SELLING LUMBER 



179 



grades under official association rules, and particularly applies to 

 Southern Yellow Pine. Standard specifications on other woods 

 are also under discussion. (See the American Lumberman of 

 January 29, 1916). 



I believe Southern Pine to be the best wood for general build- 



Southern 



The Salesman 

 As a Consult- 

 ing Expert 



Branded 

 Lumber 

 Means Hon- 

 est Lumber 



ing purposes, and the strongest and best commercial wood on Yellow Pine 

 the market today. * s Bst 



It might be well for the salesman to follow up more spe- 

 cifically the study of dry rot in timber construction, and learn 

 the few rules and recommendations of the architects and engineers 

 regarding the painting of green timbers, etc., that serve to make 

 possible the growth of the dry rot fungus. It is my intention to 

 have you all become consulting experts in this line, as consider- 

 able knowledge can be acquired without much effort, and as you 

 are the connecting link between the mill and the consumer, much 

 good would result for the proper use of lumber. 



Then, comes the question of branding lumber. A large per- 

 centage of heavy timbers are branded, and some mills brand all 

 their lumber. To my mind this is helping the architects, dealers 

 and owners considerably and eliminates the dishonest handler of 

 lumber, and helps put the lumber business on a fair, square and 

 honest basis. This branding of lumber is now, I understand, a 

 matter of discussion among the mill men. 



All this means, of course, that the lumber dealer and the 

 lumber salesman should have a considerable technical knowledge 

 of lumber. They should know where to sell the grades, and where 

 not to sell it, and this applies not only to heavy structural tim- 

 bers and lumbers, but to other grades of lumber. 



An architect sends out his plans and specifications calling 

 for certain grades and kinds of materials. Very often it happens 

 that the dealer has not the materials called for on hand. If he 

 is in close touch with the architect it very often happens that he 

 can substitute and at the same time not materially change the con- 

 ditions or quality of the work. I am very often called up by ma- 

 terial dealers on this question and we can generally arrange mat- 

 ters satisfactorily. 



This applies perhaps more particularly to the small dealers, 

 but the small dealer is the important man in the small community, 

 and his business goes towards the huge volume of business in a 

 noticeable proportion, and I notice the small dealer is the best 



The Architect 

 Has Advance 

 Information 

 on Future 

 Work 



