SELLING LUMBER 319 



Yard Stock Grading Rules 



By J. W. Martin 



Long-Bell Lumber Company 

 Shreveport, La. 



The whole subject of grading lumber is, I should say, a judi- 

 cious selection of material under consideration for specific pur- 

 poses ; therefore yard stock grading rules should be framed to 

 tersely express the qualities it is desired should be grouped to- 

 gether and represent one class in general retail yard trade. 



It will never be possible to get all men to agree as to either 

 the value or desirability of boards or planks of any particular 

 kind for specific purposes, as some will select as most desirable 

 those pieces that least offend the eye, and are "easiest to look 

 at," arguing that the customer will be inexperienced and influenced 

 in like manner; others will demand certain physical qualities 

 not found in the "easy to look at" pieces and base their choice 

 on some former experience of their own, and probably their atti- 

 tude will be sound, and yet they may miss some sales because of 

 that attitude ; others will be impressed with the wisdom of "a judi- 

 cious mixture," arguing that the customer will be able to find in 

 each lot under their grading a board to his liking for every spe- y ar j e( j 

 cific purpose for which he will need a particular board; others Standards 

 again will be influenced by generalities, and if the general effect 

 is pleasant, or good, from their viewpoint, they are apt to decide 

 that the grading is right, or, if the reverse is true, that it is wrong ; 

 all of the foregoing individuals have endowed the customer with 

 their own viewpoint, they have concluded along certain lines, hence 

 the customer will conclude likewise, and I presume he usually 

 does unless he chances to have made his conclusions from cer- 

 tain deductions of his own, and refuses to lose sight of them, in 

 which case he becomes a "crank" and "that brings on more talk." 

 Another class, and he is usually called a "smooth duck," grades 

 to "get by ;" he doesn't believe the customer knows as much about 

 the physical value of lumber as he does, and he is usually right, 

 and so he grades his lumber up to the taste of the community his 

 yard serves; he knows every possible manipulation of a board, a 

 studding, a joist or piece of siding, flooring or finish, and he ex- 

 plains every objection the customer brings up, and usually he satis- 



