10 



and wagon manufacture chiefly. Cherry can be sold for chairs 

 and furniture. There is a special war use for cherry, air- 

 plane propellers, but it takes a very high grade. 



Cordwood. 



Cordwood for fuel has been one of the great features of the 

 past year. The price last February was as high in isolated in- 

 stances as $12 to $13 a cord on the cars and $20 delivered. 

 The price has now settled to about $8 to $10 a cord on the 

 cars. It cannot go much lower than that with the present 

 cost of labor and teams. We doubt very much whether there 

 will be any such demand this winter as there was last, as there 

 is much more wood cut. Very few of the woodland owners 

 profited by those high prices last year. It went largely to 

 the dealers and speculators. The market for chestnut wood is 

 rather difficult. A limited amount can be sold from $1 to 

 $2 under the price of hardwood. There is always a good 

 demand for slabs and edgings for kindling wood. Owners 

 should keep on cutting cordwood, but without the expectation 

 of enormous profits. There is bound to be a good demand, and 

 also a reaction after the present fuel crisis. 



Labor. 



The most difficult problem to-day for those wishing to 

 produce lumber or wood is that of labor. It has steadily in- 

 creased in cost, decreased in efficiency, and is now hard to 

 find at any price. The cost of operating is surely double what 

 it was three years ago, and the difficulties of operating are in- 

 creased many fold. This must be borne in mind when the 

 present high prices of products are considered. Labor is bound 

 to get more scarce as the war continues. 



Stumpage Value. 



The value of lumber and wood stumpage of all kinds has 

 unquestionably gone up in the last year. Pine lots have been 

 sold as high as $20 per M on the stump, and cordwood as high 

 as $4 per cord. Those prices are undoubtedly war prices, and will 

 not last for long. However, pine stumpage is worth from $10 



