SELLING LUMBER 



when used on the outside for structural purposes that it rusts. 

 I had occasion last winter to look at a lot of engineering records 

 on the use of metal lath back of stucco or plaster, and they 

 found it lasts all the way from eighteen months up to nine years, 

 but in most cases it failed from rust within a very short period, 

 making it impracticable. 



Another one on the list here is metal ceiling and lining. It 

 seems to me that there are two or three very good arguments for 

 wood in competition with metal ceiling. One is, there is nothing 

 uglier in the world than this metal ceiling. Another is that even 

 for cheap and temporary construction you can ship one-inch 

 stocks, if they want character or quality in a room. 



Paper roofing is also on this list. Paper roofing is being 

 used for some purposes. If you have a shed with a flat roof 

 you would probably put paper roofing on it. If you had a roof 

 of a house where you wanted beauty and economy and non- 

 conductivity of heat you would put on a shingle roof. That ques- 

 tion of paper roofing is one which we must decide according to 

 the facts and the conditions. 



I just want to draw a couple of conclusions from this, if I 

 may? 



The Chairman : Certainly. 



Mr. Sterling: One is, that on a lot of questions of this 

 kind, I don't think the lumber industry as a whole is in very 

 good shape to answer, in the same way that our competitors 

 would answer them, because lumber has not been considered a 

 material which needed research. Our competitors probably know 

 more about our material because they have delved into it. Now, 

 we salesmen have got to delve into these other questions and 

 know absolutely why a certain material is better, or why it is 

 not better. That is all, I think. 



The Chairman : Any questions you wish to ask ? 



Mr. Williamson : As a general rule, I would like to know 

 Comparative the life of the three kinds of lumber that is most generally used 

 L?fe?f ky railroads in this country fir, spruce and long leaf pine ; which 



Woods has the longest life? 



Mr. Sterling: That is a matter of conditions, largely. Under 

 conditions favorable to decay, why heart spruce would probably 

 have the longest life; but, as I say, it is all a matter of place 

 and time and use. 



