Periodical Literature 347 



for lath, square, crate and box lumber, etc., still leaves over a 

 cord of mill waste per M of manufactured lumber. Of this cord, 

 about ^2, is used for fuel and hog-feed and y^ is available for 

 other uses. Altogether there is about 50 per cent of the log goes 

 into lumber, 30 per cent into fuel, and 20 per cent is available 

 for other uses. On the basis of these figures, only about 15 per 

 cent of the weight of the standing hardwood forest can be made 

 into lumber under the most modern practice. 



Where logs have to be hauled some distance, the freight charges 

 act to increase the quality of the poorest log which can be 

 profitably handled. Efforts to dispose of the mill waste as city 

 fuel usually fail, or the results are unprofitable on account of 

 freight or cost of handling. Efforts made to utilize the mill waste 

 in small "novelties" such as tent pins, broom handles, billiard 

 cues, etc., failed because the best of logs and not refuse are re- 

 quired. The only practicable method of salvage so far discovered, 

 except for mills with exceptionally favorable location, is the 

 distillation plant. Such a plant was erected. 



The plant erected has six retorts, each of 8 cords daily capacity. 

 The plant, wood yard, track equipment, etc., cost about $200,000 

 and an additional $25,000 for working capital is required. At 

 the prices charged by the woods to the plant for its wood, a 

 piofit of about $1 per cord is realized as stumpage. Allowing for 

 depreciation, the plant has been earning 6 to 8 per cent on the 

 investment. Since the values of products have been high, the 

 profits have also been more than was expected through a long 

 term of years. The Company will be satisfied, however, if it 

 can realize an average profit of 50 cents per cord as stumpage on 

 its wood. 



The requirements for chemical wood are exacting. All wood 

 must be seasoned for a year, maximum cross section must be 

 under 6 by 12 inches, the minimum size allowable permits only 

 the heaviest slabs and edgings to be used. The wood must be 

 practically all sound, etc. To make up the cordwood into wood 

 proved unsatisfactory since labor was often scarce or unskilled 

 at the work, constant inspection was necessary, the first risk while 

 seasoning in the woods was great, the labor cost for handling 

 and hauling the wood amounted to as much for chopping and 

 piling, and the spur tracks had to be left in a year after logging 

 was finished, thus doubling the steel required. 



