HARDWOOD RECORD 



lt..» .ti.M.l.* .... • 1-«.3H« 



iK„,r,. , ir • n.na.'i 



Incubalor. • 2.060 



llounr Irlmmlnsii ■ ^'^ 



SUvr* S 



Ml ftlhcr • 81.23^ 



Tulal »0«,0T1 



I-nst year Brazil imported staves from the United States to tho 

 vulup of eight dollorti, nnd from Oormnny to tho value of $157,082. 

 .Vustria soM four times lis much furniture to Brazil n» was sold by 

 thi.-! country, and both Gormany and Franco sold more than the 

 Vuitt'.l States; yet thin country has more furniture wood than all 

 Euro}io combined, and better machinery. The only article of wood 

 which is up to what might bo expected in our trade with Brazil is 

 pine lumber. 



Paraguay 

 Tliis and its next neighbor, Bolivia, are tho two South American 

 countries which have no coast. Paraguay's outlet is by way of the 

 Parano river. Not much can be said of present or past exports of 

 forest products to that country. Nor is there much promise for the 

 future, unless in manufactured articles like furniture, vehicles, and 

 agricultural implements, which can stand the freight charges of the 

 long journey up the river, after an ocean voyage from the United 

 States. A few wagons, wheelbarrows, and a little furniture reach 

 there from the United States. The country has enough timber of 

 its own to meet the present needs of its people. The forests are a 

 continuation of those of Brazil and are of the same kind, but the 

 whole of Paraguay is not covered with forest. 



It has the reputation of being a pretty hard country in which to 

 originate and carry on business of imports and exports. The region 

 has never fully recovered from the great catastrophe which over- 

 whelmed its people between 1865 and 1870 under the reign of the 

 Paraguayan tyrant Lopez. It was the most complete war of ex- 

 termination that has befallen any country in modern times. Eighty 

 per cent of the people perished and ninety-five per cent of all prop- 

 erty was destroyed before the end came with the death of Lopez at 

 the battle of Aquidaban in 1870. 



Paraguay's area is 157,000 square miles, nearly four times that of 

 Pennsylvania, while the entire population is only half that of Phila- 

 delphia. The principal exports from that country are hides, tanning 

 extract, and tobacco. Commercial travelers are heavily taxed and 

 few go there. 



Uruguay 

 Uruguay has some peculiarities which easily fix themselves, in 

 memory. It is the smallest country of South America. It has no 

 forests, no mountains, no deserts, and no Indians. A few clumps of 

 trees are found here and there, and some elevations are higher than 

 others, and the surface is not all valuable in the same degree. The 

 region possesses great fertility, has a delightful climate, and pros- 

 perity is general. The soil has been described as the "dried-up mud 

 of the pleistocene period of geology, and the bones of the gigantic 

 animals of that age are mixed with the soil." 



During 1913 Uruguay imported from the United States lumber 

 in amounte and values as follows: 



Kind Feet B. M. Valuo 



Lonpleaf pine 35,265,000 $ 662,271! 



White pine 2,605,000 117,847 



Oak 602,000 38,713 



Spruce 585,000 20,728 



Redwood 75,000 4,350 



Yellow poplar 36.000 2,157 



Gum 28,000 1,547 



All other 8,225,000 198,663 



Total 47,421,000 51,046,281 



Other articles made partly or wholly of wood and exported to 

 Uruguay from the United States during 1913 are shown in the fol- 

 lowing list: 



Article Value 



Furniture $118,189 



Barrel shocks 21,621 



Railway tics 16,510 



Wlu-.llmrro»» . III.HOa 



luciilmtuni '.',004 



Wuodi'iiwiirc ... 2,070 



\Vn8on« -,048 



Box Bhooka 700 



Doom, etc **x 



llouiic trImmlnKS -i^-' 



CnrrlHKca :i<l.'l 



Stnvcii 55 



Total 1178.861 



There appears to be no rciison why the exports of forest product* 

 from the United States to Uruguay may not be considerably in- 

 creased, though they nro largo at present considering tho sire of 

 the country and tho number of its inhabitants. The republic is 

 slightly smaller than Kan.sas, with two-thirds as many people. There 

 is little native timber in Uruguay, but some planting has been done, 

 principally Cottonwood and eucalyptus. There are native alder, aloe, 

 acacia, willow, and mesquite, all of which are useful for fences nnd 

 about farms, but not of much value for construction purposes. Cot- 

 tonwood grows very rapidly on the mud flats along the rivers, and 

 supplies a considerable part of the box lumber used. Many of the 

 trees are cut for tho mill before they exceed a diameter of twelve 

 inches, which they reach in ten or fifteen years. Lumber of that 

 sort cannot seriously compete with the substential kinds shipped 

 from the United States. The eucalyptus which has been planted 

 cannot come into the lumber market for many years unless it does 

 better than trees of that kind planted in California. The trees grow 

 rapidly, but unless they are left standing until mature tho lumber 

 cut from the trunks warps, twists, shrinks, and checks so badly that 

 it can scarcely be used. 



In Uruguay a grove or clump of planted or natural timber is 

 popularly known as a "mountain," such being the only observable 

 elevations above the dead level known in that country. 

 Argentina 

 The United States exports as much lumber to Argentina as to all 

 the rest of South America. That is because Argentina has little tim- 

 ber of its own, is in need of a great deal, and is able and willing 

 to buy it. 



Its area is 1,139,979 square miles, or a little more than one-third 

 that of the United States. Its population exceeds 9,000,000, well 

 proportioned between cities and the country. The country's pros- 

 perity is based on agriculture, and the products sell in the world's 

 markets. Corn, wheat, meat, and hides are sold in large quantities 

 and give Argentina an advantageous position in foreign trade. It 

 has much to sell, and is able to buy liberally. The total imports in 

 1912 were valued at $384,853,469. Of this amount $59,126,951 

 came from the United States. The imports of lumber that year 

 were worth $9,888,377, and most of it came from the United States. 

 The principal part of Argentina consists of vast plains, originally 

 covered with grass, and now being changed into grain fields. Formerly 

 the herds of wild horses on those grassy plains were compared in 

 numbers with the buffaloes which once roamed our western prairies. 

 The climate of Argentina is generally good, though in the southern 

 part it is rather cold, and near the base of the Andes it is too dry 

 for promiscuous agriculture. It is expected that development will 

 continue until the country 's population and wealth have increased 

 many fold. The market for lumber and other forest products will 

 become more valuable, and opportunities for American trade will 

 increase. 



Some timber is being planted in Argentina, but not enough to cut 

 an appreciable figure in the home market. Eucalyptus is most fre- 

 quently mentioned as the favorite tree for planting; but some of the 

 plantings are of cottonwood and araucarian pine. Argentina is 

 usually spoken of as a country of high prices. That is a favorable 

 condition for those who have something to sell. 



The exports of lumber in 1913 from the United States to Argen- 

 tina are given in the following table: 



Kind Feet B. M. Value 



Longlcaf pine 209,409,000 $4,1.33,397 



Spruce 13,712,000 458,556 



White pine 12,122,000 564,149 



Oak 4,994,000 .■!02,827 



