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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



ing-house on the lumber requirements of all Government 

 Departments, with a view to centralizing orders and pur- 

 chases as far as may be practicable. Representing every 

 large lumber producing region of the country, together 

 with the organization and facilities of the United States 

 Forest Service, the committee believes that its services 

 can be best utilized and the Government's lumber require- 

 ments most effectively met under a program carefully 

 planned through its deliberations. 



The first step in this program calls for submission 

 to the committee by each Department or Bureau, as 

 far in advance of necessary deliveries as possible, of 

 all anticipated lumber requirements of material quantities. 

 These references should include data on proposed use, 

 specifications and time and place of delivery. After con- 

 sideration of the specifications the Lumber Committee will 

 promptly advise with the Department or Bureau, with 

 a view to adjusting the needs to fit current lumber 

 stocks or manufacturing conditions. Suggestion will be 

 made as to specific commercial grades, based upon the 

 current rules of lumber manufacturers' associations, which 

 will meet the specifications at a minimum cost* 



As another step the committee will stand ready to 

 advise the Department or Bureau as to the best manner of 

 making its purchases, either from designated manufac- 

 turers or associations known to be in the best position to 

 furnish the materials promptly and at a minimum trans- 



portation cost, or from local distributing yards in the case 

 of smaller and emergency orders. 



ONE of the most important functions of the committee, 

 as planned , is in the matter of prices. With intimate 

 knowledge of trade conditions and all sources of sup- 

 ply, the committee will be in position to give advice as to 

 the prices at which materials can be procured or as to the 

 maximum prices which it is equitable for the Government 

 to pay. Methods of procedure that will insure the most 

 favorable prices and deliveries at the lowest cost within 

 the time limits necessary will be suggested in each specific 

 instance. Further suggestions will be made, when desir- 

 able, regarding methods of inspection and other details 

 that will fully protect the interests of the Government. 



The results achieved by the committee will be shown in 

 reports of all its activities, with specific lists of lumber 

 orders placed, and with full information as to prices and 

 terms, filed periodically with the Advisory Commission to 

 the Council of National Defense through the committee on 

 raw materials of which the Lumber Committee is a part. 



This outline of the work proposed for itself by the Lum- 

 ber Committee makes obvious the intent to develop the 

 centralized purchase of lumber required by the various 

 branches of the Government and to avoid the losses and 

 delays which are considered inevitable under decentral- 

 ized and unsystematic handling of this large volume of 

 business. 



Guy E. Mitchell 



SANTA CRUZ NATURAL BRIDGE (BEFORE THE DAWN OF LIFE) 



One of the most perfect of natural bridges, appearing almost like an artificial tunnel, is found in Santa Cruz County, California. The top of the bridge is 

 used as a driveway, as is shown in the picture. The exposure of the rock made by the natural undercutting of this bridge by the ocean waves beating on 

 the shore discloses to the trained eye an interesting phase of the formation of this part of the country. The lower or darker portion of the rock forming the 

 bridge is shale, young geologically, but of great age as computed in years or centuries. The upper fifteen feet, which, as shown in the photograph, is of 

 lighter shade, was deposited in the age immediately preceding the one in which we live. This surface material was deposited by the rushing streams fed from 

 the great glaciers which lay in the mountains of the Sierra to the east. 



