the subject serious thought. In the beginning hardwoods 

 were used almost exclusively by furniture manufacturers 

 and this class of manufacturers at that time instead of 

 specializing in the manufacture of certain articles produced 

 a large variety of different pieces of furniture so that a 

 great variety of sizes of cuttings and different qualities 

 could be utilized. 



It must also be borne in mind that at that time the 

 price of hardwood was materially lower than it is today and 

 that the average quality was very much higher, so that the 

 question of waste and economical utilization was not the im- 

 portant problem that it has since become. The result was 

 that at that time practically all hardwood was sold log run. 

 After a time it became evident that the term "Log Run" 

 meant nothing and that there was a wide difference in the 

 intrinsic value of different lots of log run lumber and for 

 the purposes purely of having some measure by which the 

 value of the log run product could be determined, hardwood 

 inspection rules were originally devised. Even after the ad- 

 vent of these rules, the consumers continued buying the 

 full product of the log, but instead of buying it at a fixed 

 average price, it was bought at different prices for the var- 

 ious grades which had been fixed by the inspection rules 

 adopted. 



Today the situation as regards consumption of hard- 

 wood is entirely different and the same vehicle that may 

 have satisfactorily met the situation in the beginning, is at 

 this time wholly inadequate. The price of hardwoods due to 

 the greatly diminished supply of timber is very materially 

 higher and for the same cause the average quality is lower. 

 On the side of consumption, we find the furniture manufac- 

 turer specializing in the production of certain articles of 

 furniture instead of manufacturing general lines, thus re- 

 stricting the character of lumber that can be advantageous- 

 ly used in the various individual plants. In addition, we find 

 entirely new uses for hardwoods such as hardwood flooring, 

 interior trim, automobile bodies, etc., each presenting its 

 own peculiar problem. 



It will be seen therefore, that the inspection rules for 

 hardwoods originally came into existence, not for the pur- 



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