250 REPORT OF THE FORESTRY COMMITTEE 



the waste of material in the woods, we virtually increased the cost of our 

 lumber more than $5 per M, and if we had any means of determining the 

 actual cost of manufacturing the poorer logs into lumber it would probably 

 have amounted to four or five times the value of the product obtained, so 

 that we have come to the conclusion that with our stand of timber 8" and 10" 

 surface clear limits for logging birch and maple are the limits of economy. 

 These specifications take not more than 30 to 35 per cent of the weight of 

 the wood from the land, or 60 to 70 per cent of the weight of the material 

 in our forest is left on the ground as having no economic value." 



This same lumberman found that with his mill in the woods away from any 

 large consuming point, he could make no profit selling his refuse for fuel; still 

 further, he found that he was unable to induce any of the manufacturers of small 

 wooden articles to use his waste for their raw material because with the present 

 value of timber, they could better afford to buy logs than to take the mill waste at 

 even a low price. Continuing his investigations, this lumberman finally formed a 

 triple alliance with a chemical company and the owner of an iron furnace, which 

 resulted in the erection of a complete hardwood distillation plant costing nearly 

 $200,000, which requires a working capital of $25,000. It is expected that this 

 plant will show a profit of from 6 to 8 per cent and make an average return of 

 25 cents per cord for the waste wood throughout the life of the lumber operation, 

 the wood amounting to about one cord for every thousand feet of lumber manu- 

 factured.. Operating in this manner, the only material left on the land consists 

 of the tops, rotten trees, and saplings under 5 inches in diameter. This engineer- 

 lumberman says that his distillation plant, with a capacity of 48 cords per day, is 

 the smallest it is practical to operate, and that a plant two or three times as large 

 would be more economical. In. his opinion, the minimum requirements for such 

 a plant are : 



1st. A mill located near a hardwood timber supply to last twenty years 

 at the rate of at least 10,000,000 feet of lumber a year. 

 2d. Plenty of running water. 

 3d. The proximity of a charcoal iron furnace. 



Another manufacturerer who has kept accurate records of the costs in a 

 well-managed hardwood distillation operation for several years, believes that, in 

 addition to investment in plant, the working capital should be at least $100,000. 

 This operator says : 



"A plant requiring 48 cords per day for 300 days needs 14,400 cords of 

 wood annually. It is necessary to carry about an 18 months' stock which 

 would make a total of 21,600 cords at $3 per cord, or about $65,000. The 

 amount required for labor and sundry expenses to carry on the operation 

 until the manufactured goods are ready for market would require a sufficient 

 additional amount to make a total woking capital of $100,000 necessary. 

 Even this puts the investment in all facilities such as railroads with equip- 

 ment and operation, camps, etc., on the lumber end of the business." 



Such conditions as these make it at once evident that only in a large lumber- 

 ing operation can this character of utilization be practised. The necessity for a 

 charcoal iron furnace may not be apparent to those unfamiliar with the business • 



