^5 THE WESTERN HEMLOCK. 



lumber shipped to these points is for building purposes, for which 

 Western Hemlock is thoroughly satisfiictory. Since dry Hemlock 

 (rough) weighs but 2,240 pounds per 1,000 feet B. M., and Fir weighs 

 3,00<) pounds, the theoretical saving in freight on kiln-dried grades 

 would be nearly one-fourth. The arbitrary weights accepted by the 

 railway companies for the various grades of Fir might conflict some- 

 what with this comparison, but the advantage for long hauls in a 

 decrease in weight of 20 per cent remains indisputable. The ditfer- 

 ence in the weight of air-dried stock of these two kinds may be less, 

 since Hemlock is slow to dry and heavv when green, but with proper 

 care it would still be considerable. Generally speaking. Hemlock lum- 

 ber will probably be sold in the Missouri region from $2 to ^3 cheaper 

 per 1,000 feet B. M. than Fir on account of saving in freight alone. 



LUMBERING. 



With a few exceptions, it is only as skid timber that Hemlock enters 

 the logger's calculations. These exceptions are where mills log their 

 own lands, where small orders for box lumber or pulpwood are received, 

 or where the Hemlock is unusually good. In all cases it is put in as a 

 side product with a much larger quantity of Fir, for no logging is done 

 in approximately pure Hemlock stands. 



So far as Hemlock logs can be quoted at all, they bring about $1:.50 

 per 1,000 feet B. M. for the largest and clearest, no others being 

 handled. Fir of the same quality is worth $6 to ^8. Most frequently 

 the Hemlock logs are not classed as Hemlock, but are put in with the 

 Fir and scaled at the option of the buyer as first or second grade Fir. 

 A few camps put in from four to five logs a day, cutting only those 

 they are sure will he accepted at the price of first-grade Fir. To sum 

 up, the demand is so small and uncertain that the logger handles Hem- 

 lock only in a desultor}^ and uns3'stematic vfay. 



As a rule, there is little profit in logging on Puget Sound for less 

 than §5 a thousand, and it actually costs many Red Fir camps $5.50 to 

 deliver their logs at the mill. On Grays Harbor and the Columbia 

 River the cost is a little lower. It is idle to attempt to state definitely 

 the cost or profit of lumbering, since it varies from a net gain of $1 a 

 thousand to losses resulting in bankruptcy; but the following table 

 gives a rough average of the cost of lumbering 1,000 feet at Puget 

 Sound camps: 



Table 4. — Average cost of lumbering per 1,000 feet at Puget t'^ovnd camps. 



Stumpage SI . 00 



Labor 2. 50 



Engines, line, and road 1. 00 



Haul to mill 1/00 



Total 5. 50 



Average i)rice of logs §6. 00 



Cost 5.50 



Profit 50 



