AMERICAN LUMBER IN FOREIGN MARKETS. 



91 



IMPORTS OF LUMBER. 



Hard wood. It is extremely difficult to locate the exact source of all 

 the hard wood that comes to Tientsin, but it may be assumed that it is 

 mainly shipped from Borneo, the Philippine Islands, and Eussia. I 

 have not discovered that hard wood comes from other quarters than 

 those mentioned, although occasional shipments of Borneo woods come 

 from Singapore. 



Soft wood. The following table of the imports of wood for 1889, 

 1890, 1891, 1892, and 1893, made up from the imperial maritime cus- 

 toms returns, gives but an imperfect idea of the sources and quantities 

 of soft wood imported. A considerable portion of soft wood is trans- 

 shipped at Chinese ports, before reaching Tientsin. This is a source 

 of annoyance to the customs officials, who can not avoid making mis- 

 takes in separating the importation of native from foreign woods. A 

 strenuous effort is made to do so as is shown by the divisions in the 

 table. It is regrettable that this table does not convey a fair idea of 

 the trade, as the customs do not take cognizance of timber imported 

 for Government undertakings, of which the principal is the railway 

 supplies, for such enterprises are passed duty free. Shipments from 

 the United States destined for Tientsin could be more accurately 

 ascertained at the ports of loading. Soft-wood logs come from Korea as 

 mentioned above and a great number of soft-wood planks come from 

 Japan. 



In 1893 the railway imported from Japan 44,991 sleepers or ties. 

 C. W. Kinder, esq., engineer in chief of the railway company, informed 

 me that Japan sends most of the sleepers, quotations from the United 

 States and Canada being too high, owing to the freight. 



I am also well informed that a great number of the soft-wood planks 

 returned as coming from Chinese ports are in reality sent from Japan 

 and transshipped at Shanghai. 



Table of imports. 



Cubic feet. 



