One of Uic i^r 



attention fioi" sHwniill moii iiikI Kliulents of forostrv is tliiit of 

 irofitably utiliiing the roiiuli iiii.l low Kr">l«? '<>«»• T\wto is no .loitlit 

 rlint too many of tlicse nrc left in the woods to rot, but how to oon- 

 ^.•rt tlicni into n snlabU' prodint Hint will renliro n profit is n problem. 



About a year ago I'roffssor Bryant of Yalo scrion-ly nilvocntcd 

 ili.> idea of sjiwniills mounted on flat i-ars to bo taken to the forest 

 iiij used for snwinij; up erooked lo>^ and knottoil tops. This idea lias 

 Its drawbacks, beeause the Hat car for transporting the sawmill cf 

 I his ty|«> would involve about twice the cost of the '^awmill itself. 

 Ihe idea was base.l on the theory too that in assembling logs for 

 tninsportntion either on a mill-owned railroad or some other railroad 

 •lie rough logs and tops would he brought in, but it would be more 

 ' . iinomical to manufacture them there with a portable mill than to 

 transport them with other timber. 



When rough logs have once been gotten to the railroad the proljlem 

 i>f hanilling from there on is comparatively simple. Log rates are 

 not only comparatively low but in some instances a special rate is 

 made for cull stock, so it would really be cheaper to bring them into 

 the mill when once they are at the point of railway transportation. 



Often the big problem with the rough logs is that of hauling and 

 assembling them in the woods. There are many occasions when 

 portable mills are justified in reducing rough and low-grade logs to 

 net out as much good material as practical and at the same time 

 eliminate the waste and lighten the load to handle from there on. 

 There are many types of portable mills more practical and easily 

 available than the flat car type, and, besiiles, the flat car would be 

 limited to railway territory. 



To reduce low-grade logs calls for more than simply Hitching them 

 up or reducing them to lumber. They have many knots and crooks 

 and various defects and if they are simply reduced to lumber there 

 is still the problem of handling a product that is decidedly bulky, 

 considering its value. This makes it burdensome to haul and expen- 

 sive to ship. 



The ideal portable outfit for this purpose should include rip and 

 cross-cut saws for reducing rough logs to specific dimensions. The 

 product of the logs should be so refined that when ready to ship it 

 will be in the main a high-grade product that will command a good 

 price. All the cull parts should be cut away and left in the woods. 



Often the more practical solution, especially for the mill which 

 has its own logging road, is to bring in all the rough and defective 

 logs, thus separating them from the better grade of logs. A part 

 of the separating can be done in the woods as the logs are skidded 

 or piled for loading. If careful attention is given to this matter in 

 the woods it will be little trouble to keep them separately piled on 

 the mill yard. It then becomes a question of whether they should be 

 liandJed through the main mill in the regular way or worked up with 

 a special mill equipment installed for that purpose. Where the 

 mill is not crowded or taxed heavily for cutting capacity it is com- 

 paratively easy to make runs of a day more or less at a time on 

 these low-grade logs. It is readily acknowledged that it is better to 

 segregate them and make straight runs on them than to indiscrimi- 

 nately mix them in with the good stock. 



VVhether the flitching up or breaking down into lumber or flitches 

 is done on the main mill or on a separate and smaller mill installed 

 for that purpose, this is really only one step in the process of realiz- 

 ing on the rough timber. The flitches and lumber product must be 

 refined by reworking on rip and cross-cut saws to reduce it to as much 

 clear stock as it is practical to get in such dimensions as are salable. 

 Then comes the question of utilizing the low-grade part which re- 

 mains, and here we find an advantage in bringing the rough logs 

 into the mUl, because it leaves this low-grade material convenient 

 for shipping. Often it can be trimmed and shaped up and a market 

 found for it as crating or for some use which brings a price that will 

 justify its handling. Considerable hardwood, even in oak, is used for 

 crating and many of the consumers of high-grade hardwood also 

 —32— 



crating. Often they get this low-graile themselves in refining com- 

 mon lumber to get clear stock at the factory. If the refining i* 

 done at the mill, however, there is a chiince to ndi this low grade 

 stock with the high-grade. 



Encouraging Reports From Abroad 



Some h;ir.lw<i(i.l hiriihcr i>. being i-xpurted to (irej.t Hrilain. One 

 Memphis lirni says that it hits JHi.ike.l orders for moderate quiintitieN 

 iluring the past few days ami that shipments will go forward as 

 soon as preparations can lie made to that end. For <|Hite a while 

 aftor war broke out export business was at a practical Ntandstill. 

 Some encouragement is taken from the fact that there is some buy- 

 ing in ]>rogress on the part of the Knglish peojde, whiidi suggestfl 

 that business conditions are improving somewhat. Home IumiIht sold 

 before the war is still being delivered, but this applies only to Great 

 Britain, as the risk of making shipments to other countries is too 

 extreme. 



While some of the exjiorters who were in Eurojie at the outbreak 

 of war made their i-ales subject to cancellation in the event war 

 developed, others made their bookings without any provision of this 

 character. It is apparent, however, that they are very little lietter 

 off than those who sold subject to cancellation. One exporter, who 

 made sales outright, is in receipt of a letter from one of his clients 

 advising him that it will be necessary, owing to conditions growing 

 out of the war, to do one of two things: Either to cancel all orders 

 which were booked, or to hold up deliveries until such time as the 

 liuyer is in position to give instruction to let the cargoes go for- 

 ward. The client in question advised that it was absolutely im- 

 practicable to accept shipments at the present time and indicated 

 that it might be some time after the war was over before the situa- 

 tion would be such as to make it advisable for him to order ship- 

 ments sent forward. The seller at this end of the line has his hands 

 coijipletely tied and will have to await further instructions from the 

 other side before any attempt is made to carry out the conditions of 

 the bookings already made. 



The most encouraging news which has been received in Memjihis for 

 some time from the other side has come in a letter received by the 

 Hartzell Handle Company, from J. C. Plimpton, Jr., managing 

 director of the J. C. Plimpton Company, Ltd., of Liverpool. The 

 writer says that except for the occasional passing of a regiment of 

 troops, it is impossible to observe any signs of the war in Liverpool, 

 lie says that his factory and office forces have not lieen reduced 

 and that they are all working the customary number of hours. He 

 also says that orders received have been slightly in excess of the 

 same time last year and that his firm has not in a single instance 

 been asked for an extension of credit. He also says that food prices 

 are normal with the exception of sugar and that conditions are a 

 great deal better than many writers have said. The firm in question 

 is engaged in the manufacture of handles and woodenware, office 

 fixtures and other similar products. 



Prices of lumber now being sold to Europe are somewhat below 

 the average, but one well-known exporter said recently that there 

 was a fair margin of profit, at least enough to justify the firm in 

 continuing to do business. The exporter in question said that he 

 was doing everything he could to hold his forces together and that 

 the outlet presented in Great Britain, although far from normal in 

 its requirements, was proving quite an assistance in this direction. 



There is a good excuse for cutting wide lumber that has knots and 

 splits into narrow stock for use, but when a man buys good wide 

 lumber and rips it into small dimensions it sounds like a wasteful 

 method, for he is using stock of higher value than is necessary for 

 his purpose. 



A little extra attention in placing logs on the sawmill carriage 

 insures a bigger turnout of lumber value, and with practice this 

 attention need not take up much of the mill's time. 



