HARDWOOD RECORD 



35 



lug to the front this month sincp the mills o£ 

 Ohio and western Pennsylvania have resumed 

 operations, and large quantities are being sold 

 to the wagon and buggy trade and the handle 

 manufactories. 



Buffalo, 



Sales in all lines are increasing in spite o£ the 

 large amount of lumber sold during the summer. 

 Hardwoods have been in good demand all during 

 the past season. Hardwood dealers here are very 

 active and they appear to work to good purpose, 

 for the supply of lumber they obtain and pass 

 on to the retailer and consumer is much greater 

 than would be supposed possible, with all hard- 

 wood lumber so scarce. Prices do not change 

 to any extent, nothing but poplar going up, and 

 that still lower than the prices that were put 

 on it some years ago by the producers. 



Everybody is still looking to birch for helping 

 out in most directions. It takes the place of 

 any wood used for inside finish and seems to 

 grow more plentiful with its increasing use. 

 Washington fir is coming into much the same 

 use. while its strength puts it into the ash 

 trade, which is disappearing on account of 

 scarcity. 



Chestnut is not more plentiful and sells about 

 on a par with plain oak. There is a good re- 

 port from cherry, and walnut is still an occa- 

 sional seller. Maple sells well, goorl reports 

 coming from the flooring mills. There is some 

 increase in the demand for basswood, with elm 

 still rather quiet. They will both be wanted in 

 good time and would never have been laid aside 

 but for the high price asked for them at the 

 sawmills. 



The great point in the entire trade is the 

 rapid consumption. The eastern retailer is not 

 stocking up. This is shown by the hurry-up 

 orders given with purchases. He wants the 

 stock for the consumer. Buffalo was never 

 building so generally all over the city as now 

 and though extra competition is cutting down 

 the earnings of the door mills the work Is heavy. 



Saginaw Valley, 



Trade is a little bi-ighter as regards orders 

 and inquiries than it has been for some time, 

 but quotations show no perceptible appreciation 

 in the matter of values. There is some call for 

 beech and birch, a number of sales being reported 

 in this last wood. Maple is weak. It can be 

 bought, so buyers assert, at interior mills at a 

 figure less than was asked last spring. On the 

 other hand, it is claimed that this is only small 

 scattered lots, but that the general market is 

 holding up well and at fair prices. No. 2 common 

 and better being firm at $16 and $1S. Elm is 

 still sold around the .?2'J to $2G mark, and bass- 

 wood at :?23. The demand for basswood culls by 

 box manufacturers has helped that commodity. 

 Beech is moving better at .'iil4 and birch at $20 

 to $2.'J.oU. Ash is strong at $27 and $28 and 

 not much offering. There is ample stock to meet 

 the requirements of the trade and timber owners 

 are making preparations for the usual output 

 this fall nud winter in the woods, 



Indianapolis. 



The hardwood lumber situation here is entirel.v 

 satisfactory to dealers. Indeed, the volume of 

 business done during tlie summer season was 

 larger than was anticipated and all Indianapolis 

 firms have apparently prospered. There is con- 

 siderable building being done here now and as a 

 result demand for all grades of hardwoods is 

 good. I'rices are steady. The fall buying by 

 manufacturers is now on and numerous orders of 

 this nature have been placed with local dealers. 

 Plain and quartered oak are both in good de- 

 mand. 



Nashville. 



A strong market, stiff pric(>s. good demand and 

 no surplus of slocks are the characteristics of the 

 local market at this writing. Orders by mail 

 and from salesmen on the ground are plentiful 

 and are from all parts of the country. The only 

 question is that of being able to get the stuff. 

 I'"or some time chestnut has been in great de- 

 mand in this market. This wood has proved to 

 be useful for interior finish, as it does not cost 

 as much to work as it does oak, and at the 

 same time good widths and grades are obtain- 

 able. Good black locust poles are in heavy de- 



mand, having replaced cedar as telephone and 

 telegraph poles and as railway and highway 

 piling. The ends are being creosoted and the 

 wood is found to last comparatively well. Pop- 

 lar is bringing the full list price and all the 

 dry stock, firsts and seconds, is being accepted 

 liy ready buyers. The heavy building that has 

 characterized this section as well as the entire 

 country has made quartered oak flooring in great 

 demand, both in firsts and seconds and strips and 

 common. All grades of ash and hickory are be- 

 ing bought wherever obtainable. A tide is on 

 now and a good deal of badly needed timber is 

 coming down the river. Every tow of it is 

 welcomed eagerly and enthusiastically too, as 

 the supply this fall and winter is said to be 

 about one-third of what was expected and is 

 usual. September trade is holding up about as 

 briskly as did the remarkable business scored 

 during the month of August, which was a rec- 

 ord breaker for Nashville lumbermen. 



Memphis. 



The demand for hardwoods in Memphis and 

 vicinity continues excellent and the market Is in 

 a very healthy position from a price standpoint. 

 Stocks continue rather light in shipping and 

 bone dry. Although weather conditions during 

 the past fortnight have been more favorable for 

 production, there is not as much lumber on 

 slicks as there should be at this season. The 

 domestic demand is better than the foreign, but 

 there is a very satisfactory business reported 

 in export circles. There are more mills oper- 

 ating in this territory than there have been tor 

 some time, owing to the more favorable weather, 

 but nothing like all of them are in operation and 

 almost everybody in the trade admits that there 

 will not be any accumulation of lumber this win- 

 ter unless it results from something that affects 

 the demand. 



The car shortage is perhaps not quite so pro- 

 nounced as was expected by this lime, but it is 

 bad enough and lumber from interior points is 

 rather slow in moving. In Memphis proper there 

 is very little trouble so far. 



Plain oak is a very ready seller in all grades 

 and thicknesses of both red and white. Prices 

 have been maintained with comparative ease, 

 and there is not enough stock to prove a weight 

 on the market for some time. Quarter sawed 

 white oak is selling more readily, especially in 

 I he higher grades, but quartered red is easily the 

 dullest item ou the list. Ash is a very ready 

 seller. There is not much of this available and 

 those who have any for sale are disposing of it 

 at as high prices as have prevailed at any time 

 during the past twelve months. Cypress moves 

 without difficulty at very full figures and in all 

 grades. Cottonwood is in excellent demand in 

 both box Ijoards and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 common. 

 The supply is very light. The box manufactur- 

 ers, who are the largest consumers, state that 

 they do not know where 500,000 feet of dry low 

 grade cottonWood could be found in this section. 

 The box men are doing a phenomenal business, 

 the largest in their history, and this is one of 

 the stimulating factors in the Cottonwood sit- 

 uation. Gum is a splendid seller in the lower 

 grades, deriving part of its strength from the 

 scarcity of low grade cottonwood. Firsts and 

 seconds red are also in good demand, with a 

 large movement in ihin stock and inch lumber. 

 Clear saps are dull, however, ana prices on 

 these are low compared to the upper and iowki 

 grades of this wood. 



New Orleans, 



Excepting that more lumber is being cut by 

 reason of the fact that more mills are in opera- 

 lion, there has been litMe change in the condi- 

 tion of the hardwood market in the last fort- 

 uight. Exports are improving slightly and the 

 interior demand remains about the same as it 

 was two weeks ago. Like all the other mills 

 throughout this territory, the hardwood plants 

 are experiencing some difficulty in moving their 

 cut because of the shortage of cars. This is 

 affecting in some degree the supply to the 

 interior. Prices are a little higher and it is 

 expected they will continue to go up. 



Louisville, 



Manufacturers and dealers here report that 



there are lots of buyers in the hardwood market 



now, and it is practically no trouble to dispose 



of anything in the hardwood line at fair prices. 



The furniture men, as noted heretofore, started 

 in buying earlier than usual this year, and car 

 stock people are scouring the country for stock 

 right along. It is also noted that the demand 

 from the building trades for structural work 

 of various kinds is taking more oak than usual 

 this year, so that the manufacturers are able to 

 find a ready market for rough stock In framing 

 and timbers. There also appears to be a very 

 active demand for small dimension stock, espe- 

 cially for chair stock of one kind or another, 

 though of course the prices attached to these 

 inquiries are not always as inviting as manu- 

 facturers think they ought to be. It all indi- 

 cates plainly, however, that the buyers are much 

 more anxious for stock these days than the 

 mlUmen are to sell. There is a fair supply 

 of plain oak among the yards here which will 

 unquestionably come in handy since the 

 car shortage has become general, and the yard 

 men who have put forth unusual energies to- 

 ward accumulating stock the latter half of the 

 summer feel justified in their action. Poplar 

 dry stock is bringing some fancy prices and 

 there is probably not a man here but what 

 could sell twice as much as he can get. 



Minneapolis. 



For some reason which hardwood dealers are 

 not able to explain, the demand for hardwood 

 lumber from the sash and door plants and other 

 manufacturing concerns has not been In propor- 

 tion to the amount of business they have done 

 this summer. Apparently a large proportion of 

 their product has gone into pine and western 

 lumber. The factories have all had a good 

 season, and are running at full tilt with an 

 excellent outlook for fall and winter business. 

 They still buy hardwood, however, on a light 

 scale, and mostly in small lots to fill Immediate 

 needs. Business is fairly good and prices are 

 firm. In fact, most of the manufacturers are 

 holding off with the idea that prices will ad- 

 vance after the holidays, so there is little 

 eagerness on the part of either buyer or seller. 

 There Is no real abundance In any kind of 

 hardwood. The most plentiful thing Is birch, 

 and the trade is beginning to realize that 

 unsold birch stocks are not very large and 

 numerous. In all probability the birch now 

 manufactured will be well cleaned up by next 

 spring. There is a fair call for basswood, which 

 Is firm in price and in smaller quantity than 

 usual at this season of the year. The supply of 

 rock elm, ash and northern oak is extremely 

 limited, and for all practical purposes they are 

 about wiped off the slate. Maple in most sizes 

 is also getting scarce. There is a good demand 

 for fiooring, and the country trade is taking a 

 fair proportion of wagon stock with its regular 

 fall stock orders. 



Liverpool, 



Three mahogany auction sales have taken 

 place during the last fortnight. They were well 

 attended and higher prices ruled generally. How- 

 ever, the top has undoubtedly been reached and 

 lower prices may be expected toward the end of 

 the year. 



It is well to again refer to the practice of 

 merchants here of obliterating the lot numbers 

 of logs bought by American buyers, who should 

 lake it to heart that where this Is done in al- 

 most every case it means that they are being 

 "had." They should insist ou lot numbers being 

 left on the logs, and to ask for the brokers' meas- 

 urement cards, as was stated in this department 

 in the last Issue of the Hardwood Record. 



Ash and oak planks are in active demand and 

 are commanding high prices. 



Several large orders have been placed for prime 

 quartered oak boards, but low prices only have 

 been obtained. A very curious position is to be 

 found in this wood. We have a very large stock 

 bought at much lower figures than they could be 

 replaced for, but in spite of this if one Is to 

 cjbtain orders one has great difficulty in finding 

 a profit. This, however, will undoubtedly right 

 itself in due course. 



Ash logs are selling at a figure which is alto- 

 gether too low. Suffering from the excessive 

 import ou consignment wagon oak planks in 

 suitable lengths are absolutely unobtainable and 

 will bring higli prices. 



Oak and ash dimension timber is also In much 

 request and any cutters of this could obtain 

 large orders. 



