HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



METHOD OF TESTING DRY LUMBER. 



Bone Dry, being the atsolute test, is talson 

 first. In loading eacli liiln car, arrange to liave 

 one board which you can talie from the liiln 

 without disturbing the car. When ready to 

 mal<e the test, saw about three inches from 

 the middle of this board, and from this three- 

 inch piece, cut another strip one-qimrter of an 

 inch thick, cutting across the grain, as before. 

 Put this thin piece on an iron plate and keep 

 on a hot steam pipe or the cylinder of your 

 engine from ten to fifteen minutes, then com- 

 pare it with the piece from which it was sawn 

 and if it docs not show shrinkage it is bone dry 

 and the car is ready to remove from the kiln 

 to the storage shed, where it should be dead- 

 piled until used. This period of storage in 

 normal temperature should not be less than 

 forty-eight hours, but should vary to suit the 

 requirements of the plant and can only be de- 

 termined by experience. This is a point not 

 generally understood, and those having difli- 

 culties, such as opening joints and warping in 

 the finished product, may find that careful ex- 

 periment at this point will overcome their 

 troubles. 



Factory Dry is a degree of dryness suited to 

 the needs of the plant and varies with the fac- 

 tory, kinds of wood used and the article manu- 

 factured. This test requires more time, but a 

 little experimenting will show the amount of 

 shrinkage required and the test can then be 

 made with as much accuracy as the bone dry 

 test. To determine the amount of shrinkage, 

 cut the three-inch piece from a board supposed 

 to be ready for the factory. Dry and test the 

 quarter-inch strip as before and it will be found 

 to have shrunk a possible eighth of an inch in 

 twelve inches. Now, allow these two pieces to 

 remain in the factory twelve hours or more, 

 where the temperature is in the neighborhood 

 of 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and if they are again 

 the same length, the stock is factory dry and 

 ready for use. It the thin piece does not ex- 

 pand to the length of the three-inch piece from 

 which it was cut, the lumber is not yet factory 

 drj' and the test should be made again on the 

 following day. 



Half Dry — The testing pieces are worked the 

 same as before, but the shrinkage should be 

 three-sixteenths or even one-quarter of an inch 

 in twelve inches. Allow them to remain in open 

 storage, with little or no heat, for forty-eight 

 hours and if they are again found to be of the 

 same length, the stock is half dry. 



After becoming familiar with this method of 

 testing, there is no difficulty in determining 

 just the amount of drying necessary for any 

 class of work, and much time and loss can be 

 saved by testing out each car until experience 

 has taught just what can be done with your 

 kilns. Many manufacturers do not know that 

 stock which is too dry can cause as much 

 trouble as that which is not dry enough, but 

 when the degree of dryness necessary for each 

 class of work has been determined, it is simply 

 the matter of putting someone in charge of the 

 drying who has the ability to work out the solu- 

 tion along the lines above outlined and supply- 

 ing him with a kiln from which he can obtain 

 the results sought. 



Samples of bone dry test pieces, with ex- 

 planation and useful information, will be sent 

 to interested kiln users upon request, by the 

 Grand Eapids Veneer Works, Grand Rapids, 

 Mich. 



This concern became especially interested in 

 the drying question about three years ago, when 

 their business demanded more dry lumber and 

 they discovered that they had no ground space 

 upon which to build additional kilns. They 

 were at that time using the most approved sys- 

 tem of drying, having changed regularly as new 

 ideas were put before them, but at the sugges- 

 tion of their chief engineer. A. D. Linn, expen- 

 sive testing and recording instruments were 

 procured and a series of experiments started 

 which continued for the greater part of two 



years. TTseful data was compiled from these 

 experiments, but the discovery of the true secret 

 of drying, the fundamental principle, which 

 brought about a revolution in their methods and 

 gave them results upon the first trial which 

 were hard to believe, was purely accidental. 



So absolutely different from anything else in 

 existence are the principles of this process, as 

 applied to drying, that the company decided to 

 protect the same, and patents were allowed 

 them uponjthe broadest claims without a citation 

 of interference. As soon as they had demon- 

 strated to their own satisfaction that the re- 

 sults first obtained could be duplicated, they be- 

 gan to install the process in the kilns of their 

 neighbors, and wherever introduced the effect 

 has been most satisfactory. 



The only drawback to this work of installa- 

 tion is that the results they claim seem so mar- 

 velous to a woodworker that he is skeptical. 

 Therefore, they are arranging to erect or re- 

 model two or three ideal kilns in every state 

 in the union — kilns wherein they will guarantee 

 to dry all kinds of stock with the minimum of 

 waste, with the smallest cost for operation and 

 at the same time dry twice as much lumber in 

 the same space as any kiln in exi.stence. and they 

 are now prepared to enter into a contract for 

 an ideal exhibition kiln with a few convenient- 

 ly located manufacturers in each state. 



If you contemplate building a new kiln. If 

 your old kiln is not giving perfect satisfaction 

 or if .you desire to double your output on an 

 economical basis, it might be to your advantage 

 to so state, if writing to the Grand Rapids 

 Veneer Works for the bone dry test pieces. It 

 your territory is already covered, they will 

 doubtless write you where you can see the pro- 

 cess in operation. 



An Interesting Letter on German Forests. 



The following communication is from C. A. 

 Schenck. Ph. D.. forester of the Biltmore estate 

 of George K. Vanderbilt : it contains some in- 

 teresting information and figures relative to 

 lumbering as practiced in the oak forests of 

 Bavaria. Dr. Schenck has studied all phases of 

 the subject, both in this country and abroad, 

 and is well known to our readers, both as the 

 author of several valuable and authoritative 

 brochures on forestry, and as director of the 

 Forest School which he conducts at Biltmore : 



"PiSGAH FORKST, X. C, June 22. — Editor 

 Hakdwood Record : I have just seen an ac- 

 count of the large auction sale of oak logs an- 

 nually occurring in the northwestern section 

 of Bavaria, at a point some hundred miles 

 from Frankfurt-on-the-Main, a place famous 

 for the quality of its oak all over Europe. The 

 section in question is the Rothenbuch range, 

 and has been visited by many foreign foresters 

 for the reason that its history is particularly 

 interesting. The mountain range where these 

 oaks are found contains, in the government for- 

 ests, approximately 30,000 oak trees over 18 

 inches in diameter, the age of which varies be- 

 tween 200 and 500 years. These trees are con- 

 sidered sacro-sanct, and are cut very slowly, 

 according to a preconceived plan — say at the 

 rate of 600 trees altogether per annum. 



"The reluctance of the Bavarian government 

 to cut these oak trees at a more rapid speed;, 

 has borne good fruits, as appears from the fol,-""' 

 lowing statement of the prices of oak logs- ob- 

 tained since 1860 at auction sales, in the. w.ojiJs, 

 of logs cut and left at points approximateijr-ten 

 miles from the railroad: ,;. .-' 



"Prices of No. 1 oak logs in Rothenbuch range 

 per M feet b. m. : 1860. |29.60 : 187.0, $36 ; 

 1880. .$40; ISnO. .$77.60; 1900 ; ?200.. 



"During the winter of 1906-7. .the Bavarian 

 government had cut in the Rothenbuch range 

 altogether 332 oak trees, which were between 

 350 and 480 years old, obtaining therefrom 777 

 logs averaging 430 feet b. m. per log, and sell- 

 ing at a price for the logs.' left in the woods 

 at points about ten miles frcm the railroad, 

 averaging $101 per M feet b. m. 



"The best log was 23 feet long, with a diam- 

 eter of 32 inches. The log was sold at the 

 price of $251 per M feet b. m. 



"The ten best logs showed an average volume 

 of 1,250 feet b. m. ; average value, $231 per 

 M feet b. m. 



"The 347 logs next in quality to those given 

 above averaged 590 feet b. m., and brought 

 an average auction price of $125 per M .'feet 

 b. m. 



"The remaining 420 logs, averaging §75 feet 

 b. m., were sold at an average price of $52.50 

 per M feet b. m. 



"The prices obtained for these logs — white 

 oak of slow growth, fine texture and great soft- 

 ness — will amaze American producers of oak 

 lumber, and still more American owners of 

 white oak stumpage. The remnants of white 

 oak stumpage in the old country of so-called 

 primeval character, are very scant, and high 

 prices are obtained, for the mere reason that 

 the owners — mostly state governments — husband 

 and hoard their scant holdings with the utmost 

 care, cutting only a small percentage of the 

 trees in their possession each year, and offer- 

 ing to the market a smaller amount of stump- 

 age than it desires and requires. 



"Sooner or latter the time must come in the 

 United States, too, when white oak logs will 

 be as rare as diamonds, and will bring prices 

 similar to those now obtained abroad. The 

 strongest argument in favor of conservative 

 forestry lies in the rapid and sure advance of 

 stumpage prices paid for primeval stumpage of 

 good quality. Many of us, I hope, will see the 

 time, not more than thirty years distant, when 

 wise owners who have hoarded their stumpage 

 will reap the reward of their wisdom. With 

 kind regards. C. A. Schenxk." 



New Classification and Grading Bules. 



The Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of 

 the United States has just issued its new hand- 

 book of the classification, olflcial grading and 

 inspection rules for hardwood lumber and logs. 

 The pamphlet contains eighty-two pages and 

 embraces general instructions for the manufac- 

 ture, inspection and measurement of hardwoods, 

 as well as the specific rules covering each va- 

 riety ; the rules of the Southern Cypress Manu- 

 facturers' Association on tupelo. adopted June 

 28, 1906 ; the same association's rules on 

 cypress, adopted May 16, 1907 ; the otBclal 

 symbols for grade marks and the universal 

 standard log scale. 



The booklet bears a red stripe diagonally 

 across the face and back, as a sign that it is 

 the latest edition, and that all prior editions 

 are now void and canceled. Copies may be 

 had for - 10 cents each, by applying to the 

 secretai-y's office in the First National Bank 

 building, Chicago. 



Handsome New Catalog. 



The Philadelphia Textile Machinery Company, 

 Philadelphia. Pa., is just out with one of the 

 finest specimens of catalog work that has ever 

 . been issued by a like concern, published in the 

 , interests of its Proctor Automatic Dryer, which 

 is said to be an epoch-maker in the history of 

 veneer manufacture. The company's idea in 

 carrying out the scheme of its new catalog is 

 that a trip, commencing from its shops and 

 passing through various mills which have the 

 dr.ver in operation, is the most convincing argu- 

 ment that can be presented in its favor ; and 

 that, it being impracticable to get all who 

 might be interested to take such a trip, a re- 

 production of the scenes encountered, in photo- 

 graphic form, would give the observer a fair 

 idea of what the machine is accomplishing. Ac- 

 cordingly views of not only the various depart- 

 ments of the Philadelphia Textile Machinery 

 Company's plant are given, showing the means 

 by which the apparatus is evolved, but also 

 interior and exterior pictures of plants where 



