18 THE EEDWOOD. 



RESISTA>'CE OF LUMBER TO FIRES AXD INSECTS. 



The wood is without resin and offers a strong resistance to fire, as 

 is indicated b}^ the record of fires in San Francisco, where it is much 

 used. Insects seldom injure it, because of an acid element its lumber 

 contains. In sea water, however, the marine teredo eats off* Redwood 

 piling as readily as other timber. 



USES FOR REDWOOD. 



Redwood is used for all kinds of finishing and construction lumber, 

 for shingles, railroad ties, electric-light poles, paving blocks, tanks, 

 and pipe staves. It is an excellent wood for all these purposes. As a 

 tie its average life, under heavy traflic, is six to eight years; as shingles 

 it will last as long as forty years. The chief difficulty in working 

 Redwood lies in the seasoning process. The tree absorbs so much 

 moisture that the butt logs will sink in water. Left in the sun, the}" 

 require three or four years to dry. 



COST OF LUMBERING. 



The manufacture of Redwood lumber is costly and difficult. From 

 the felling of the tree to the deliver}' of the finished product unusual 

 problems and expenses beset the mill man. Most of the land where 

 the Redwood grows is rough and hilly, and from 100 to 250 miles 

 from the main market, which can be reached only by sea. None but 

 the big companies can operate with any profit, and each plant has 

 usually to own a complete outfit. This includes the mill and accom- 

 panying buildings, about 10 miles of railroad track, two locomotives, 

 three to six donkey engines, several logging camps (including all the 

 rigging and tools that go with them), and perhaps a pair of steam 

 schooners. The men employed number from 150 to 300. Yet, even 

 on such a scale, the business is very uncertain. On account of the 

 sparseness of the settlement, labor is scarce and high and taxes are 

 severe. The most prosperous companies are those which have developed 

 a town with their business. They run a general store, raise most of 

 their own supplies, and sometimes have a local sale for their conmiou 

 lumber and for firewood. 



Redwood lumber is at present not highly profitable to mill men. It 

 costs, according to the accessibility of the timber and the price of 

 labor, from ^3 to 85.50 a thousand feet, board measure, to log — that 

 is, to deliver at the mill; from ^3 to ^3.50 to saw; from 25 to 50 cents 

 to load, and from S2.50 to ^1 to ship to the city. These items, with 

 the expenses of the city offices and sales, bring up the average total 

 to 810.75, or in many cases, with insurance, taxes, interest on capital, 

 stumpage, and accidents reckoned in, about 812. 



