666 Forestry Quarterly. 



least a little more fully manufactured than at present, that is in- 

 stead of shipping I2"xi2" pieces, that inch boards might be 

 shipped in large quantities. Especially would this be true in cases 

 where freight rates are high. On the other hand, the consensus 

 of present opinion among dealers in China seems to be to the con- 

 trary, namely, that for the bulk of the stuff it is better to depend 

 on local sawing. 



A lumber company would do well to keep on hand about the 

 following amounts and sizes of lumber: 2,000,000 bd. ft. in sizes 

 I2"xi2" square, 20' to 40' long; 1,000,000 bd. ft. in sizes over 

 40' ; and small amounts of tongue-and-groove flooring, inch 

 boards, dimension stuff, lath, etc. (The use of lath is a rather new 

 thing in China but is seemingly growing in favor.) 



For a yard in North China, should it be decided to have one 

 there, Tientsin would be the most available point, as that is the 

 metropolis of North China. The Manchurian ports New Chwang 

 and especially Dairen (Dalny), have been growing rapidly; but 

 as mentioned above, the trade here will be dominated entirely by 

 Japanese and there is very little opportunity for any other nations. 

 For trade in North China, for any but the Japanese, one yard in 

 Tientsin should be ample ; and it would be better to confine the 

 stock largely to lengths over 24', in order to avoid competition 

 with the much cheaper Japanese woods. The Japanese woods are 

 not only cheaper here, but serve about as well ; as the climate is 

 very dry, and rot is not a very serious menace to wood. 



In the Yangtse basin, Shanghai, of course, would be the main 

 depot. In fact, it might be made a central supply depot for the 

 whole of China, as it is so centrally located. A stock of the 

 amounts previously indicated would have to be kept on hand 

 here, based on its taking about one month to six weeks to replenish 

 the same from the mills upon receipt of orders. Should the 

 mills be closer — such as would be the case in the Philippine Islands 

 — the stock might be considerably reduced. And in the case of 

 a yard at Manila, the main depot might even be made in Manila 

 with very little stock at all in any place in China. However, a 

 yard such as indicated would not be very large, in consideration 

 of the territory which is subject to the city of Shanghai, embracing 

 a population of 100,000,000 and at least half a dozen large and 

 flourishing ports, all of which are putting up a great many new 

 buildings, etc. 



Hankow might also be made a depot for lumber for the upper 

 Yangtse and interior points. Hankow, with its sister cities of 

 Wuchang and Houyang, is undoubtedly destined to become the 

 greatest industrial center in China. Situated as it is at the head 

 of navigation for large ocean-going vessels, with three rivers 

 for small boat traffic opening a vast interior country — the cross- 

 road of the great transcontinental lines from north to south and 



