Published In the Interest of Hardwood Lumber, American Hardw^ood Forests, Wood Veneer Industry. Hardwood Flooring, 

 Hardwood Interior Finish. Wood Chemicals, Saw Mill and WoodworKing Machinery. 



Vol. XXII. 



CHICAGO. JULY 25. 1906. 



No. 7. 



Published on tlie lOlh and 25lh of each monlh fcy 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Henry H. Gibson. President Frank W. Tuttle, Sec-Treas. 



OFFICES 

 Sixin Floor Ellsworth BIdg., 355 Dearborn St Chicago, 111., U.S.A. 



Telephones: Harrison 4960 Automatic 5659 



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 right, and articles must not be reprinted without special permission. 

 Entered at Chicago Postoffice as Second Class Matter. 



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 publication date. Advertising rates on application. 



MEETING MICHIGAN HARDWOOD MANUFAC= 

 TUBERS' ASSOCIATION. 



A meeting of the Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association will he held at the John Jacob Astor House, 

 Island of Mackinac, Mich., at 10 a. m. on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 

 It is anticipated that this meeting will call out the attend- 

 ance of the majority of hardwood manufacturers of the state. 

 The Island can be reached by the Pere Marquette Railway, 

 via Petoskey; Grand Rapids & Indiana, via Mackinaw City; 

 Michigan Central, via Mackinaw City; Detroit & Mackinaw 

 via Cheboygan and boat; Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic 

 and "Soo" Line, via St. Ignace; or from Chicago via 

 .steamer Manitou, leaving at 11:30 a. m. Monday, Aug. 6, 

 and arriving at the Island at the same hour on Tuesday, 

 Aug. 7. 



General Market Conditions. 



]''rom an analysis of the liartlivoiul market ii'|iiiils iMUitained iu this 

 issue of the Hardwood Eecord it will be noted that tlie general con- 

 ditions this year are far above the average for midsiiinmcr, as eom- 

 [lared with like seasons of many years in the past. To be sure, in 

 some trade centers plain white oak still leads the van in strength of 

 demand, with plain red a strong second. Quarter-sawed stock in botli 

 varieties is doing fairly well. The demand for chestnut is phenom- 

 enal, and seems to be increasing. 



The demand and breadth of distribution of red gum is daily widen- 

 ing. Sales of large blocks of stock have been made within the last 

 two weeks. The buying public the country over hai^ at last awakened 

 to the superb qualities of red gum and are buying it freely. 



No variety of the minor southern hardwoods has accumulated in 

 any quantity. The call for hickory and other wagon material is 

 way beyond the possibilities of producers to supply. The mail of 

 tho Hardwood Recced is deluged for information as to possible 

 sources of supply for these materials. There is a movement on foot 

 at the i)rcscnt time to advance prices on both wagons ami carriages 

 to provide for increased cost. 



In the northern woods llioiu is less activity than in the southern 

 lini's of production. Inch maple is fairly well contracted for up to 

 (he .saw by the flooring producers, but there is still a slight surplus 

 (if thick stock. There seems to be an increased call for birch, but not 

 so strong as the merits of the wood would naturally warrant. Bass- 

 wood, owing to the shortage of competitive woods, is doing much 

 better, and dry stocks are closely picked u[i. Gray elm is not nearly 

 so active in demand as it should be, considering the fine qualities 

 of this wood. Black ash and rock elm are practically out of the 

 market,, having been contracted ahead even before the trees were 

 fi'lled. 



Poplar, owing to the lack of tides in tho southern mountain dis- 

 trict, vvhicli have failed to turn out any considerable quantity of 

 h)gs this year, is in remarkably short supply, and there is lots of 

 trading among manufacturers to take care of even a modicum of 

 the business that is otfeved them. This condition is having tlie 

 effect of materially stimulating values of Cottonwood and liasswood. 

 In fact the cottonwood situation is approximately in the same shape 

 tliat i)oplar is. All grades are very short. The demand for box 

 cottonwood is fully fifty per cent in excess of the supply. 



The immense quantity of new building operations going on is kee|)- 

 iug the liardwood Ilooring people busy. Tho trade in both maple and 

 oak flooring is the largest ever known in the history of this part of 

 the lumber business. 



There seems to ]<r an iiicrea.sed call for dimension material for 

 wagon purposes and for furniture and chair making, and buyers 

 seem to be perfectly willing to pay prices for this class of material 

 that approximate thirty per cent above those realized a year ago. 

 Unquestionalily the demand is very much in excess of the supply. 



The mahogany, walnut and cherry trade is pursuing the even tenor 

 (jf its way. In mahogany there is somewhat increased consumption, 

 ImiI values do not sccni to be stimulated even by the dcni.'iud. 



An Analysis of Lumber Product by the Tree. 



The Forest Service has issued a bulletin covering the result of an 

 analysis that has been made by one of it.s assistant foresters to de- 

 termine the average amount of lumber and the grade obtained from 

 varying sizes ami lengths of poj)lar timber in two different sections 

 of growth. 



An exeu.se for this bulletin may be found in the introduction, 

 which says that a definite need of the lumber manufacturer today 

 is exact and detailed information concerning the quality of the 

 product which his trees yield. It states that every sawmill produces 

 a large amount of lumber of inferior grades which is difficult to 

 sell, and which usually brings a price less than the average cost of 

 production; that poor grades come in highest proportion from small 

 trees; that as a tree increases in size the proportion of choice grades 

 increases. It alleges that lumbermen plan to cut only trees which will 

 yield enough good lumber to more than pay for the loss incurred 

 in handling the poor grades. Because lumbermen have no precise 

 knowledge as to the dividing line between profitable and unprofitable 

 trees, and from lack of this information many are cutting a good 

 deal of timber at an actual loss, these investigations were made and 

 this paper produced. 



The Forest Service has endeavored to determine, in typical locali- 

 ties and under good conditions of manufacture, the grade, yield and 

 money value of poplar, yellow birch, sugar maple and beech. The 

 pamphlet discloses the information that the character of timber 

 changes in different localities and in different situations within the 

 same locality. It also discovers that the necessity for inspecting 



