LUMBERMEN AND LUMBER JOURNALS 



443 



a starting fire. The result has been that since 

 the beginning of the work in 1906 not a single 

 fire of any magnitude has destroyed either 

 timber or brush, or, what is perhaps more 

 important, the spongy forest soil which is 

 depended upon to hold back the water for a 

 longer period of use. 



''The forest rangers who have charge of the 

 national forest reserves in the United States 

 each have about 670 square miles to watch; 

 in Germany each forester has but two square 

 miles to patrol. _ These rangers are valuable 

 in many directions, because they not only 

 patrol the forests and direct the fighting of 

 the fires, but also collect evidence of and 

 institute prosecution for violations of the fire 

 and timber laws 



"This is only another evidence of the trend 

 of the times in recognizing the value and 

 needs of the great timber industry, and of 

 intelligently applying regulations which can 

 not only mean the prolongation of the nat- 

 ural supply, but also prevent our becoming 

 dependent in a few years on our Canadian 

 neighbor for a timber supply that she may 

 be loath to accord us. In view of the ex- 

 panding growth of northwestern Canada, 

 which has of late attracted so many Amer- 

 icans, that progressive country, with a watch- 

 ful eye for the future, will profit by the 

 economy of the old world and the extrava- 

 gance of the United States, and undoubtedly 

 reserve for her own use the virgin timber 

 with which she has been so richly endowed by 

 nature. 



"In conclusion, we urge your honorable 

 body to reaffirm your past declarations and 

 extend effective effort on the following im- 

 portant points: (i) Tax exemption, which 

 will result in an equitable annual cut; (2) a 

 system of ranger patrol, preventing and cur- 

 tailing fires and wanton waste; (3) a prac- 

 tical reforestation plan which will instill into 

 the minds of every citizen the necessity of 

 providing a timber growth for future gen- 

 erations." 



The following officers were elected : Pres- 

 ident, F. A. Diggins, of Cadillac; vice-presi- 

 dents, F. S. Underbill of Philadelphia, Orson 

 E. Yeager of Buffalo, and J. V. Stimson of 

 Huntingburg, Ind., and the following direc- 

 tors: For three years, T. M. Brown of Louis- 

 ville, C. A. Goodman of Marinette, Wis., 

 Oliver O. Agler of Chicago, E. E. Good- 

 lander of Memphis, E. V. Babcock of Pitts- 

 burg, J. H. P. Smith of Cincinnati, and 

 Charles B. Dudley of Memphis; for the two- 

 year term, Arthur H. Bernard of Minne- 

 apolis. 



Mr. Diggins, the new president of the as- ' 

 sociation, is one of the group that are re- 

 sponsible for the good management and skil- 

 ful utilization that has distinguished the wood 

 manufacturing industries of" Cadillac, Mich., 

 above those of many other towns with equal 

 advantages in the beginning. 



It was decided that the annual meeting of 

 the association in ign should be held in 

 Memphis. Tenn. 



The Grading Conference 



On the 3ist of May and the 1st of June, 

 representatives of the Eastern States Retail 

 Lumber Dealers' Association, the New York 

 Lumber Trade Association, and the Hard- 

 wood Manufacturers' Association met in New- 

 York and conferred upon the matter of grad- 

 ing rules. The changes decided upon are 

 epitomized as follows : 



1. It was decided that when a question of 

 grade only was in dispute, it would be neces- 

 sary to hold only that part of the shipment 

 intact that was complained of, instead of the 

 entire car, but that when the question was 

 one of quantity, the entire car must be kept 

 intact until agreement was reached. 



2. The standard rough thicknesses were 

 adopted as shown in the book, and to this 

 was added that ten per cent of the shipment, 

 which might be one-sixteenth inch scant of 

 the standard thickness 



3. Slight reconstruction was made in the 

 sap specifications for No. I common poplar, 

 the quantity of sound discolored sap admitted 

 being reduced to twenty per cent. 



4. In the divisions of lengths under No. i 

 common in the various woods, the percent- 

 age of short lengths was held by the eastern 

 lumbermen to be too severe, and these divi- 

 sions were changed one foot. 



5. Also, along the same line of short lengths, 

 the percentage of the short lengths allowed 

 the first and seconds and in No. i common 

 were reduced five per cent in all the various 

 woods. 



6. In the grading book of the Hardwood 

 Manufacturers' Association, except in poplar, 

 no percentage of firsts was specified, and it 

 was decided to insert in the rules the per- 

 centage of firsts that should be contained in 

 the combined grade of firsts and seconds. 

 This was set out in detail. 



Secretary Doster, of the Hardwood Associa- 

 tion, is quoted as saying that this is the first 

 time in the history of the hardwood industry 

 that an agreement has been reached along 

 these lines of such far-reaching proportions 

 and of so great importance to the industry. 



The representatives to the conference were 

 men of high standing in the business and 

 they represented influential associations with 

 very large interests. The St. Louis Lumber- 

 man, in its report of the conference, sums 

 up the result by saying: "The question of 

 waste will be helped toward solution by the 

 workings of this agreement, which allows 

 the producer to work up more of his mate- 

 rial than in the past, and thus conserve the 

 ends of conservation. He is enabled to 

 utilize the short clear lengths, by the cutting 

 up process, which, in the entire board, would 

 not be of sufficient value to stand the freight 

 on long hauls, and would be left in the woods 

 to decay." 



