36 



THE LUMBER TRADE JOURNAL 



[New Orleans, La., June IB, 1912. 



for Texas flooring, ceiling, and siding is Texas itself. 

 An enormous amount of building is going on; but a 

 trade with Mexico has reached large dimensions, and 

 an export business is carried on with several other 



foreign countries that buy Texas yellow pine. There 

 is a northern trade, also, which reaches the Central 

 and Plains States. 



Sash, Doors, Blinds and General Millwork. 



PLANING-MILL PRODUCTS. 

 TABLE II. 



Average 

 cost 

 per 



1,000 ft. 

 111.89 



11.75 



11.45 



26.39 



15.03 



15.00 



12.00 



31.83 



18.00 



60.00 



17.50 



Totals 587,872,500 



*'Less than 1/100 of 1 per cent. 



100.00 



$11.79 



Total 

 cost 

 f . o. b. 

 factory. 

 13,499,682 

 2,306,103 

 1,103,500 

 7,310 

 2,285 

 2,250 

 1,200 

 2,865 

 1,350 

 2,700 

 35 



$6,929,280 



Grown in 



Texas, 



feet, 



B. M. 



294,042,000 



186,279,500 



96,410,000 



217,000 



152,000 



150,000 



100,000 



90,000 



75,000 



Grown out 

 of Texas 

 feet, 

 B. M. 

 250,000 

 10,000,000 



2,000 



60,000 



45,000 



577,517,500 



10,355,000 



This industry is closely related to the preceding. 

 Planing machines have much to do with it, but other 

 woorworking machines are employed also. In this, 

 much of the work Is done to order; in the preceding, 

 the commodities are made and put upon the mar- 

 ket to be sold. Of course, doors, sash, window and 

 door frames, and many other articles belonging to 

 this industry, are manufactured In large quantities 

 and are sold in general markets; but stair work, 

 grills, columns and panel pieces are usually made 

 to order or to meet the requirements of a particular 

 trade. They are a more highly specialized product 

 than flooring, ceiling and siding, ,and the average 

 cost of the rough lumber of which they are made 

 is more tha ntwice as much. The list of woods useti 

 is longer, Table II having eleven, and this table 

 twenty-one. Shortleaf and longleaf pines hold chief 

 place in this as in the preceding industrial table; 

 but they are not so greatly out of proportion with 

 all the others. The western yellow pine occupies 

 a place of no mean importance in this industry, and 

 the high price paid for it is proof that it is not used 

 as a matter of convenience. It is taking the place 

 of the white pine of the Lake States in Texas, and 

 though It costs only $9 less seven times as much 

 was used i nthis industry last year. Sugar pine is 



another California wood which is being substituted 

 for white pine in Texas as well as elsewhere. More 

 than half a million feet of it appears in Table III. 

 Loblolly pine and tupelo are the two cheapest woods. 

 A few years ago tupelo would scarcely have found a 

 place in this industry, and it is an example of a 

 wood coming up from obscurity and neglect to an 

 important place. Yellow poplar is missing from the 

 industry. A few years ago it would have likely ap- 

 peared. Scarcity and high price have forced it out. 

 ago when it was pasing as yellow poplar, and could 

 not go under its own name. 



Mexican white pine appears in no other industry 

 in Texas; but it would appear in several if it could 

 be had cheaper. Manufacturers in different lines 

 hold it in much favor and would buy it, except 

 that the price Is prohibitive when it comes in com- 

 petition with loblolly and shortleaf; but when it 

 competes with the northern white pine and the pines 

 of California, it can succesfully hold its own as is 

 shown in Table III. 



The only African mahogany reported in Texas 

 appears in this industry, and the only Sitka spruce, 

 which is another Pacific Coast tree winnings its way 

 east of the Rocky Mountains. 



SASH, DOORS, BLINDS, AND GENERAL MILL WORK. 

 TABLE III. 



KINDS OF WOOD 



Quantity used 

 annually. 



Shortleaf pine 



Longleaf pine 



Cypress 



Tupelo 



Western yellow pine. 



Loblolly pine 



Red gum 



White oak 



Birch 



Sugar pine 



White pine 



Mexican white pine.. 



Texan oak 



Mahogany 



White ash 



Red oak 



Cottonwood 



Evergreen magnolia . 



Sitka spruce 



Sugar maple 



African mahogany . . 



Totals.. 



feet. 



B. M. 



17,701,000 



12,081,000 



3,662,500 



2,026,000 



1,487,000 



1,215,000 



814,000 



726,800 



509,200 



502,000 



195,000 



130,000 



119,000 



115,000 



60,000 



60,000 



40,000 



27,000 



20,000 



1,000 



500 



41,492,000 



Per 



cent. 



42.66 



29.12 



8.83 



4.88 



3.58 



2.93 



1.96 



1.75 



1.23 



1.21 



.47 



.31 



.29 



.28 



.14 



.14 



.10 



.07 



.05 



100.00 



Average 

 cost 

 per 



1,000 ft. 

 $24.45 



22.44 



32.11 



12.50 



53.95 



12.02 



20.26 



67.61 



58.96 



47.96 



63.08 



48.46 



33.19 

 155.22 



28.33 



76.08 



27.50 



15.30 



60.00 



70.00 

 150.00 



$26.77 



Total 

 cost 

 f. o. b. 

 factory. 

 $ 432,722 

 271,067 

 117,592 

 25,327 

 80,217 

 14,600 

 16,490 

 49,138 

 30,023 

 24,075 

 12,300 

 6,300 

 3,950 

 17,850 

 1,700 

 4,565 

 1,100 

 413 

 1,200 

 70 

 75 



$1,110,774 



Grown in 

 Texas, 

 feet, 

 B. M. 

 15,351,000 

 8,151,000 

 921,000 

 2,026,000 

 5,000 

 1,215,000 

 779,000 

 166,800 



Grown out 



of Texas 



feet, 



B. M. 



2,350,000 



3,930,000 



2,741,500 



1,482,000 



89,000 

 60,000 



40,000 

 27,000 



35,000 

 560,000 

 509,200 

 502,000 

 195,000 

 130,000 



30,000 

 115,000 



60,000 



20,000 



1,000 



500 



28,830,000 



12,661,200 



"Less than 1/100 of 1 per cent. 



Packing Boxes and Crates. 



Red gum is the leading box and crate material 

 of Texas, but evergreen magnolia is cheapest of the 

 nineteen species listed in Table IV. A small quan- 

 tity of red gum and cottonwood are brought into 

 the State, but all the rest is the home product. A 

 large number of the boxes and crates are for ship- 

 ping fruits and vegetables from the farms to the 

 markets. The line separating boxes and baskets is 

 often hard to define in this industry. A large part 

 of the material is received in the form of rotary-cut 

 veneer, and by the employment of cleats and re- 

 inforcements is worked into shipping containers. 



Willow oak supplied more than 5 per cent of the 

 box and crate material in Texas. Most of it was for 

 crates used in shipping farm machinery, fruit trees 

 from nurseries, hardware, and other commodities 



requiring strong crates. Hackberry is named in no 

 other industry, but it is used in others and is often 

 called ash. 



Cottonwood is highest in price of the nineteen 

 species in Table IV. Most of it is employed for 

 boxes which require stenciling. The wood's white 

 color shows lettering to good advantage. It is val- 

 uable also because it possesses no offensive taste or 

 odor and will not contaminate articles of food with 

 which it comes in contact. Ash is valuable for the 

 same reason. 



Car Construction. 



Twenty-four woods contribute material to this in- 

 dustry in Texas, a larger number than is found in 

 any other industry. Though the average cost, as 

 shown in Table V, is not very high owing to the 



presence of cheap woods in large amounts, there 

 are a number of species listed which are worth more 

 than $50 a thousand, and two above $150. The 

 costliest is black cherry. It is higher than the ma- 

 hogany listed and it is seldom that cherry costs 

 that much in any industry. It was used for broad 

 panels and other finish for passenger cars. It is 

 twice the price of the black walnut listed, though 

 usually cherry does not cost as much as walnut. 



Nearly four-fifths of the material reported con- 

 sists of three yellow pines that grow in Texas 

 longleaf, shortleaf and loblolly. Long leaf is in large 

 demand for car frames, and much of it is heavy 

 stuff. Its value is on account of its strength, stiff- 

 ness and its long resistance to decay. Little except 

 heartwood is used; in fact, this wood is nearly all 

 heart. Loblolly and shortleaf are softer and not 

 quite as strong, and their principal use as car ma- 

 terial is for siding and decking. 



White oak is employed for heavy timbers in 

 freight cars, and also as finish for passenger cars. 

 A considerable quantity is demanded for repairs in 

 the many car shops in the 'State. Chinquapin oak 

 is listed in large amount, and as stated on a former 

 page of this report, there is some doubt as to the 

 identity of some of the wood listed under that 

 name. 



Electric cars for street and interurban railways 

 are an important item in this industry. The most 

 of the demand for their construction and repair is 

 met by hardwoods. 



The small lots of white pine and sugar pine in the 

 table went to the pattern shops. Some of the cy- 

 press and yellow poplar also went there; but these 

 woods are more important as finish for cars. The 

 osage orange reported for car construction may not 

 all have actually gone into cars, but some of it was 

 probably employed as foundations for buildings, 

 blocks and posts for platforms, and other purposes 

 not strictly a part of car construction. The small 

 amount of hickory was used in making railroad ve- 

 locipedes. 



Texas supplies nearly two-thirds of the wood de- 

 manded by its car factories. 



Furniture. 



The average cost of furniture wood in Texas is 

 not quite a"s low as In some other Southern States, 

 but lower than in regions further north. The aver- 

 age in Texas is $17.92; North Carolina, $17.81; Ala- 

 bama, $13.90; Mississippi, $13.44; and Louisiana, 

 $12.66. Among States which pay more are the fol- 

 lowing: Arkansas, $24.90; Wisconsin, $25.22; Ken- 

 tucky, $26.47; Massachusetts, $28.30; Maryland, 

 $29.32; and Illinois, $39.90. Figures might be ob- 

 tained to show the average cost in several other 

 States, but they would bring out no points additional 

 to the above, viz: that remarkable difference exists 

 in the cost of furniture woods in near near-by re- 

 gions. The locality where the material is good and 

 is low in price should do a large business in manu- 

 facturing furniture. North Carolina is an example 

 of developing timber resources along the line of fur- 

 niture making. Texas lacks a few of the best native 

 woods, such as maple, cherry, yellow poplar, and 

 black walnut, 'but it has abundance of others for 

 developing a valuable furniture industry. There is 

 enough of medium-grade oak, substantial elm, and 

 high-grade pine, cypress and tupelo for common fur- 

 niture, and the forests of fine and beautiful woods, 

 listed usually as minor species, might be drawn 

 upon to furnish veneers for overlaying. A product 

 might be turned out that need fear no competition 

 with any other part of the United States. Texaa 

 possesses the material for the highest grade furni- 

 ture, but it has not yet made much use of any but 

 the more common woods. Elsewhere in this report 

 descriptions of some of the State's rare species are 

 given somewhat in detail, under the heading "Unre- 

 ported Woods." 



Though Texas is a little handicapped in regard 

 to cheap power, when compared with some other 

 regions, it possesses other advantages which fully 

 compensate for what it lacks in this. It has woods 

 which possess grain, texture and color, little, if 

 any, inferior to the rare imported woods. The 

 proper utilization of these woods is in furniture 

 making; not so much massive furniture, but smaller 

 kinds that -can make use of the medium-sized trees. 

 Quality rather than amount should be the State's 

 strong point, though of the more common woods it 

 has much, and might equal any other region in vol- 

 ume of product. 



Red gum supplies nearly one-half of all the furni- 

 ture wood listed in Table VI. It is one of this coun- 

 try's best woods for furniture, and has come to the 

 front in recent years. Foreigners first discovered 

 its value. The French called it satin walnut, and 

 the French and Italians sell some of it as Circassian 

 walnut, which it may be made to imitate almost ex- 

 actly. It is largely used in this country as imitation 

 of Circassian, English and French walnut, not only 

 in furniture, but in the manufacture of interior fin- 

 ish and musical instruments. 



