6 



issued since the government took over the railroads. They are 

 appended herewith. A maximum price has been fixed which 

 applies to all lines in New England. Not all the roads are now 

 paying the maximum price or buying all classes, but it is ex- 

 pected that before long they will. All ties must be sold to the 

 road on whose lines they are delivered. They cannot be 

 shipped from one road to another. It is intimated that the 

 railroads will do the buying for the trolley lines. Hard times 

 have hit the troiley lines, anyway. Many have been discon- 

 tinued, and the rest are doing as little in the line of construction 

 and repair as possible. Therefore the market for the small 

 trolley ties seems to be poor. The new price for ties averages 

 slightly higher than previously, but not in proportion to the 

 increase in lumber. The price of the smaller ties is lower than 

 it was previously on certain roads. The 6-inch tie with 5- 

 inch face is no longer specified, and will not be taken except 

 as a cull, price not known. The small tie is our mainstay from 

 the point of view of utilization of our forests, and it is to be 

 hoped that later on the Railroad Administration may rectify 

 the matter of their price and size. Probably the reason for the 

 low price is that the railroads want as few of the small ties as 

 possible. Operators should take the hint and cut their pro- 

 duction of small ties to a minimum. The smaller chestnut can 

 be more profitably used as lumber, and at present prices of 

 lumber the larger material also. 



3. Lumber. The chestnut lumber market is the promising 

 feature of the whole situation. The almost universal disposi- 

 tion of chestnut lumber in Massachusetts before the war 

 that of sawing it If inches round edge for the chair factories 

 has been somewhat modified. The chair factories are still buy- 

 ing and paying good prices, but are not buying in increased 

 amounts. In fact, their demand has slightly decreased. Chest- 

 nut has come into demand for box boards as a substitute for 

 pine. For this purpose, it is sawed mostly 1 inch with some 

 f inch and Ij inches thickness. The price has been from $2 

 to $5 per M less than the price for pine, while a little mixed 

 with the pine has been accepted without price reduction. Not 

 all box shops will buy chestnut, but an increasing number will. 

 In this way it is possible to utilize trees which will make only 



