48 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



rivers of the Adirondacks. in the spring of 1911, 

 for the log drives. Dr. Schencii plans to spend 

 a short time In the Adiroudacks upon retuining 

 to this country, and then to go to the Southland. 

 He is planning to take a trip to the Pacific coast 

 in the fall, on invitation of the C. A. Smith 

 Timber Company. If the trip materializes, the 

 school will bo located at Marshfield. Ore., where 

 they will be in close pro.ximitv to the National 

 Forests. Dr. Schenck deems this a wise move, 

 inasmuch as many of the students will find 

 employment in the western forests upon gradu- 

 ating. The work for September is briefly re- 

 viewed in the following communication from the 

 same source : 



The month of September completes our stay 

 in the forests of Michigan and indeed for a 

 •while in the United States. 



Looking back over the experience of the past 

 month, we are all one in pronouncing our so- 

 journ in the North the most advantageous and 

 pleasant event ever enjoyed by the Biltmore 

 Forest School. 



Our field work, going hand in hand with Dr. 

 Schenck's course of timber mensuration, has 

 been exceedingly instructive. Cruising and esti- 

 mating, form 'factors and form heights, tree 

 growth and lumber inspection, etc., etc., have 

 tilled many an interesting afternoon. No better 

 setting for our work could have been desired 

 than the glorious forests of maple, beech, elm, 

 hemlock and white pine where we were en- 

 camped as the guests of the Cummer-Diggins 

 ■Company. 



Dr. House's course in "Wood Structure was 

 greatlv helped by the tine opportunity of study- 

 ing the freshly cut logs near our camp in the 

 woods. 



The latter part of Professor H. O. Allison s 

 ■course on "Agriculture" was devoted to soil 

 composition and foods necessary for plant life. 

 His analyses of soils were illustrated by dem- 

 onstrations on the farms near our quarters. The 

 Biltmore Foresters have learned to like Mr. 

 Allison as a lecturer and as a friend. 



Dr. Hermann Von Schreuck — that fascinating 

 man with a boy's face and a Webster's wisdom 

 . — treated us to a short series of corking lec- 

 tures on "Wood Conservation by Wood Preserva- 

 tion." 



In the closing days of the month, Mr. George 

 L. Clothier was with us, giving us his observa- 

 tions and experiences in prairie planting. We 

 Easterners, accustomed to unlimited amounts of 

 forests, were particularly interested in Professor 

 Clothier's tales of the treeless prairies and of 

 the successful methods used in subduing them 

 for forestry. 



Several "all-day trips" proved very instruct- 

 ive. One day was spent in estimating the dam- 

 age inflicted upon Section 35 by the cyclone of 

 August 25. We used the strip method of cruis- 

 ing, running the strips first in an east and west 

 direction and then in a north and south direc- 

 tion. We tabulated both the standing and the 

 fallen timber of the various kinds, and were sur- 

 prised to find hemlock more resistant to storm 

 than the hardwood associated with it. A trip 

 into Antioch township revealed a tine stand of 

 white pine — a remnant of the pine that was. 



On another dav we visited the logging opera- 

 tions of the R. G. Peters Salt & Lumber Com- 

 pany, whose methods of logging were novel to 

 mos't of us. High wheels were being used for 

 transporting bunches of logs directly from the 

 cutters to the railroad. Nothing, indeed, can be 

 more interesting than the comparison of the 

 logging methods adopted by the various lumber 

 ■(.■ompanies of this section under seemingly iden- 

 tical conditions. 



The last week of our stay in Michigan was 

 spent in the beautiful city of Cadillac — the clean- 

 est timber town on earth. The visits to the 

 sawmills, flooring plants, wood alcohol and tur- 

 pentine plants, etc., kept us busy in the after- 

 noons. Now we realize the source of Cadillac's 

 name and fame in the lumber world : It is the 

 efficiency of its citizens — pioneers in the white 

 pine da'ys of the past ; pioneers in the latter 

 Says of the hardwoods, and nowadays pioneers 

 in the adoption of every up-to-date device known 

 to lumberdom in the woods and in the mills. 



The Y. M. C. A. of Cadillac had kindly al- 

 lowed us, during our stay, to use its halls for 

 a schoolroom. 



In leaving Cadillac on the .SOth, en route for 

 the steamer in New York, we took with us a 

 feeling of deep gratitude for our generous hosts 

 and benefactors, the Cummer-Diggins Company, 

 who had given to the Biltmore Forest School 

 what is better than any endowment of money — 

 a wonderful series of instructive object lessons 

 in the forests of Michigan. 



various allied lumber Interests previously op- 

 erating in that county. 



It seems that years ago, when that section 

 of the state abounded in line hemlock and pine, 

 several companies held vast areas of virgin 

 timber land and that when these holdings are 

 partially cut over the county authorities de- 

 cided that the prevailing tax did not return to 

 the coffers of the county a suflJcient percentage 

 of the earnings of the lumber interests. Hence 

 they straightway proceeded to fix an arbitrary 

 figure as a basis for taxation on timber prop- 

 erties. This action, the lumber companies en- 

 ergetically opposed but, though they were repre- 

 sented in court by the most able legal talent, 

 the case went against them and they have been 

 forced to pay more than $100,000 in hack taxes, 

 all of them settling with the exception of one 

 company, which chose to carry the case to the 

 supreme court. 



Now, without knowing how much land or tim- 

 ber at that time was worth, nor having any 

 means of knowing whether or not the tax. which 

 prevailed at the time the county authorities 

 decided to make an increase, was just or not, it 

 is certainly a fact that had they merely taxed 

 ihe land it.self under the regulation tax law and 

 taxed the timber only when it was cut and ac- 

 cording to its value at the actual time of 

 cutting, a value which could be readily as- 

 certained, there could have been no possible 

 cause for dispute from either the county author- 

 ities or the lumber companies. 



The question is. against whom was the tax 

 retroactive, the lumber companies or the cause 

 of conservation in a broad way? 



Big Grand Bapids Concern Reorganized 



By the retirement uf P. C. Fuller, treasurer, 

 and W. C. Anderson, secretary, of the Fuller & 

 Rice Lumber & Manufacturing Company, Grand 

 Rapids, Mich., important changes have been 

 made in that concern. The capital stock has 

 been increased to ,$200,000 and the following 

 new officers have been elected ; C. F. Sweet, 

 president and general manager ; A. P. Irish, 

 vice-president ; W. W. Hyde, treasurer ; and 

 C. A. Strand, secretary. The board of directors 

 includes Messrs. Sweet, Irish and Hyde. .John 

 Duffy, Morris Cassard and H. J. Bennett of 

 Grand Rapids and F. A. Diggins of Cadillac. 



The Fuller & Rice Lumber & Manufacturing 

 Company was organized in 1S84. since which 

 time it has been conducting a very successful 

 wholesale and retail business in lumber, sash, 

 doors and interior finish. Mr. Sweet and Mr. 

 Irish have now acquired the entire interests of 

 Messrs. Fuller and Anderson in the lumber end 

 of the enterprise, the latter two, however, re- 

 taining their interests in the timber end of the 

 business. The name and the policy of the con- 

 cern will remain as heretofore. 



K. & P. Lumber Company's Texas 

 Operations 

 The new hardwood mill of the K. & P. Lum- 

 er Company, the big Cincinnati concern, which 

 is now ander construction at Naples, Tex., will 

 be in operation In twenty days and will employ 

 an additional hundred men. This is the second 

 mill the K. & P. Lumber Company has put in 

 at Naples, the first one installed being the 

 largest hardwood mill in the South. The new 

 factory has only one-half the capacity of the 

 big plant. The company also has under con- 

 struction a dimension mill, which will, when in 

 opera! Ion. employ twenty-five men. 



"A Retroactive Tax on 'Varnished Trees" 



Under the above caption the Philadelphia 

 Ledger published a long article on a recent 

 court decision ^n which the circuit court ruled 

 in favor of Potter county, Pennsylvania, against 



The Sentiment of the Liverpool Trade 



Circulars from the oflices of four of the lead- 

 ing Liverpool timber merchants show a slight 

 decrease in the arrivals from North American 

 ports during August, 1910, as compared with 

 August, 1909. A fair demand prevails for most 

 articles and a greater firmness of values has been 

 noted, tending to create a much better feeling 



Ash logs are reported as arriving rather slowly 

 with a fair consumption. Stocks of ash lum- 

 ber are ample and prices unsatisfactory. There 

 is very little other change to note. 



Black walnut logs of prime quality bring 

 satisfactory prices, though there is no notable 

 improvement in the market for inferior sticks. 

 The prices on boards and planks are low, with 

 a heavy stock on hand. 



The chestnut market continues about as usual, 

 with no notable change in evidence either as to 

 lumber or logs. 



Stocks of hickory logs are light, with the 

 promise of an excellent market for new ship- 

 ment. Clean logs of good quality are in fair 

 request. 



A quiet market exists for both plain and 

 quartered oak boards, a condition due to a well 

 stocked market. Logs have not been imported 

 to any extent during the past month, and while 

 steady prices have ruled, the demand has been 

 slow. Sufficient stocks are on hand to take 

 care of all demands. Oak cabinet planks are In 

 excess of the market, while oak coffin planks of 

 superior quality are bringing numerous inquiries, 

 though inferior material is not called for. A 

 light import of wagon planks is reported for 

 the month, with a corresponding consumption. 



The demand for large, clean poplar logs of 

 good quality continues and a prompt sale is prac- 

 tically assured, though assignments of poor qual- 

 ity are not wanted. The better qualities of 

 boards and planks are in steady request at good 

 prices, but poor values rule for the lower grades. 



Satin walnut or gum is slightly short in the 

 Liverpool market according to the reports of 

 September first. Shippers have not changed their 

 quotations to date, and show no disposition to 

 enter into sale for future delivery. The demand 

 for high-grade lumber is fair. 



Cypress shows continued arrivals of small lots 

 with unchanged quotations, while California red- 

 wood is firm with but moderate stock in evi- 

 dence. 



Need for Organized Forest Fire Protection 

 Among Private O'wners 



The following bulletin, inspired by the recent 

 disastrous conflagrations, has been received from 

 the Forest Service at Washington : 



One of the lessons which will finally be drawn 

 from the trying experience of the present forest 

 fire season, in the belief of officials of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture, is the need of wider 

 organization among private owners of timber 

 to safeguard their holdings. - 



It is pointed out that already in the North- 

 west, both on the Pacific Coast and in Montana 

 and Idaho, timberland owners have formed them- 

 selves into associations which assess the mem- 

 bers on an acreage basis and thus meet the cost 

 of maintaining a regular patrol and fire-fighting 

 organization. Only by getting together can 

 private owners usually assure themselves pro- 

 tection, for fire is no respecter of boundary lines 

 and the man who undertakes to keep it out of his 

 own timber will want it kept out of his neigh- 

 bor's, too. Wherever possible the government's 

 forest officers co-operate with the force put In 

 the field by the associations, so that the em- 

 ployees of the government and those of the 

 private owners are bandied practically as a 

 unit in fighting the common enemy. 



This co-operation is advantageous to both sides. 

 Protection of the national forests necessarily 

 carries with it a good deal of protection of ad 

 joining or interior holdings. It the private 

 owners would everywhere shoulder their reason- 

 able share of the burden, the public would gain 

 both through more general forest conservation 

 and through relief from the necessity of paying 

 lor the protection of private timber in order to 

 protect its own. 



The man who doesn't owe a dollar can look 

 any other man in the eye and tell him to go to 

 — work. 



