44 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



be solved on the Carolina coast wbere the tim- 

 ber has been cut and the sand is beginning to 

 drift. He believes that the same treatment 

 will produce results similar to those in France, 

 and that the problem may be attacked and 

 solved before the desert conditions have become 

 disastrous. 



Conditions in the mountains of Switzerland 

 Impressed Mr. Holmes with the belief that the 

 mountains of western North Carolina could 

 profit by the lessons which have been so thor- 

 oughly learned in Europe. The similarity be- 

 tween some of the mountains of Switzerland 

 and those of North Carolina is declared to be 

 very striking, except that the Swiss mountain.s 

 are under intense cultivation, the arable land 

 in pasture and farm crops, and the rough, steep 

 land in timber. There is not an idle acre, and 

 every rod is profitable. That condition, of 

 course, does not now prevail among the moun- 

 taips of western North Carolina, but Mr. 

 Holmes, who knows every mile of the region, 

 sees no reason why the southern Appalachians 

 may not equal the Swiss Alps in scenic beauty 

 and commercial wealth. However, while fires 

 and other destructive agencies are at work, that 

 can never be. Furthermore, nothing is being 

 done to build, restore, and beautify. 



Prominent Machinery Man Dies 



Anthony Schnier of the Smith. Myers & Schnier 

 Company, Cincinnati, O.. died in that city on 

 Sept. 7 at the age of eighty-one. Mr. Schnier 

 was president of this concern which is one of tli'.- 

 most widely known sawmill machinery maiin- 

 lacturers in the countr.v. Mr. Schnier personally 

 and his concern, in a business way, were stroni; 

 tactors in Cincinnati social and business affairs. 



The deceased was born in Germany in 1830 and 

 came to America iu 1.S45. His inclination and 

 opportunities soon connected him in a line which 

 he had since followed and the present firm was 

 established as a partnership in 1832 with the 

 style Smitli. Myers and Schnier. The concern 

 immediately began the construction of sawmill 

 machinery of various types and in 1801 was in- 

 corporated. 



Orangewood in Demand 



Some of the old orange groves in the San 

 Gabriel valley, California, are being cut down lo 

 make room for buildings where new towns and 

 additions to old ones are laid out. The trunks 

 and larger branches are cut in cordwood lengths, 

 and the wood finds ready sale at $22 a cord, 

 which amounts to about $44 a thousand feet, 

 board measure. The orangewood is bought by 

 manufacturers of novelties. It is specially prized 

 l)y the makers of manicure sets. Some of the 

 small articles in this class are among the highest 

 priced commodities made of wood. A small stick 

 for dressing the finger nails is an example. This 

 article sells for fifty cents or more, and fifty 

 thousand of them may be made from a thousand 

 feet of good orange lumber, California is not alone 

 in supplying orangewood to manufacturers. 

 A considerable quantity comes from Florida. It 

 is said that many of the orange trees which were 

 damaged by the phenomenal freeze eighteen years 

 ago in northern Florida, have been cut and 

 shipped to I'alestine, where the wood is worked 

 into souvenirs to be sold to tourists in the Holy 

 Land, who are frequently assured that the 

 wood grew on "the mountains round about 

 Jerusalem." 



Canadian Railway Ties 

 Hewed railroad ties continue to predominate 

 over all others in Canada, according to the latest 

 statistics. Twelve years ago seventy per cent of 

 all the ties were hewn, and that was exactly the 

 ratio in 1910. A hewed tie costs about three 

 cents more than a tie made in a sawmill, but 

 railroads continue to pay the difference, because 

 the former is considered superior. Oak ties cost 

 more in Canada than auy other species, and 

 spruce and white pine ties are cheapest. Other 

 species which occupy Important places in the tie 



business are Douglas fir, hemlock, northern white 

 cedar and jack pine. The treatment of ties to 

 prevent decay is on the increase in Canada. 



The Larch Saw Fly 



It is reported in Minnesota that the larch saw 

 fly is injuring tamar.ick trees in that state. The 

 damage is not yet great but fear is expressed 

 that the worst is to come. The pest came orig- 

 inally from Europe, and has been active for some 

 years in the tamarack forests of Maine and Que- 

 bec. In some localities it has done considerable 

 damage. It has been suggested that it might be 

 curbed by importing a parasite from Europe 

 which has served to keep the fly in control in 

 that country. The lumbermen of Minnesota view 

 the matter with considerable apprehension be- 

 cause that state has large amounts of tamarack 

 in its forests. 



New Grand Eapids Corporation 



The Dennis-Canadian Lumber Company has 

 been incorporated in Grand Rapids, Mich., with a 

 capital stock of from $400,000 to $.500,000. This 

 concern is considered one of the largest lumber 

 manufacturing and jobbing houses in the city. 

 It is headed by A. L. Dennis, who is also head oi" 

 the .V. L. Dennis Salt & Lumber Company of 

 (he same place and the persomiel of the new 

 concern will be identical with' that of the old 

 Grand Rapids concern. 



The formation of the new company has been 

 the result of imminent cutting off of the timber 

 supply of the A. L. Dennis Salt & Lumber Com- 

 pany, the new concern having an option on 

 143.000 acres of timber in Ontario. This runs 

 largely to hardwoods with a smaller percentage 

 of hemlock and pine. Mills will be erected to 

 exploit the new timber. 



It is planned to continue the sales otfice and 

 head otBce in Grand Rapids, in which place prac- 

 tically all of the capital has been raised. 



Memphis Lumberman Is Inventor 



J. P. Sullivan in the wholesale hardwood busi- 

 ri(ss in Memphis, Tenn., just obtained patents 

 on a device for the prevention of sap stain in 

 lumber. Mr. Sullivan's application for patent 

 was submitted by his attorney some time ago 

 and after consideration, his request was duly 

 cuJuplied with. The idea involved in the ma- 

 (_hine is that the creation of an electric current 

 of a certain voltage will decompose and destroy 

 the fungus which produces the stain in lumber. 

 'J"he basis on which the idea is carried out is 

 that tannic acid and the alkali in the lumber 

 have a tendency to combine and to thus create 

 the fungus growth which has caused so much 

 trouble. It has been demonstrated that a high 

 voltage current will completely remove the possi- 

 bility of combination. 



Mr. Sullivan's machine provides for the lumber 

 being run through it after leaving the trimmer. 

 In addition the contrivance will be so established 

 as to make it possible to treat standing timber in 

 the same way. It is expected that the machines 

 will he in operation In the Memphis territory iu 

 the near future. 



Greenheart 'Wood for Panama 



The man who has bi'en accustomed to tish with 

 a high-priced greenheart rod so strong and tough 

 that it will land a shark, is apt to imagine that 

 the wood is preeminently a fishlngrod material. 

 Tile United States government is putting this 

 wood to more serious use at Panama, where 

 140,000 feet of it will go into sills and other 

 parts of the lock gates of the canal. The wood's 

 great value Is due to its phenomenal resistance 

 to decay, its enormous strength which enables 

 it to sustain loads and resist Jars which would 

 shatter most woods which are usually regarded 

 as strong ; and the extreme hardness that makes 

 it possible for it to endure wear and tear of time 

 and of the elements for long periods. One of the 

 requirements of the wood to be used in the canal 

 gates at Panama is that it must be immune 

 to attacks of the teredo. This marine borer 



quickly riddles most woods left within its reach 

 in brackish waters of the tropics ; but It is 

 claimed that greenheart, either because of its 

 hardness or on account of some material in the 

 wood, is immune from the attacks of that de- 

 structive animal. 



New Concern in Cincinnati 



The Anchor Lumber Company is the style of a 

 new wholesale hardwood concern which has 

 recently been Incorporated at Columbus, O., to 

 do business in Cincinnati, with headquarters in 

 the latter city. This concern is capitalized at 

 $25,000 and will he made up of C. \V. Sprinkler 

 and E. F. 'n'illiams, both formerly connected 

 with The Hardwood Lumber Company, which re- 

 cently suspended operations in Cincinnati. Mr. 

 Sprinkler was vice-president of The Hardwood 

 Lumber Company and .Mr. Williams, secretary. 

 ■With them are associated E'. Hirschauer and 



E. 11. Roskrodt. 



■Will Test Cross-Tie Woods 



The proposed railroad from Panama to Chiri- 

 qui, a distance of two hundred miles, will af- 

 ford an opportunity to test a number of tropical 

 woods for cross-ties. About 500,000 ties will be 

 used in the building of the road, and it is pro- 

 posed to utilize a number of the most promis- 

 ing hardwoods in the region. An important 

 thing to look out for Is a wood which, when laid 

 in the track, will not be speedily eaten up by 

 voracious tro[)ical ants. 



Unfounded Prophecy 

 Forest Bureau Inspector of Minnesota Arthur 



F. Oppel is credited in the newspapers with the 

 prophecy that within ten years Cottonwood will 

 become one of the leading species used for lum- 

 ber purposes. This result, he thiuks, will be 

 brought about through a recently discovered 

 treating process for Cottonwood. Without de- 

 tracting anything from the good name and excel- 

 lent qualities of Cottonwood, doubt may be ex- 

 pressed as to the correctness of the prophecy. 

 This wood is not a new source of lumber. In 

 fact, the available .supply is known to be on the 

 decline. No treating process can add to the 

 supply until trees can be planted and grown to 

 comnierclal size, and that will take a long time. 

 No large amount of young cottonwood is coming 

 on. It has not been much planted in recent 

 jears because the object loimble habits of its 

 bloom and its roots have put it out of repute 

 as a shade tree and windbreak. Successful 

 treatment of young Cottonwood posts to hinder 

 decay would doubtless cause more of tliem to 

 bi' used for that purpose : but that prospect is 

 hardly suflicient to warrant the prophecy that 

 cottonwood "promises within ten years to become 

 one of the leading species used for lumber pur- 

 poses." 



Black Italian Poplar 



The black poplar (populus nigra) w-hlch is a 

 native of Italy, now grows so widely In the 

 United Slates that it may be considered as a 

 naturalized species. The most common form in 

 this country is the Lombardy poplar. Few trees 

 are more easily recognized b.v their shape. It 

 grows very tall and the limbs He almost flat 

 against the trunk, forming very acute angles 

 with It. A tree seventy-five feet high may have 

 a spread of branches not much exceeding ten 

 feet. It has been much planted In this country 

 for ornamental purposes, but on account of its 

 slim, splndlellke crown, it is not worth much 

 for shade or as a windbreak. 



It Is peculiar in another way. "While Its 

 branches are of the narrowest expansion among 

 hardwoods, its roots spread far and wide. Few 

 trees send their roots farther. For that reason, 

 it is often considered a nuisance. The roots In- 

 sinuate themselves with cellars, cisterns, and 

 sewer pipes, causing no end of trouble. 



The wood Is valuable for certain purposes, 

 though It seldom if ever goes under its own 

 name in this country. It Is cut locally, and 



