HARDWOOD RECORD 



titude. It can afford to diseiiminate between industries and manu- to meet him Jialf way if he wants his, the lumberman's, business; 



facturors who use wood and encourage its production in so doing, and that no one can take his money with one hand and bat him in 



and thoso who use a substitute and discourage the production of the jaw with the other. 



wood. Intelligent use of the purchasing ability of the trade in every Discrimination isn't nice; but it's a mighty powerful weapon 



direction would show that the lumberman expects the other fellow now and then. q q 



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The Most Costly Woods 



It has been claimed that the small piece of spruce used in the 

 manufacture of a high-cUi.ss violin is the most costly wood in the 

 world. The test is not fair. It is the work bestowed on the wood, 

 and the name of some famous makes associated with it, that give 

 the spruce in a violin its value. The test is the wood bought in the 

 rough, before any value has been added by manufacturing. Measured 

 in tliat way, spruce, even the finest that the market affords, doe.s 

 )iot measure in value up to a number of other woods. A value of 

 ,$100 a thousand feet would be excessive. 



It is not possible to say what is the cost of any vpood. The 

 cost varies with time, place, and quality. Very fine samples may 

 sell for two or three times as much as ordinary samples of the same 

 wood. The fairest method of coming to a price is to take averages 

 in a good market during a considerable period of time, and the 

 <ost should be at wholesale, so far as the wood has a wholesale value. 

 Calculated in this way the list which follows gives some of the 

 ■costliest woods in the American market, but not all of them. Doubt- 

 less some which are not in the list are as expensive as some that are 

 there, but the list will answer the general purpose of showing the 

 range of expensive woods in the market. The figures are taken, 

 for the most part, from reports of wood-using industries of either 

 New York or Illinois, and are the average prices paid during one 

 \.:ii. They should, therefore, be fairly representative. AU of the 

 iliiis are based on the basis of 1000 feet, board measure. Some 

 < \| iiisive woods are bought and sold by the pound, but where price 

 IX ,'iven it is calculated on the basis of 1000 feet. 



I lie following list of woods and prices is compileil from actual 

 jMii.hases: 



Cast Per 

 Wood 1,000. Feet 



Cuenswood 27.j 



Vormillion 300 



African walr.iit 321 



English oak 340 



Amaranth 400 



Turkish boxwood 400 



Sandalwood 400 



Satinwootl 400 



M-iralian plum wood 27.") Snnkcwo»d 575 



Every one of the foregoing woods is foreign. Black walnut is 

 ■usually credited with being the most expensive wood of the United 

 States. The claim probably holds good if only woods in general use 

 :iii' considered. Mesquite limiber, sawed for furniture, sells for more 

 ili.in black walnut, but it is not regularly in the market and is 

 -:nvi>il to order and in small amounts only. 



Some of the most costly woods are never sawed into lumber. 

 Among such are the tropical woods made into fishing rods. They are 

 marketed in small billets, and they are often paid for by the pound. 

 Som# of these, if reduced to board measure, would range in price 

 from $500 to $1,000 for 1000 feet. 



The nannyberry, or black haw, which grows in most of the eastern 

 states, is an important source of supply for canes and umbrella 

 handles of the common sort. Natural crooks in the vnong place are 

 straightened, and artificial crooks are made where wanted, and in 

 that shape the stock goes to the factory to be finished. It is some- 

 what difficult to arrive at an average cost of such material, but if 

 reduced to board feet $600 or $700 a thousand would be inside the 

 ' limit for the best ; but at that price some manufacturing has already 

 been done on the material. 



If searching for the highest priced wood in the world, according 

 to present markets, the honor will doubtless fall on malacca (Cala- 



mus scipkmum). This is neither a hardwood nor a softwood, but 

 a climbing palm found in the jungles of Siak on the island of 

 Sumatra. It is used for canes. There are all grades. Some cost 

 very much more than others. The finest grades top the world's 

 prices. The choice stick for a cane is cut from between the joints of 

 the palm, and must be forty inches long. That length is quite 

 unusual, and long search is required to find one. It is said that 

 from 50,000 to 100,000 pieces must be sorted to find one that is 

 perfect. However, good prices are obtained for those which are 

 not faultless, and it is not necessary to tlirow away imperfect stock. 

 When a perfect specimen is found it is handled with the greatest 

 care, for it is worth almost its weight in gold. 



New York is said to be the best market in the world for high- 

 class malacca canes. London, Paris, Vienna, and St. Petersburg 

 foUow. Much of the stock reaches New York with the roots etUl 

 attached to the stems. The lower grades are bought by the ton. 

 In New York the straight palms are steamed and carefully hand bent 

 in a vise until the proper crook is secured. There are men who think 

 they possess the secret of doing this, and they guard the secret with 

 jealous care. 



A malacca cane of fair quality sells for fifty dollars, while the 

 best, with artistic taper and perfect crook, is worth $125. If the 

 stock in such a cane is reduced to board measure, and the value 

 figured on that basis, it is found that it is worth the enormous sum 

 of $700,000 the thousand feet. No great part of this is due to cost of 

 manufacturing, but can be charged to the expense of finding the 

 high-grade stock in the jungle and taking it to market. 



Walnut and Combinations 



With the revival of interest in American black walnut on the 

 part of many furniture manufacturers and others, there has been 

 a temptation to cut the cost to a limited extent by using cheaper 

 woods in combination with walnut, the idea being that by staining 

 the combination material it can be made to produce a satisfactory 

 result. The shrewder consumers, however, are keeping away from 

 this as much as possible. They realize that wliilo usimr lii(jh-grade 

 black walnut all the way through would b.- i-.p, they 



can buy a cheaper walnut for less conspieuou- n,. piece, 



and have the advantage of being able to offer a , .. : - .,; is exclu- 

 sively walnut, instead of having to admit that it is a hybrid. The 

 temptation to substitute some other wood for walnut is felt chiefly 

 by the makers of popular-priced furniture, of course, those making 

 high-grade lines not having considered anything but an exclusively 

 walnut proposition; but even the former, it is contended, could well 

 afford, at the expense of a few cents additional per piece, to use 

 walnut exclusively. The walnut men who see combinations being 

 made are likewise apprehensive lest this make a bad impression on 

 the public and hurt the reputation of American black walnut at this 

 critical time in its revival. 



Hardwood stumpage is perhaps cheaper right now than it will be 

 this time next year, in which fact there is a hint for those with 

 surplus money seeking investment. 



Many a man who thinks he knows quite a lot about the lumber 

 business has been hard put to it this summer to answer the ques- 

 tion of what is the matter with the trade. 



