448 ALBANY LUMBER MARKET. 



With reference to the sources of supply, and the regions supplied, the 

 following is quoted from a little pamphlet printed in 1872 -J 



The principal sources of supplying pine timber to the Albany markets are Canada 

 and Michigan. Canada fnrnishes the greater portion, and it is believed by some 

 Albany dealers that before long this market -will be obliged to rely almost entirely on 

 that country for stock. They argue that, as the West is rapidly growing, and tho 

 available lumber in such manufacturing districts as Michigan is rapidly decreasing, 

 Western demand will soon equal Western production. As an evidence of the sound- 

 ness of this conclusion they adduce home instances. Ceitain sections of this State, 

 they say, such as Chemung, Allegany, and Steuben Counties, seemed, not long ago, to 

 possess inexhaustible resources for supplying a good quality of piue lumber. Now 

 those localities are obliged to import the better grades of lumber used, there from 

 Canada, and New York State furnishes no pine lumber to the trade. 



The coarser kinds of lumber, such as hemlock and spruce, come principally from Fort 

 Edward, Glens Falls, Champlain, and the Saranac River. The great bulk of the Albany 

 lumber is sold to dealers and consumers in New York City, New Jersey, and the East- 

 ern States. A great deal of that sent to the metropolis is reshipped to different points 

 along the Atlantic coast and elsewhere. Previous to the termination of the reciprocity 

 treaty Albany did an immense foreign shipping business. Buenos Ayres, Chili, and 

 other parts of South America, as well aa Australia, directly contributed largely to the 

 patronage of our dealers, but the imposition of a heavy duty diverted this trade from 

 Albany and revolutionized the tactics of the foreign buyer. A great deal of the lum- 

 ber now shipped to those countries is sent directly from Canada without touching the 

 shores of the United States, and the duty is thereby avoided. » • * * # 



The7i and now. — In several particulars there is a striking diiTeronce between the past 

 and present of the lumber interest in this city. Forty years ago the direct patron of 

 the wholesale Albany lumber merchant was the captain of a sloop or schooner, who 

 purchased his cargo upon thirty days' credit, and peddled it out in quantities to suit 

 customers along the river, in New York City, or wherever he could find a market. Now, 

 the boat captain merely acts as a paid agent for directing the transportation of mer- 

 chandise from the dealer to the buyer. Then, the captain would order out his little 

 crew of two or three men and spend a week in loading up his seventy or eighty thou- 

 sand feet. Now, the dock jobbers take the loading in hand, and a barge, the style of 

 craft now generally in use, will receive her cargo of 000,000 feet in two or three days. 

 Then, the sum total of rente paid by the dealers was about. $7,000 yearly ; now the Van 

 Renssclaers derive an annual revenue of more than $80,000 from the same source. Then, 

 the gross sales yearly were about $1,500,000. Now, one single house in the district has 

 sales to that amount. Then, the rnle was small stocks and a full assortment ; now the 

 dealer generally keeps a large stock and few kinds ; and the buyer goes to one yard for 

 pine, to another for hemlock and spruce, to another for his hardwood, and so continues 

 till his wants are supplied. Then, the boats used on the canal for transjiorting lumber 

 "were only capable of carrying about 40,000 feet. Some of the canal-boats now in use can 

 carry a load of 165,000 feet.^ Then, the dealer felt supremely happy in a little six by 

 nine shanty, furnished with twenty dollars' worth of fixtures, and would consider a man 

 a prodigal who would invest $500 in a structure for business purposes. Now the dealer 

 consults his architect, talks of gothic and Corinthian, levies upon his knowledge of 

 jBstheti cs, and concludes that a thousand or two cither way makes but little differ- 

 ence so that he can have an elegant, commodious oiiioe, with all the modem improv©- 

 m^nts.3 



The lumber dealers of Albany have a Lumberman's Board of Trade,* and various con- 

 veniences for their common benefit, including ample provisions against fires, and a 

 chapel for tho use, as well of those regularly employed, us of those who may be detained, 

 on the Sabbath. 



It is difficult to state the amount of the lumber trade of Albany from official statistics. 

 The greater part of the lumber is received by canal, but large quantities are also brought 

 by railroad, especially in the winter season. The actual quantity of material cannot 

 be derived from a report of sales, because the dealers often sell to one another. 



The following tables will show tho quantities and values of forest products, brought 

 by the Erie and Champlain Canals, to tide-water, and left at different points that are 

 important centers of the lumber trade, through a series of years. 



1 The Alhany Lmiiber Trade ; its History and Extent: first printed in the Alhany Argus, 

 August 15, 1872. 



*The locks of the enlarged Erie Canal pass boats 110 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 

 drawing 7 feet of water. On the Chamjilain Canal they admit boats 100 feet long, 18 

 leet wide, and drawing 5 feet of water. 



3 The writer mentions several firms having luxurious establishments for ofSces, one 

 for example, 32 by 42 feet of gothic style, the walls and ceiling being black walnut and 

 ash, the floors of Georgia pine, and the furniture the best that could be had. The office, 

 with fire-i)roof vault, bath-room, etc., had cost over $7,000. 



* Incorporated May 8, 1869. 



