iS 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



MA lower than market values. I flatter myself 

 (hat my article stopped those shippers from 

 shippiuj? further lots on consignment at tlie ad- 

 vice of broiters whose only interest is their own 

 pocliet. I shall at all times be glad to hear of 

 friendly criticism, imt I strongly olj.iect to petty 

 spite. Yours trul.v. . 



LiVKRPOOi., E.\ia..iMi. Ans. 0. — Editor IIaud- 

 wooD Record : Your Liverpool c(trrespf)ndent of 

 .lul.v 25 has evidently allowed his political 

 lire.i'udice to overbalance his judgment. In busi. 

 ness reports it is mudi wiser to state facts than 

 to ofl"er opinions. 



Hecause in some few recent elections, owing 

 1o the fact tliat three candidates have been 

 nominated for one seat, the Socialists have stolen 

 the representation, it doc'S not at all follow that 

 their principles are being pushed to the fore in 

 the government of this countr.v. The fact is, the 

 Socialists are as much opposed to the present 

 Llovernment as they are to the party which sits 

 on the other side of the House, and on every 

 liossible opportunity run candidates against the 

 jiovt-rnment nominees. 



Instead of money which ought to have been 

 sjtcnt on "further orders" being spent in '"So- 

 cialist legislation" (what your erratic corre- 

 spondent means by this phrase is rather a 

 cimiindrum) tlie fact is, that the trade of Great 

 ISrilain is in a stronger condition at the present 

 moment than at any previous time in its his- 

 tory. The Board of Trade returns prove this 

 beyond question. The returns for .Inly were 

 issued yesterday afternoon. In comparing these 

 with last year it must be remembered that I'.Klii 

 was itself a record year. The imports for .Tuly 

 totaled .'I;.j2,213.304. compared with £4!<.iiU7.7ill> 

 for the corresponding period last year. The 

 value of the exports amounted to £40,4,">2.;W1. 

 as against £33,442.062 in .Tuly last year. The 

 imports for the month thus show an increase of 

 £3. 1)05.505 : whilst the exports were £7.(1011.30!) 

 in excess of last year. 



'I'hat this improvement is general and not con- 

 lined to one or two trades is evident from the 

 fact that the principal increases in exports last 

 month were, iron and steel and manufactures 

 thereof, .6830,315; other metals and manufac- 

 tures thereof, £104,044 : machinery, £0SS,o27 ; 

 cotton, £1,976,330 ; wool, £514,885 : other yarns 

 and textile fabrics, £220,380 ; apparel, £113.277 ; 

 chemicals, drugs, dyes and colors, £170,500 ; and 

 miscellaneous, £400,572. 



It is a recognized fact that the lumber trade 

 is generally the last to feel any improvement 

 in the trade of the country, as it is also nearly 

 always the last to suHer from depression. The 

 lumber trade is very largely dependent on the 

 building industries and as long as other invest- 

 ments otfer lietter returns than bricks and mor- 

 tar, so long is money spent, not in "Socialist 

 Ic'gislation." but In other things than real estate 

 and lumber. It is only when general trade be- 

 gins to decline that these latter begin to pros- 

 per. Similar conditions inUuence the price of 

 consols and other gilt-edged securities. Consols 

 are low because trade is good. 



ICxceptiou may also be taken to your corre- 

 spondent's prophecy respecting the alarming 

 increase in the prices of mahogany mentioned 

 in the previous issue of IlAnowooD ItKcoitu. 

 Again the facts are against him. The .July auc- 

 tions certainly did not mark any approach to 

 higher prices : indeed, in the opinion of .some 

 who bought largely at these sales, there was a 

 (liance to buy below valuations based on results 

 of May and .Tune auctions. Already there are 

 large parcels in the yards for the August sales, 

 and in the judgment of the writer, which is 

 backed by possibly the best authority in the 

 trade, it may be said that whilst prices may not 

 to any marked degree recede from recent re- 

 sults, they most certainly will not advance in the 

 manner suggested by your alarmist and alarmed 

 <-orrespondent. The auctions during the next 

 three or four months will in all probability afford 

 opportunities to purchase at what may be con- 



sidered ruling prices. The present healthy con- 

 dition of the mahogany market here is certain 

 to attract shipments in sufficient <ptantities to 

 steady the advance, whilst the strong demand 

 from America will prevent a decline. 



Yours truly, . 



Who Cuts Willow? 



Mk.mimiis, Texx., Aug. 20. — ICditor Il.vmi- 

 wooi) liKCOKD ; I will appreciate it if you will 

 give me the names of some mills cutting willow, 

 as I have inquiry for export stock. — G, l\ 



Anyone manufacturing this stock and who 

 cares to comiminicate witli this corre.sjionclent 

 may liave liis address on a]iplicatioii to this 

 oflico. — Editor. 



About Hickory. 



ASBcnv Taek. N. J., Aug. 12. — Editor IIaiiD- 

 WOOD Kfcord : Can you tell us if hickory grown 

 in some sections of the country is stiffer than 

 that grown in others? If so, in which part.^ 

 would the stiffiest wood grow? Also, can you 

 till us what treatment is necessar.v to keep this 

 wood from twisting out of straight after it is 

 turned for whip handles, golf sticks, etc.? Any 

 information you can give us aloiig this line 

 will be greatly appreciated. 



I lilo not know that there is any particu- 

 lar difference in the stiffness of second- 

 growth liickory attributable to the particu- 

 lar section in which it grows. Arkansas sec- 

 ond-growth has the reputation of being as 

 good as an}', and today that is the real cen- 

 ter of hickory production. If the wood is 

 thoroughly and properly seasoned in the 

 squares very little of it should twist out of 

 straight after it is turned. The directions 

 for properly piling oak dimension stock 

 which you will find in an article on page 21 

 of the Hardwood Record of July -5 should 

 apply to the piling of hickory. However, 

 this inquiry is run in the mail bag to see if 

 .some reader will give some furtlier informa- 

 tion on the stibjeet. Kditor. 



From the Editor of Arboriculture. 



(^oxnehsvili-e, Ini>.. Aug. 7. — Editor IIaiui- 

 wooD Record: I have your paper of .Tuly 25 

 and have extracted from it your article on 

 "Railway Ties, for September ArboricuKure." 

 Ycsterda.v I received a copy of the .lonrnal of 

 Commerce, published in Rio .Tanelro. containing 

 a column article on my book. ".Tournal and 

 >Vork," concluding with an extract from the 

 llAiiDwoon Record, endorsing the subject. The 

 world is surel.v learning that arboriculture is an 

 important subject and thai the catalpa is a val- 

 uahle tree. — Jonx P. Brow.n. 



Sapodilla. 



l-'OltT SCOTT, K.\.\.. .luly :_".».- — l-Mllol- llAIMiWoul. 



Ui'icoHD : I am as much interested in the search 

 for a substitute for hickory or the hoop-pole, as 

 st)me people are for the north pole. 



I notice in your journal of .Tuly 10, the articli^ 

 entitled "Woods in the Vehicle Industry," an<l 

 1 am very much interested in i(, so far as it re- 

 lates to a substirute for hickory in the manu- 

 facture of gear and wheel material for ligiit 

 veliicles. I have given tliis branch of the wood 

 business considerable time and attention for two 

 or three years. Have examined several specii's 

 of timber on the Pacitic coast, particularly, 

 eucalyptus, which is receiving considerable atten- 

 tion just now and mentioned by Mr. Ilolro.vd as 

 a possible substitute. The forest of this wood 

 which I have specially in mind, was lirst brought 

 from Australia in very small seedlings, about fift.v 

 years ago, and planted on the hill sides near the 

 Golden Gate 'by Rudolph Sutro. They have grown 



and flourished on the rugged mountain slopes 

 around the clt.v of San I'"ranclseo. in close prox- 

 imity to the sea, and farther south along the 

 coast, wheri' tlie atmospheric c<mditions are right 

 and frost unknown. Eucalyptus does not thrive so 

 well, hcjwever, in oth<'r localities or higher alti- 

 tudes. Jn fact, the conditions are so rare and 

 (he area so limited in which it flourishes that it 

 can never cut much of a tigure as a substitute 

 i'iiv hickory, although some authorities on timber 

 matters have thought that it might, but I wish 

 to discourage the idea as being imreasonable. 

 It is a quick growth hardwood hut is much 

 inclined to be limby. as it does not lose 

 its branches early or while a sapling, as is the 

 case with hickor.v. For this reason all the tree, 

 except possibly, the very butt log. would so de- 

 velop knots by sawing, as to render it worthless 

 as a material from which to manufacture this 

 one particular item of hardwood lumbi'r, namely, 

 light vehicle stock, and it is only in this con- 

 nection that I am speaking. The forest of euca- 

 lyptus on the Sutro estate is doubtless the 

 largest body of this kind of timl)er and contains 

 the best specimens of it to be found in this 

 country, and yet it is not being utilized for any 

 commercial purpose except cord wood for fuel, 

 and according to my judgment, the nature of 

 the timlier will bar it from ever being a iiracti- 

 c-al substitute for liickory. I do not wish to be 

 understood as condemning it, however, for it has 

 its many good qualities and is a splendid tree 

 and a very valuable part of the forests of 

 the T'nited States. The men who brought it 

 from the far off land o£ its nativity and planted 

 it on our shores deserve great credit. It is being 

 tested, studied and experimented witli quite ex- 

 tensively at present and is found to possess 

 many desirable commercial qualities. The only 

 fact to be regretted in regard to it. as mentioned 

 above, is that the total area of country here in 

 the states where it will grow is so small that 

 it will not admit of it ever Ijecoming a factor in 

 supplying material for tlie vehicle indvistry even 

 if there were no other obstacles in the way. 

 With the new wood sapodilla. the conditions are 

 radically different. We have it in almost unlim- 

 ited (luantities in all the tropical and semi-tropi- 

 cal forests in the countries surrounding the Car- 

 ribean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, where it has 

 grown for centuries untouched, still standing at 

 f)ur very door as it were, and within easy reach 

 of our southern ports. Sapodilla or zapote is 

 the tree from the juice or sap of which chicle, 

 the basis of chewing gum. is extracted, and it is 

 this tree that I think from its own peculiar 

 merits, will finally be adopted and become gen- 

 erally used as a sulistitute for hickory. It is 

 similar to it in every particular except color, be- 

 ing of a reddish tinge, as are most all other 

 tropical woods, and in introducing it, it will so 

 completely (ill the bill that there will be no 

 prejudice on the part of the consumer to be re- 

 moved, and substitution will be easy when the 

 manufacturer hits upon the right materljll. The 

 natives of Honduras. (Uiatemala, and other Cen- 

 tral .\merican states invariably use it in making 

 axe handles and other implements and they just 

 as naturally look to it for these purposes as we 

 use the hickory, and they tell me that it has 

 lii'en recognized by them for centuries, as being 

 I he most suitable wood for such purposes. 1 

 have examined the handles of axes used b.v the 

 natives in liewing maliogany and chopiiing out 

 logging roads and they are equal, if not sttperior. 

 to hickory. Most all the logging camps use it 

 for making ox bows, and I was told b.v one of 

 llie foremen of the George D. Emery Company 

 that it was the best timber that could be gotten 

 tor that purpose, as it was springy, could be 

 shaved down to a neat size and become smooth 

 and polished by wear, still being strong enough 

 to stand the pulling and jerking of the logging 

 cattle for years, and it looks reasonable that 

 wood with these qualities woidd be quite suitable 

 for bending or manufacturing wheels and fel- 

 loes. 



