HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



Hardwood Record Mail 'Bag 



[In this depavtmeut it is proposed to reply 

 to such inquiries as reach this othce from the 

 Hardwood Record clientage as will be of enough 

 general interest to warrant publication. Every 

 patron of the paper is invited to use this de- 

 partment to the fullest extent, and an attempt 

 will be made to answer (jueries pertaining to all 

 matters of interest to the hardwood trade, in 

 a succinct and intelligent manner.] 



Opinion on Timber Investments. 

 Rhinelander, Wis., Sept. 12. — Editor Haud- 

 wooD Record : I noticed in the present issue 

 of the Record an article about the advice 

 given by the Chicago Journal to young men 

 advising them to buy timber lands, no matter 

 where or of what kind. I agree with the 

 editor of the Journal more than I do with 

 you. Remembering that ten years ago hem- 

 locI< logs delivered at the mills were worth 

 only $1.75 per thousand, and that five years 

 ago jack pine had no particular value at all, 

 and comparing these with the present year, 

 v/hen jack pine lumber sells for $20 per thou- 

 .sand and hemlock at an average of about $1S, 

 would it not appear to any young fellow that 

 timber, even of the kinds despised at pres- 

 ent, would be a good purchase if he could 

 buy it cheap? The most satisfactory invest- 

 ments in timber from the standpoint of the 

 young man are the kinds that are neglected 

 now, or which are in an almost inaccessible 

 region and not available to market. Such 

 lands can be bought at a cost that would 

 permit holding them till the raise in price 

 or shortage of supplies would induce the 

 owner or some millman to build railroads or 

 improve the navigable waters, so as to bring 

 their products to market. The cheap timber 

 of today, if there is any such thing, is the 

 kind to invest in. Available nearby timber 

 is too high priced to buy now, except for 

 immediate use or to hold as a reserve for 

 some established plant. And, again, what 

 kind of timber is there now that does not 

 have a value and that will not increase as 

 the years pass? I will grant that oak or 

 hickory or basswood and elm will increase 

 above the present range of value, but not 

 to so great an extent as some kinds that are 

 hardly in demand at all now, and which have 

 more leeway to advance on. As a wood gets 

 expensive people begin to look for a substi- 

 tute for it, just as liickory and rock elm, for 

 buggies and wagons and many other such 

 uses, are being replaced wlierever possible b>' 

 hard maple and birch. A few years ago 

 people would not have dreamed of using 

 anything but oak or hickory; now they take 

 up another wood and find that it answers 

 the purposes for many uses just as well as 

 oak. The neglected woods are the ones to 

 buy and make the greatest profit on. — C. P. C. 



The warning the Hardwood Eecobd in- 

 tended to convey to those seeking investment, 

 in the editorial referred to, does not in any 

 way antagonize the arguments brought forth 

 by this correspondent. There is no doubt that 

 even fairly well bought timberlands iu either 

 large or small quantities represent a mighty 

 good investment. But be sure to get actual 

 timber lands. Perhaps this correspondent is 

 not familiar with the fact that there are a 

 good many bunko men abroad in the land who 

 attempt to separate people from their money 

 by offering spurious timber properties. Cases 

 have been known during the last year where 

 [lurchasers found their titles worthless. In 

 many eases the estimates are fictitious and 

 the purchaser is badly mulcted. There was 



one transaction a few years ago where an 

 astute lumberman was shown a magnificent 

 tract of cypress and supposedly purchased it. 

 Shortly afterward he made the unhappy dis- 

 covery that he had not been wdthin twenty 

 miles of the lands described in his deeds, and 

 that his property was absolutely devoid of 

 timber. Hence the warning held out to pros- 

 pective purchasers: Be sure of the character 

 of the people with whom you deal; be sure of 

 the integrity and judgment of your cruiser; 

 be sure of the abstract of title; be sure that 

 the phyeics of the wood are good. With these 

 precautious a timber purchase almost any- 

 where represents a good and solid investment. 

 — Editor. 



More About Teredo. 



Chelsea, Mass., Sept. 13. — Editor IIakdwood 

 Record : The paragraph on page 27 of the i.isue 

 oi Sept. 10 in regard to cargo of mahogany and 

 cedar is flattering to us, but did you ever figure 

 how much of a cargo 12,763 logs would make? 

 .Vt an average of 4U0 feet to the log — which is 

 about what they will run, cirgo in and cargo 

 out — you will have 5,103,000 feet. The new 

 t.usitania, if everything was cleared out of her 

 and she was turned into a freight boat, would 

 carry considerable more than that, but I never 

 heard of a freight steamer which would carry 

 that quantity of logs. As a matter of fact, the 

 cargo did consist of 2,799 logs, which surveyed 

 1,177,877 feet. 



Mr. Hamilton's article in the same paper on 

 the teredo was both interesting and instructive, 

 but do you suppose he ever actually tried that 

 plan of turning the logs partly over in the water 

 from time to time? If not, and he will try it, we 

 think he will have a merry time in making them 

 stay in any position except the one way that 

 nature compels them to float on account of the 

 uneven distribution of their weight. Mr. Hamil- 

 ton does not make his statement quite strong 

 enough when he says that "mahogany and cedar 

 logs are sometimes totally ruined in four months 

 in brackish water." We have known them to be 

 badly damaged in four days, although not, of 

 course, totally destroyed in that length of time. 

 We know of only one way to absolutely prevent 

 damage by the teredo in tropical waters, and 

 that is to keep the rafts entirely above brackish 

 water until it is known absolutely when the ves- 

 sel will be ready to receive them. — George D. 

 E.MERY Company, by Geo. L. Cade. 



The error in statement of measurement 

 noted above is one of those technical blunders 

 that will happen occasionally in any print 

 shop ; and the correspondent 's suggestion to 

 Mr. Hamilton about turning logs may not be 

 out of place. — Editor. 



More About New Maple Inspection. 



Grand Rapids, Mich., Sept. 16. — Editor Hard- 

 wood Record : In your issue of Sept. 10, on 

 page 14. under the article entitled "New Inspec- 

 tion Rules of the National Hardwood Lumber As- 

 sociation." you describe a maple board 1x6 inches, 

 10 and 11 feet, as No. 1 common according to the 

 new rules adopted by the National Hardwood 

 Lumber -Vssociation. I find nothing in the new 

 rules which would prevent such a board from 

 being a second, and I should be glad to be in- 

 formed how you arrive at your conclusions. On 

 page 10 of the new rules I find "In the grading 

 of firsts and seconds the lengths are .S to 16 feet," 

 and on page 16, "A second must be 6 inches and 

 over wide." Therefore a piece 8. 9 or 10 feet 

 lung and (! inches and over wide, if clear, would 



be a second according to my interpretation of 

 the rules. If this is not correct please advise 

 me. — MacBride Lu.mber Company. 



With reference to the above, the corre- 

 spondent will note that under "General In- 

 structions — Standard Lengths," page 10 of 

 the new book, it says that Is and 2s shall 

 be 8' and longer, and on page 16 it says 

 that Is will be 10' and longer; therefore it 

 is assumed that under the cajjtion of 23 it 

 should read 8' and longer. Admitting this to 

 be a fact, a strip 8' long, if clear, would be 

 a second, providing it is (i" and over wide, 

 but the editorial referred to only treats of 

 specified sizes where the old and the new rules 

 differ. The rule on page 16 says that defects 

 will be admitted according to surface meas- 

 ure of the piece, therefore a strip 6" wide 

 and 10 or 11' long, not having 6' board meas- 

 ure, would not admit of one defect, thus put- 

 ting it into a No. 1 common, while the old 

 rules will admit this size with one defect into 

 the grade of 2s, — Editor. 



Addresses Wanted. 



Stoucjiiton, Wis., Sept. 10.— Editor Hardwood 

 Record : We wish you could furnish us names of 

 makers of birch hubs, particularly those located 

 in the Adirondack mountain and Maine districts. 

 Would much appreciate such a list. 



& Co. 



Our records are deficient in names of above- 

 mentioned manufacturers and all those who 

 are engaged in this line, or any reader know- 

 ing such mauui^acturers, will confer a favor 

 by sending their names, that we may compile 

 as complete a list as possible. — Editor. 



Wants Dimension Stock. 



Putnam, Conn., Sept. 17. — Editor Hardwood 

 Record : Kindly give us the names of handle 

 manufacturing or other arms who get out hick- 

 ory and dogwood stock aiound Nashville and 

 Memphis. & Son, 



A few names have been supplied above 

 correspondent, though not iu the district spe- 

 cified. Anyone interested may have his ad- 

 dress on application. — Editor. 



Who Makes Bicycle Kims? 



.Milwaukee, Wis., Sept. 10. — Editor Hard- 

 wood Record: We manufacture a punching bag 

 platform which requires a rim similar to a half 

 bicycle rim. Inasmuch as .vou probably have in 

 your possession the names of bicycle rim manu- 

 facturers we would thank you to kindly advise 

 us what concerns would be in position to furnish 

 them. The rim is about 25 inches in diameter 

 and 1 to 11/4 inches thick. C. K. 



We have supplied this correspondent with 

 a few names, and anyone else desiring to com- 

 municate with him should address this office. 

 — Editor. 



New Secretary Michigan Hardwood Manu- 

 facturers' Association. 

 J. C. Knox of Grand Rapids has been appoint- 

 ed secretary of the Michigan Hardwood Manu- 

 facturers' Association by the Executive Board, 

 succeeding Bruce Odell, who was obliged to 

 retire on account of the quantity of work he 

 has to perform for the Cummer-Diggins Com- 

 pany. Mr. Knox has been chief clerk in the 

 freight department of the G. R. & I. railway 

 for many years, has a large acquaintance among 

 members of the association, and is thoroughly 

 posted on traflic matters. This will make him 

 a particularly desirable acquisition for the a.s- 

 soeiation in the place which he will occupy. 

 The secretary's office will be continued at Cad- 

 illac. 



