HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



Doors, sash and blinds 1,150 



Furniture ,. 42,995 



Trimmings and molding 163 



Incubators 162 



Woodenware 396 



All other manufactures 11,220 



The foregoing list indicates openings for more trade. The sale of 

 every item should be increased, some to the extent of many fold, and 

 the natural place for the Colombians to purchase these commodities 

 is in the United States. 



Colombia has extensive forests, but they have been little developed, 

 and for the most part the timber is in the remote interior, east of 

 the Andes Jlountains, and back from the Caribbean coast, almost vphoUy 

 out of reach of commerce at this time. This makes it necessary for 

 the country to import much of what it now needs, and this necessity 

 will continue a long time. 



No adequate survey of Colombia's forest resources has ever been 

 made. The World's Fair in Chicago in 189.') exhibited a collection 

 of numerous samples, but they were accompanied by no statistical in- 

 formation showing quantity or quality. Only three or four of the 

 woods can be said to be known in commerce, but locally and in small 

 quantities many are in use. Mahogany is the best known, but it is not 

 cut in large amounts, and probably does not exist in large quantity. 

 It will not compete with lumber shipped from the United States, 

 though it may interfere in the future, but not much at present, with 

 furniture and interior finish. Lignumvitae abounds, but it does not 

 come in competition with any of our woods. The same may be said 

 of brazilwood, which is plentiful in Colombia. Softwoods ai^ few 

 and of minor importance, as far as reports show. The softwoods from 

 the United States have a clear field in that market. Sales are limited 

 by demand only. Rough work, such as corduroy roads and short, tem- 

 porary bridges, is supplied by the stems of gigantic ferns in some 

 parts of Colombia east of the Andes. This material is poor stuff 

 compared with yellow pine and Douglas fir and is no rival if sub- 

 stantial structures are wanted. 



In Colombia, as in most damp tropical countries, ants and other 

 insects are dangerous enemies of wood, and exporters to such countries 

 will do well to pest themselves concerning the particular region to 

 which they propose to ship, and see whether their wood will be ac- 

 ceptable for the purpose intended. 



Ecu.U)OR 



This is one of the smaller countries of South America and is named 

 in consideration of the fact that the equator passes across it. It is 

 two and a half times the size of Pennsylvania, but contains only 

 about twice the population of Pittsburgh. It rates low in commer- 

 cial development. There are several ports on the Pacific where 

 cargoes are landed, but some are decidedly poor. The country lies on 

 both sides of the Andes, and the head streams of the Amazon River 

 in Ecuador are nearly all navigable, but that fact has no bearing on 

 the imports of timber, which must be landed on the Pacific side. Rail- 

 roads are few, and the wide distribution of heavy merchandise is 

 diflfieult. The country is said to contain more volcanoes than any 

 other in the world. Money is based on the gold standard. The 

 imports from the United States in 1913 were worth $2,314,480. The 

 imports of lumber and other forest products that year are given in 

 the following table: 



Douglas fir 2S7.000 feet 



Yellow pine 159.000 feet 



Redwood 4.ono feet 



White pine 1,000 feet 



Total 451,000 feet 



It is evident that Ecuador 's imports of lumber are chiefly for struc- 

 tural purposes. The yellow pine is all longleaf from the southern 

 states. The small quantity of redwood came from California. 

 Additional imports of forest products follow: 



Railroad ties $ 198 



Doors, sash and blinds 123 



Furniture 14,690 



Incubators 158 



House finish 197 



All other 5,014 



The forest resources of Ecuador west of the Andes are nil; those 

 east of the ranges are an unknown quantity. The forests are a con- 

 tinuation of the timbered regions of Brazil, and many kinds of trees, 



some of good size, occupy the region. Detailed information is lack- 

 ing. The inhabitants of the eastern portion of the republic supply 

 their needs from the native woods; but up to this time it is doubtful 

 if lumber from the United States has ever come in rivalry with that 

 grown in Ecuador, at least in the region cast of the mountains. Years 

 must pass before the interior forests of Ecuador are on the market, 

 even in that country. At present, with the poor railroad facilities, 

 it is cheaper to ship lumber 6000 miles, from Washington to the 

 Ecuador coast, than to carry it across the mountains from the interior. 

 It would seem, therefore, that for the present lumbermen of the 

 United States have an open field in western Ecuador for such markets 

 as exist, but at this time those markets are not large. 

 Peru 



Great historical interest has always attached to Peru. That was 

 the chief seat of power of the Incas, the rulers of an empire of 

 Indians, destroyed by Spaniards under Pizarro nearly four hundred 

 years ago. Those Indians were builders of enormous structures and 

 highways, but they used little more wood than the ancient Egyptians. 

 Like the Egyptians, their building material was stone. The use of 

 wood in Peru is modern; in fact, it is just now making a fair 

 beginning. 



The country's area is 440,000 square miles, which is nearly ten 

 times that of Pennsylvania, but its population is little more than 

 half of Pennsylvania's. It lies on both sides of the Andes, its 

 drainage to the coast following the small, short rivers which pitch 

 down from the highlands, and eastward the flow is by the upper 

 tributaries of the Amazon. There are thirty-three ports on the Pajific 

 and five on the Amazon. Hovpever, no lumber from the United States 

 will ever enter Peru by way of the Amazon, but must be unloaded at 

 the Pacific ports and transported by rail inland. The coast is con- 

 nected with the interior by a number of railroads. It costs about 

 thirty cents a ton to land lumber at the wharfs. This would average 

 from 45 to 50 cents a thousand feet for the kinds of lumber now 

 being shipped to Peru from the United States. 



The country is well supplied with telegraph facilities, and there 

 are wireless and cable services with foreign countries. Money is on 

 the gold standard. The total annual imports from the United States 

 in 1911 were valued at $6,244,715, of which furniture amounted to 

 $159,620; lumber, $447,260, and musical instruments, $37,100. The 

 imports of certain forest products in 1913 are given below: 



Douglas fir 46,844,000 feet 



Redwood 747.000 feet 



Yellow pine 599,000 feet 



Oak 240.000 feet 



Sitka spruce 142,000 feet 



White pine 21,000 feet 



All other lumber 38.000 feet 



Total J 48,037,000 feet 



The enormous proportion of this lumber coming from the Pacific 

 coast of the United States is apparent. It amounts to 97 per cent, 

 and Douglas fir exceeds all other woods twenty to one. 



Much of the imported lumber is used in railroad construction, 

 wharfs and mining operations. Peru is one of the richest mining 

 countries In the world. It yields gold, silver, copper, iron and coal. 

 A single silver mine (Cerro de Pasco district) in the course of its long 

 history has yielded 50,000 tons of silver. Two hundred mines of dif- 

 ferent kinds in Peru are owned or largely capitalized by Americans. 

 Naturally, the owners are favorable to the importation of lumber 

 and other supplies from the United States. This makes Peru an 

 exceedingly promising field for the sale of our forest products. The 

 demand is now large and there is every reason to believe that it 

 will grow. 



A large amount of forest products other than lumber is exported 

 yearly from the United States to Peru. The leading items follow: 



Round loss ■? 2,452 



Doors, sash and blinds 3 ' 5 



Furniture 69,4.54 



Incubators 662 



House finish „1'3<55 



Railroad ties ii5'2?? 



Box shooks o84,.337 



Parrel shooks „ , 800 



Staves 64,54o 



Other manufactures 64,o0S 



Peru has no timber near the coast. The region is too dry. A little 

 planting, chiefly eucalyptus from Australia, has taken place, but 



