412 Forestry Quarterly. 



is required to handle them. Their homes are but of a few sheets 

 of tin, and hardly any of them own or care to own land. Those 

 that do, never work in the mills, while the others live a hand 

 to mouth existence and seem contented, working for very low 

 wages. 



The market for most of the timber is local. All the railroads 

 are calling for ties and timber, but certain classes are shipped to 

 Buenos Ayres. At present the freight rates are heavy but a 

 new outlet is being built by way of the Parana-Paraguay River 

 which will do wonders for the section. There is no market want- 

 ing and all mills could dispose of double their output. 



About the only wood exported in any amount is quebracho 

 Colorado, and the official report for 1908 is as follows : 



Of 254,571 tons of quebracho Colorado (round logs) exported 

 to foreign countries 203,065 tons were sent to Great Britain, 

 which also took 48,000 tons of tannin (quebracho extract). 

 This represents about 65 million board feet of quebracho. 

 The latest figure on quebracho Colorado ties is $2.25 gold each, 

 for 2.7 meters or wide gauge. $35 paper or $15 gold a ton for 

 tannin quebracho logs is the rule, no difference being made be- 

 tween green or dry. Of the saw milling it must be said that 

 American saw mill machinery is and has been an absolute failure 

 here. The saw mill machinery must be made to suit the peculiar 

 conditions of the country before it is shipped, not after it is here 

 and by the buyer. The labor and the wood must be thoroughly 

 studied as the French, German and English have done, resulting 

 in their manufacturers controlling the market by such companies 

 as the Ransome & Company Ltd. of England, Panhart & Gavas- 

 sor of France, and Kirchner of Germany. None of the American 

 machinery seems adapted to cutting the very hard wood. Such 

 things as live rollers, edgers, conveyors are almost unknown. 

 In a mill of fifteen band saws I made inquiries as to American 

 band saws and was surprised to find one in use, but, on close 

 questioning, I found that the saw could not be filed by them as 

 in the United States, so they recut the teeth after the usual 

 style, and now the saw is giving good results. The mills are all 

 ground mills, with shafting buried where only snakes can easily 

 go. There is much to learn in saw milling here, but the Americans 

 will have to learn much themselves before they will be able to 

 teach much. The following kinds of timber are the most in use : 



