.l to Iiiih Io .Io with n iiTtiiin vnrirty of 

 liiinlwooil lumlMT. Tlip roiiciTH lian omlonvorcil in tin* |mitl to 

 iiiurkot (HTnrtoro.1 ouk but Im.- lu'i-ii inforiiu«l thnt the iiilli-xililo 

 ou!<toni of South Aitiprirnn luiviim rontpni in to buy in thin utoi'k 

 oiilv I<4 by I'Jinch bonnls. Tho iiiipowiibility of iloiiiu bu(iiiu'»» 

 on thin bniim in entirely npimr.-nt. Tho ronipnny in quontion urijfil 

 Ihnt innKniurh n* the ninterial \\n» to be u»oil for riiipinn into 



4 nni) 6'inoh wiilthn, it roubl be more erouoniirnlly nml loKii'iiHy 

 urnishe.l .lire.tly in thoi<e wi.lths. The answer wii». however, that 

 iiiiiiniuph no the luntoni wns already entnblishe.l it wouM be iin- 

 |.0!««iblc to flnil a market for the narrow iiieien. 



Such a conilitiun not only iieenis inxurniountnble, but is insur 

 niountable if the effort to change this custom is attempteil merely 

 by corresponilence. The only possible way of overcominn the dif- 

 ficulty is by personal solicitation, by actually Retting on the grounil 

 in.i threshing the thing out. It is inconceivable that there can 

 !■■ human beings so tlevoid of common sense anil reasoning power 

 i~ to make it impossible to convince them of the folly of such 

 specifications. 



The question naturally arises as to whether it would be a profit- 

 able proposition to make the very considerable investment neces- 

 :-nry in sending the right kind of a man to do this missionary 

 work. Would it not be entirely fea.siblc for a group of hanlwood 

 exporters manufacturing the same general grade of stock to em- 

 ploy a highly efficient man who is familiar with the customs and 

 people in the desirable South American markets and who also 

 knows something about lumber to represent them as a unit in over- 

 roming obstacles of this character so that the market might be 

 opened for the personal efforts of the various corapanie3 involved 

 along the regular lines? Such an arrangement would not only en- 

 able tho.se concerns taking it up to save very materially on the 

 cost of foreign representation but would enable them all to be 

 more intelligently represented as they could, by pooling their in- 

 terests, secure the services of a much more eflicient man. Further- 

 more, by this method the representations would be uniform whereas 

 if each sent hi.s per.sonal representative a variety of arguments 

 would be used with the entire probability that considerable con- 

 fusion would result. There would also be offered the element of 

 keen competition which would make it even more difficult to secure 

 actual sales. In this way the representative of the combined in- 

 terests would merely prepare the way for the actual sales work 

 of the individual concerns. 



That the clormant market in South and Central America is worth 

 the effort no one will disfiute. That the buyers in those markets 

 are human being.i and, as such, amenable to reason is an equally 

 apparent fact. Therefore the problem simmers down to a ques- 

 tion of methods. Inasmuch as the item of cost must be con- 

 sidered, the above suggestion would certainly be favorable from 

 this standpoint. It seems to Hardwood Record that it has 

 other favorable features which should at least recommend it to 

 the consideration of those companies interested in finding an outlet 

 for the surpluses created by the elimination of their establisheil 

 foreign trade. 



Oil for Wood Preservation 



ONK OF THK FIHST I'lNCllKS TO Hi; FELT in this country 

 on account of troubles abroail will be in the timber treating 

 plants. Two-thirds of the creosote used in the United States in 191.S 

 came from countries now engaged in war. Most of it was manufac- 

 tured in Germany as a by-product of coal fives; or, the dyes were a 

 by-product of the creosote oil. Of the total 108,373,.359 gallons of 

 creosote used last year in this country, only 41,700,167 gallons were 

 of domestic manufacture. 



This material has now attained a place of such importance that 

 a cutting down of the stipply to one-half or less will seriously handi- 

 cap several lines of business. The principal uses for creosote timbers 



are found in railroad Um, mine timbarn, telegriipli polm, ]Mivin|i 

 blockH ajid whnrf and bridge piling. 



The elTift will Im- felt in ni»»t pnrtit of the country, lii<rnu»e there 

 are from ninety to one hundred tindier treating phintii. Thinie cov 

 ert><l by HtntisticH of ItM.I were distributed nn followx: I'aciflc roimt 

 i:i, connuming 'i,N4'l,0S:< gnlloiin of ini|H>rted rriH>Hot<s Mmthern ronJ>t 

 region '24, UHing :i:i,.'i(MI,49.'l giillons from abroad; nortliern c<iuHt region 

 IS, with a demand for 17.9i;0,hh4 from lieyond the wn; inU-rior w<iit 

 em region H, with a conitumption of l,:i09,X.'i4 gnllimH of the foreign 

 product, ami .'tO in the interior eastern region, and the um' of 9,031,9i)H 

 gallons of Kuropenn creonote. 



The tiinlM'r treating plants of thi» country are confronted by n 

 s4-riouH condition. The only way to supply what has l)een coming from 

 Kuro|)e is to make it. All of thi- materials are at hand, and there 

 are factories which last year produced 41.700,107 gallons. Doubt- 

 less these factories can make much more under the stimulus of in- 

 creased demanil ; but it is too much to ex|>ect them to jump at once 

 to a point of efficiency where they can supply the whole demnml. 



Manufacturers will naturally Im- somewhat cautious in establishing 

 new plants for making creosote, for a business foun<le<l on unusual 

 conditions abroad might not lie |>ermanent, and a factory for making 

 creosote is costly. It may Ite expected, however, that this branch of 

 industry will be greatly stimulated by the new ilemands. Since the 

 opportunity to increase this branch of manufacturing has l>e«'n forced 

 upon the peoj)le of the United States, it should lie accepted without 

 reserve, and every inch gaineil should Ik? held permanently. If it 

 comes to a show-down, the people of the United States can make their 

 own creosote and keep at home the millimis of (Inllurs yearly whidi 

 have been paiil for the foreign article. 



Last Year's Lumber Output 



TIIK GOVKRNMKNT has completed the compilation of figures 

 showing the production of lumber last year in the United 

 States, and the results are given in detail in this number of 

 Hardwood Record. There are no surprises. No unexpected decline 

 and no unlocked for increase in out]iut are shown by the figures. 

 There were changes in many ways, in comparing the returns of 

 last year with those of 1912, but none of the changes were im 

 portant. The total cut was a little below that of 1912, but no one 

 expected anything else. Yellow pine gained a little, Douglas fir 

 showed a considerable increase, western pine a<lvanced slightly, 

 cyjiress 100,000,000 feet, and red gum nearly as much. Oak fell 

 off 90,000,000, white pine 430,000,000, and hemlock more than oak. 

 There was a sharp decline in the cut of spruce and maple. Other 

 woods varied a little one way or the other. 



Among the states the greatest gain is shown by Washington, 

 whose cut was approximately (i(iO,000,000 feet larger than that of 

 1912. Oregon's increa.se was substantial, but California decrea.sed 

 slightly. On the whole, the Pacific coast cut of. lumber shows more 

 gain than that of any other (lart of the country, but is nearly 

 matched by gains in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. 



North Carolina held fourth place among the states in 1912, but 

 fell to sixth last year. Arkansas was seventh in 1912, and though 

 its cut increaseil in 1913, it still ranks seventh. The exclusion 

 of the cut of small mills from the statistics shows to the disad- 

 vantage of such states as Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 

 and many others where many small mills are at work. The actual 

 totals in such states are considerably above what the published 

 figures show; but in states where most of the mills arc large, tho 

 published totals are little below the actual. The number of 

 sawmills whose cut is included wa.s more than nine thousand 

 greater in 1912 than last year. 



The small mills are omitted from the statistics for the reason 

 that they would not greatly change the total, while to collect 

 figures from them would greatly increase the labor and prolong 

 the time of completing the report. The mills of small size are 

 scattered throughout the whole country, but are most numerous in 

 the old settled states where the chief forests were long jgo culled 

 and partly cut out. 



