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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



A few years later the northern gentleman, who under- 

 stood timber values, sold his " worthless swamp " for $75 

 an acre and the disgruntled man who originally had told 

 with gusto how he had " soaked the smart alec from the 

 North " brought suit but failed to recover. Twenty years 

 ago cypress timber was 

 valued at 50 cents and 

 up to possibly $5 per 

 acre. Now the stump- 

 age is worth about $10 

 per thousand feet and 

 some of the swamps are 

 covered solidly with cy- 

 press and will produce 

 20,000 or more feet to 

 the acre. The increase 

 in timber values coupled 

 with the heavy cost 

 of logging and manu- 

 facturing necessitated 

 the adoption of 

 intelligent methods of 

 marketing. 



A demand sufficiently 

 broad to take the prod- 

 uct at a profitable price 

 was demanded by the 

 producer. The only way 

 to assure that demand 

 was to retain established 

 trade and create a con- 

 fidence in cypress that 

 would increase the call 

 for it for new uses. It 



was relatively easy to early Egyptian 



mentally arrive at that conclusion. It was a different and 

 more difficult matter to work out the problem encountered. 

 Those in charge of the work resorted to the first princi- 

 ples of merchandising, viz. : " It is easy to sell what 

 people want." The real problem was to make them want 

 cypress. Admittedly it was impossible to interest the 

 public by advising its component members to buy cypress 

 boards. However, the idea of buying a few cypress 

 strips with which to make a trellis for a flowering vine 

 to clamber over and increase the beauty of the premises 



aroused instant atten- 

 tion and brought imme- 

 diate response. 

 There followed sug- 

 gestions for pergolas, 

 trellises, sleeping 

 porches, arbors, gar- 

 den benches and simi- 

 ar necessities and con- 

 veniences. Then came 

 definite, tangible sug- 

 gestions for bungalows, 

 neat, comfortable, at- 

 nbw orle ans^ypress tractive homes instead 



l.i>Iin i;9i. Rrmowdin iu. of stiff, conventional 



enclosures, formerly called homes. The whole intent and 

 purpose of this campaign of publicity on behalf of cypress 

 was to educate the public to the advantages to be gained 

 by the intelligent use of cypress in beautifying, adorning 

 and improving their homes. The beauty of garden 



benches and trellises, 

 the comfort and satis- 

 faction derived from 

 sleeping porches and 

 pergolas, the idea of 

 making a beautiful home 

 as well as one that was 

 comfortable, were in- 

 timately and indelibly 

 linked in the public mind 

 with the use of cypress. 

 The next step in the 

 development of a perma- 

 nent market was the 

 suggested use of cypress 

 in farm buildings. Plans 

 of all manner of farm 

 structures, residences, 

 barns, implement-sheds, 

 hog-houses, poultry- 

 houses, sheep-pens, 

 greenhouses, gates, 

 fences, and other build- 

 ing equipment for the 

 farm, were distributed to 

 those interested. This 

 was one of the first 

 serious attempts made to 

 interest the farmer in 

 better buildings, and as- 

 sociated with the idea of the proper class of buildings was 

 that of using wood that would be economical because of 

 its durability. At the proper time came the idea of a 

 cypress silo, made according to plans that permitted of 

 the use of regular retail yard stock. Cypress was recom- 

 mended because of its durability, that is, its ability to 

 withstand the effects of alternate wetness and dryness, 

 and because cypress is not adversely affected by the acids 

 in the silage. 



This was a step along the upward path in farm build- 

 ing and in the work of developing a market for the 

 products of the cypress mills. A final touch was given 

 when plans and instructions were issued for the con- 

 struction of homemade furniture and knick-knacks, 

 humidors, clothespresses, trays, and similar articles. Such 

 articles, it was recom- ^^^^^ 



mended, were to be ^^^fl ^">-~ 



given the famed "sugi," 

 or Japanese drift-wood 

 finish, using a blow- 

 torch to char the soft 

 portions of the wood 

 and a wire brush to 

 finish the work. Inter- 



.. , , A SUGI-FINISHED 



esting thousands in the cypress humidor 



CYPRESS DOOR 





