-53- 



permitting a very effective degree of control over production. The concen- 

 tration of fhe Cypress production in a few r eg ions-chief ly in the swampy 

 districts of Louisiana- the large investment required to build railroads and 

 dig canals into the swamps, the necessity of carrying large stocks of 

 Cypress because of the unusual period of time required to dry the green lum- 

 ber, made necessaey the investment of large capital and permitted a concen- 

 tration of holding that is not possible in the case of other species of lum- 

 ber. With a few large manufacturers controlling the greater part of Cypress 

 production, with sales chiefly made through one selling agency, and with a 

 production for * Men there is a special demand and which is durable and can 

 be stored without considerable depreci&tr ion, Cypress producers were not unde- 

 pressure to sell on a falling market, Consequently, when the demand fqr 

 Cypress declines, the producers simply refuse to sell at any considerable re- 

 duction in price, curtailing their production to meet the reduced demand. 

 Thus when demand for Cypress was only 10% of normal in November, 1913, the 

 Lumber Trade Journal reports that "a majority of the manufacturers have an- 

 nounced their intention of adheririgr strictly to prices which they believe 

 will yield a fair return on their product, and will ma&e no further conces- 

 sions regardless of the extent of the demand", 



Prices thus being maintained at a relatively high levsl during periods 

 of depression, the advance during periods of rising prices is not so marked. 



(F) Douglas Fir; 



Douglas Fir is the latest virgin forest wood to enter the maaket, 

 and its stands are most abundant of any American wood, 



Douglas Fir is used for general building on the Pacific coast, it ib 

 the chief wood exported to Chile and Peru, and it competes with Southern 

 Yellow Pine in the markets of the Middle West. It is regarded as a substi- 

 tute for Yellow Pine, and its production has increased to fill the vacuum 

 caused by the erfockeningof pine production, Its price moves in sympathy 

 with that of Southern Yellow Pine. 



The price of Douglas Fir was mnusually depressed during 1914, so 

 that the Douglas Fir mills were losing money. Consequently a considerable 

 rise in price was to be expected. 



The marked rise that did take place probably exceeded expectations. 

 This has been due to the strong government demand for Douglas Fir both for 

 shipbuilding on the Pacific Coast and for airplane wings, to the continued 

 exportation of Douglas Fir to Ghile, Peru, etc., at almost a pre-war level, 

 to the effective sales organisation which has pushed Douglas Fir in the 

 markets of the Middle West ana to the rising of Southern Yellow Pine. 



(G) Gum: 



The advance in Gum prices since 1915 has exce3.ci.ed the average in-.-., 

 crease in the price of other hardwoods. The reason for this exceptional ad 

 vance is due to the rise of Gum from a cheap, lib tie-known wood, to a wood 

 which, as a result of advertising and a study of its qualities, is gaining 

 increasing 

 (W. I.E. -359-53) 



