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New York 
State College of Agriculture 
At Cornell University 
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OF THE Coe \\ 
at 


STATE OF MICHIGAN i 


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| Cornell University Library 


SD 551.F94 


ucts on M 


‘ERS 


Cornell University 


Library 


The original of this book is in 
the Cornell University Library. 


There are no known copyright restrictions in 
the United States on the use of the text. 


http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002988461 


UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 


IN CO-OPERATION WITH 


THE PUBLIC DOMAIN COMMISSION 


OF THE 


STATE OF MICHIGAN 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN 
FARMS , 


By E. H. FROTHINGHAM, 
TFormst Examiner, Forest SERVICE. 
JULY 10, 1915. 


LANSING, MICHIGAN 
WYNKOOP HALLENBECK CRAWFORD CO., STATE PRINTERS 
1916 


To the Farmers of Michigan: 


It is always a pleasure for the Public Domain Commission to co- 
operate with any of the United States departments in giving to the 
people of this State information which will be of benefit to them. This 
publication entitled “Selling Woodlot Products on Michigan Farms” 
is the result of such cooperation, and we feel that the data which has 
been so carefully gathered and intelligently compiled by the Forest Ser- 
vice of the United States Department of Agriculture will be of untold 
value to the farmers of Michigan, not only in advising them as to how 
best to harvest and dispose of the products of their woodlots, but in stimu- 
lating a greater desire for larger and better woodlots. 

Very respectfully yours, 
JUNIUS E. BEAL, 
ALFRED J. DOHERTY, 
ORAMEL B. FULLER, 
FRED L. KEELER, 
WILLIAM KELLY, 
COLEMAN C. VAUGHAN, 

Members of the Public Domain Commission. 


Protection to the orchard and wood production. 


A woodlot serving a double purpose: 


| SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS 
| 


CONTENTS ' 
| Page 
| PUPPOSE:Of NE HULLS jo xa .s dsaiws ciedunia ince anaes od imscaae pawed yume eh aay Seem 4 
The woodlot situation in Michigan. .........00 00.00 c cece cece cnet eee 7 
| The common woodlot trees............. 000 cc cece eee ee ee re 8 
Marketing woodlot products.......00...00..0 00 ccc cece cee eee tees Me Se ce, Rese 8 
| Sizing up the woodlot..... Re eee Sith eae: ORL Ho RES OM ED Rea eee wal’ Senate 8 & 9 
| RS Oneioer e GUAIEE, eck iva uk uwmetee a eR CORR) | BO Ge ce mee ae i ew ete le 16 
| TOON: o 2 gs paigtigia 24g og y 5 GPR Ade eae ees tiie pad (dW  g. Goes pene 17 
| SawlOgsst. 525 omit ae on4 5 ag 4 oownly en oe Soo5. Oy eS ks RR ES 18 
| ONES oid oo ey ewan nee RAS ER GARE RRR Ye 4. sya sudeerorregs eemey 19 
| Hanes cae vs seme a4 key BNE SARE OS = co Sea eeepe 4 ogee re eens 20 
| Vehicles and vehicle parts.................00000005 Se chite Sia ees Bete keds 21 
h IP GOPETAR Sie eb iscet ce bia oa arate CES oR ee Bay ERE Seago icine eect aes 22 
| FRAMIT ORG ICR). ess secuens izsgea)e sds dnspinsiehills ected ont Saas ecw a > ah eb hans Poa gba buaiae des 23 
POEs ATG, MOST fice d.5)5-5-2 eoninsasades ie god Sw ds ebeanaas Gee G A ada Bet wachacsaumincul ASD 9p abate 24 
Small TOUS PLOMU CES) 3 5. sgweiccueies eis wis Pe oeoAmaR eed. DE OR ES HATA WHORE A Gh da eee 25 
Wood for pulp ............... Bhs ade Moat fe sag. Sac aveawe Eo alb ticin, WhiCnee si Se Bones Sade 26 
Excelsior 26 
Wood for distillation 27 
Firewood 27 
Conducting the sales. gee pays capes epee x A when Whig at ay emilee ek Ge a Baten woe a Ao eee 28 
Contracting for thewwales, » siswagen su0 x3 weeks s o23 244 Re Se eae ix Bas ueOe ES 30 
\ pbealine te lees ues 4542 9 ad eames 42 oA PERS GES a ee be 2 Ate 2 -B1 
“SOadine GOt” GeICeias 4 uv uy eeeees 48 ue 68S KR AwREE 4S OEE PORE. G9 EGE co eeew Cad bh oo eae F% 33 
shipping by railroad...............20000- RSEEEL TO GS GEE BELO HGS ROCKS A ORO 33 
How to prevent the deterioration of cut woodlot products............. 000 ccc eee teen eeeees 38 
* ue of the principal uses of the common woodlot trees........... 0.0.00. ccc ee ees 39 
{_.cectory of Michigan firms which buy wood products ‘‘in the rough”...................... 40 


Pop POMGER cscs D sccncnlnsns a Gaeitis Sse ancnchenign GG x aakew waedainiedtne Wieland nun aie Sed amanda e BAS aN Af 47 
i E 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS 


PURPOSE OF THE BULLETIN 


One of the essentials of successful farming is to know how, when, and 
where to market crops. Farmers are all deeply interested in this; yet 
when it comes to selling wood products, most of them are at such a 
disadvantage through ignorance of markets and methods of estimating 
and selling, that they lose sometimes two-thirds the value of their timber. 
Many Michigan woodlots still contain timber which represents the growth 
of a century. No farmer should let this valuable possession pass from 
him “for a song.” 

The advantage to be gained through knowledge of marketing timber 
is best shown by an actual example. An 80-acre farm in south central 
Michigan had on it a 10-acre woodlot containing about 48,000 board feet 
of basswood and about 12,000 feet each of hard maple, soft maple, red 
oak, soft elm, ash, and beech. The trees were overmature, many of them 
were hollow, and the owner knew he ought to “sell them to save them.” 
Timber on an adjacent 10 acres had previously been sold for $100 per 
acre, or a total of $1,000. Instead of selling on the first bid made, the 
owner, acting on the advice of an expert attached to a nearby forestry 
school, wrote to a number of wood-using firms in different cities, from 
some of whom, after examination of his timber, he secured bids on the 
different species in his woodlot. As a result of his bargaining he received 
stumpage values amounting, in the aggregate, to nearly $2,000. For his 
red oak, bought for quarter-sawing by a firm outside the State, he re- 
ceived $21 per 1,000 board feet. His other trees were purchased by a 
veneer company, the basswood returning $19 per 1,000 board feet, ash 
$16, elm and hard maple $14, soft maple and beech $12. 

Few farmers are so situated as to be able to secure the assistance of 
capable, impartial advisors; and this bulletin is an attempt to supply 
the deficiency by acquainting them with the uses of different kinds of 
woodlot timber, the location of some of the principal Michigan markets, 
and the more important details in the sale of the products. , 


THE WOODLOT SITUATION IN MICHIGAN. 


Michigan farms which cut woodlot products in 1910 (48.7 per cent of 

'| the farms) sold on an average about $50 worth apiece and consumed 
about the same amount.* The total value for the State was over $7,900,- 
000 (not including maple sugar), or about one-twentieth of the aggregate 
income from all Michigan crops. The total area of Michigan farm wood- 
lots is nearly three million acres, which is 15.5 per cent of the total farm 
area. Woodlots will therefore continue for some time to be important 
sources of income to the State and to the farms on which they exist. 


*Bureau of Census Reports. 


8 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


In spite of this evident importance to the State, woodlots are being 
cleared at a rate which would threaten their virtual extinction if cop- 
tinued for the next half century. In the 30 years between 1880 and 
the decrease was over 114 million acres, or at a rate of more than 1 
per cent per year, so that while in 1880 the average area of woodland on 
each farm was about 29 acres, in 1910 it was only 14 acres. This process 
of clearing was inevitable and perfectly natural wherever it opened up 
good tillable soils for cultivation. On poorer soils financial necessity 
often compelled farmers to cut their timber. There has, in fact, been 
little or no inducement to hold salable timber or even to protect and 
care for young growth for the uncertain value it might have 40 or 50 
years in the future. 

The only efficient means of stemming the tide of forest destruction 
seems to be organized community or State effort directed toward pro- 
moting the private holding of woodlots on poor lands by equitable tax 
laws or to establishing community or State forests by the purchase of 
existing woodlots or of land which should be in woods. The State is 
already providing for future forest growth through the holding of lands 
which have reverted for taxes. It is probable that a more general appreci- 
ation of the value of woodlots on,poorer soils would go a long way toward 
perpetuating them. The best way of bringing this home to the farmers 
is to give them the information necessary to get the highest returns from 
their salable wood products. 


THE COMMON WOODLOT TREES. 


In general, oaks and pines are the commonest species in woodlots on 
dry, sandy soils. The pines—white, Norway, and jack,—are unim- 
portant or entirely lacking south of an east and west line drawn through 
about the middle of the lower peninsula. The.oaks are most important 
south of this line, though some small species grow abundantly on sandy 
lands to the north of it. On heavier or moister soils throughout the 
State, maples, birches, elms, and basswood, and, in the north, hemlock 
are the species which predominate in the majority of the woodlots. In 
the swamps, tamarack is found throughout the State, while arborvitae 
(white cedar) and a little black spruce occur in the North. On cut-over 
and burned lands in the North, aspen and sometimes paper birch often 
form dense thickets, usually too small to be of any immediate value, but 
sometimes big enough to supply excelsior stock, box lumber, ete. 

These are the prevailing species, but there are others which, though 
‘less abundant, may be much more valuable, among them white ash, black 
walnut, butternut, hickory, and (very sparingly in the South) yellow 
poplar. Merchantable trees of these species are becoming very scarce. 
They are eagerly sought out by buyers for special industries; and the 
farmer who owns good trees may, in prosperous times, expect good 
prices for them, even when at a considerable distance from the point 
utilization. 


MARKETING WOODLOT PRODUCTS. 


_The woodlot owner should not allow valuable trees to deteriorate on 
his hands, but he should fully satisfy himself that the deterioration has 
actually started before accepting a low bid for the timber. Even if 
signs of damage are found it should be remembered that timber does not 


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SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 9 


“go back” very rapidly except when the process is already far advanced. 
When the signs of decay are unmistakable, therefore, a postponement 

Brot the cutting for a year or two can usually be made with safety, so as 
to allow a poor market to “pick up,” or in order to make further in- 
quiries into the manner of disposal. Young, thrifty timber should be 
held as long as possible. It should not be sold unless the money or the 
land is urgently needed, or unless the owner is sure that an exceptional 
price is being offered for it. There is little risk in holding good, sound, 
young or medium-sized timber. It is yearly increasing in amount and 
value; and if it is cut and sold too early, a sacrifice is involved. 

Woodlot sales may include the whole or the greater part of the stand, 
or may take only selected trees here and there. In the former case, a 
good market for each kind of material, including the cordwood, should 
be found. The case mentioned on page 7 illustrates how several dif- 
ferent markets can be found for the different trees in a given woodlot. 
When only certain kinds of material are to be sold from the woodlot 
and the rest of the timber is to be left standing, the owner should take 
care not to injure the woodlot any more than is unavoidable through 
haphazard selection of the trees to be taken out. Sometimes it is even 
best not to permit the removal of all of the salable trees, when to do 
this would leave the stand ragged and would expose large patches of 
soil to sun and drying winds. Before culling the woodlot, it is a good 
plan for the farmer to consult the State Forester or some other person 
experienced in this work, or to obtain suggestions from one of the many 
publications relating to the care of forests. One such publication is 
U. S. Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletin 711, “The Care and 
Improvement of the Woodlot” by C. R. Tillotson, which can be obtained 
free of charge on application to the Forester, Forest Service, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

Assuming that the farmer does not own a portable mill and wishes 
to secure the best possible return for his rough products, the steps which 
he will take are (1) to size up the woodlot and determine the kinds, 
quantities, and qualities of the salable trees; (2) to choose the markets 
which, considering prices and costs of shipping, will give the best re- 
turns for the material; and (3) to arrange for and conduct the sale. 


Sizing up the Woodlot 


Every woodlot owner should have a good general idea of what he has 
in his woodlot, whether he intends to sell it at once or not. In writing 
to dealers for bids or in advertising timber for sale, it is necessary to 
state what the kinds are, and in general the amounts, sizes, and quali- 
ties of each kind. This information should be explicit as to the number 
and size of each form of product, such as logs, poles, piling, cross-ties, 
bolts, cordwood, etc. A general idea of the quality of the product should 
also be given; this is especially important where the timber is fit for 
veneer, quarter-sawing, or other high grade uses. 

The units in uaich timber is usually estimated are the board foot, 
the cord, and the piece. It is not hard to tell how much a tree contains 
of the products sold by the piece; but where logs are to be sold by board 
measure their contents, especially in the standing tree, are more diffi- 
cult to estimate. Furthermore, it is hard to tell how much to. deduct 
“pom the contents and quality of logs for hidden defects. If the timber 


10 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


is to be sold by the log, at fixed prices per thousand board feet or other 
unit, no very precise estimate is necessary; but if it is to be sold “by the 
lot” or by “acreage,” the owner should protect himself by making as care- 
ful an estimate as possible. 

A simple and practical method of woodlot stocktaking is given in the 
next few pages of this bulletin. The main steps are as follows: estimate 
the top-end diameters and lengths of all the possible logs which the 
woodlot, or a measured sample of it, contains, recording the sizes and 
numbers separately for each species;* add up separately the number 
of logs of each species, each diameter, and each length;* deduct an 
inch or two from the diameter to eliminate the bark thickness (logs 
are always scaled inside the bark) ; and multiply the number of logs in 
each of the totals by the lumber volume for a log of the same diameter 
and length, to be found in either Table 6 or Table 7. 

While close results in estimating can not be expected without con- 
siderable experience, an untrained observer can, with ordinary care, 
secure figures reasonably close to the actual contents of the stand. In 
small woodlots every tree may be sized up separately; in larger ones 
the trees on a known portion of the tract can be measured, and the vol- 
ume of the whole stand found by multiplying the volume of the logs on 
the sample by the number of times the sample is contained in the whole 
area. This method is, of course, less accurate than the measurement of 
all the trees, and care must be taken that the sample is an average one. 
The bigger the sample the more accurate the results, especially when 
the stand contains a number of different kinds of trees in mixture; in 
any case, at least a quarter of the stand should be actually gone over, 
tree by tree. To be sure of securing an average, it is a good plan to esti- 
mate a number of scattered samples in different parts of the tract, using 
care not to place them where the timber is either heavier or lighter than 
the average. The samples can be either strips, squares, or circles of 
known area. The strip and the circle are usually the most convenient 
forms. A strip 4 rods wide and 40 rods long contains an acre; its width 
and length can be paced off, the observer advancing 2 rods and after 
that stopping every 4 rods, estimating each time the trees on the 
imaginary square, four rods on a side, at the center of which he stands. 
Another convenient sample plot is a circle about 20 paces (59 feet) 
from center to circumference, containing a quarter acre. 

As a guide in estimating the top (small-end) diameters of the logs in 
a tree it is well first to measure the diameter of the trunk at about breast- 
height.+ Then estimate and deduct the number of inches taper between 
the breasthigh point and the end of each successive log. It will be a great 
help in judging the rate of taper of the standing trees if a few down trees 
of different kinds and sizes can be found and measured at regular inter- 
vals of 8 or 10 feet along the trunk from the breasthigh point, noting the 
number of inches difference between successive measurements. If there 
are no down trees available for measurement, the farmer must size up 
the taper for himself. 

The taper varies more with the size of the trees than with the species. 
A short, thick tree which will cut only one or two logs may have 4 inches 
of taper in the distance between breastheight and the small end of the 
“¥Forms for recording the logs and finding the totals are shown on pp. 12 and 14 


+Breast height is preferable to stump height because it avoids the pronounced swell at the base of 
most trees. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 11 


first 16 foot log; and the taper of the top log may be nearly as great. 
A tall, slender tree may have 214 or 3 inches taper between breastheight 
and the top of the first log, 114 inches in the next 16 feet, and 2144 
inches in the third log. The taper is normally greatest in the bottom and 
top logs. 

The best instruments for measuring diameters are a diameter tape or 
a pair of calipers. The diameter tape is a short steel tape in a case, 
one side graduated in inches or in tenths of feet, the other in intervals 
such that the exact diameter of any cylindrical object measured can be 
read off directly in inches. A twenty foot diameter tape can be obtained 
for approximately $1.75 or $2 through a local dealer in hardware or 
surveying instruments. The same local dealer will be able to procure 
tree calipers for from $3.15 to $4.50, depending on the size. This is a 
beam graduated in inches and tenths, with a fixed arm at one end and 
a sliding arm which indicates-on the beam the diameter of a tree held 
snugly between the two arms. 

In the absence of a diameter tape or calipers, diameters can be ob- 
tained with sufficient accuracy by taking the girth of the tree with an 
ordinary tape, graduated in inches and fractions, and dividing by 3. 
The results obtained by dividing the girth by 8 will be slightly greater 
than the actual diameters, so that it will be necessary to subtract a small 
amount for trees over 7 inches in diameter. Thus 14 inch should be de- 
ducted for trees between 8 and 16 inches in diameter; 1 inch for trees 
from 17 to 24 inches; 14% inches for trees from 2 to 3 feet; and 2 
inches for trees of larger size. If the thickness of the trees is fairly regu- 
lar throughout the woodlot, the measurement of a number of them from 
time to time will train the eye of a close observer so that the diameters 
of the rest can be estimated with approximate accuracy. An ordinary 
two foot rule held at arms length against the tree will assist the eye in 
estimating diameters. 

Although the lumber contents of cut logs are measured inside the bark, 
it is usually easier and as accurate, in sizing up standing trees, to 
estimate the diameters outside the bark, and then to deduct an inch or 
two for the double thickness of bark when the tallies are added up on 
the summary sheet. The bark thickness cin be determined, roughly, by 
removing and measuring a few samples from about breastheight on 
standing trees which are to be cut. The thickness should of course be 
doubled “before subtracting from the outside bark diameter. 

The majority of logs are now cut 16 feet long where possible, with a 
few inches extra to allow for injuries to the log ends i in handling. Where 
16 foot logs can not be obtained because of some defect or crookedness 
of the tree trunk, 14, 12, 10, or even 8 foot logs can often be cut, and. 
these should be included in the list. When 16 feet is the standard length, 
8 foot logs can be recorded as “half-logs.” Allowance must be made for 
the stump, which will usually vary in height from 6 inches to 2 feet, 
depending on the size of the tree. For medium sized trees a good rule 
is to make the stump height about equal to its diameter. 

In tallying, the logs should be kept separate by species, by diameter, 
by length, and preferably by quality. .A simple and accurate method is 
to record on a tally sheet like the one shown the logs in each tree as 
the estimator comes to it. It is especially desirable to note the quality 
of the logs when they are fit for veneer, quarter-sawing, or other high- 

3 


12 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


grade uses. The grading must be an arbitrary one, depending on the 
farmers’ judgment and experience. Large, straight, smooth (“surface 
clear’) logs which appear to be sound can be classed as grade 1; sound 
logs of fair size, with a slight crook, or with a branch or two near the 
end, fall into grade 2; all other salable logs belong to grade 3. The 
grade number 1, 2, or 8, can be put in parenthesis in a corner of the 
space provided for log lengths on the tally sheet. 


TALLY SHEET FORM 


f First log. Second log. Third log. Fourth log. 
Diameter 
breast- 
high of 
Species. tree. Length | Diameter | Length | Diameter | Length | Diameter | Length | Diameter 
and at small and at small and at small and at small 
grade. end.* grade, end.* grade. end.* grade. end.* 


Inches. Feet. Inches. Feet. Inches. Feet. Inches. Feet. Inches, 


Rock elm 
Hard maple 
Hard maple 
Hard maple 


*Either outside or inside bark, as the estimator prefers. It is probably simpler to make the estimate outside bark, ee) 

the double bark thickness when the logs are added up for scaling. The form on page 14, which shows the above logs added ani 

rence eo Ahi size, and grade, assumes that the tally was made outside bark, and that 2 inches were deducted for double 
ark thickness. 


When the tally is complete for the whole stand, or the measured 
sample of. it, the number of logs of each kind, size, and grade must be 
added up; and if, as in the example just given, the diameters of the 
logs were estimated outside the bark, the double bark thickness must 
be deducted. It is usually sufficiently accurate to assume a fixed de- 
duction for bark (say 2 inches, as in the form on page 14), for all species 
and sizes of log, based on the average thickness of bark actually cut from 
different parts of a number of trees.* The form on page 14 is a con- 
venient one for adding up the logs according to kind, size, and grade, 
and recording their lumber contents. The logs of each class are read 
off from the tally sheet, and recorded (after subtracting the double bark 

*This arbitrary deduction may be justified on the ground that the diameters of the log ends are 


estimated and not measured, are expressed in inches and not fractions, and can therefore be regarded 
only as fairly close approximations. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 13 


thickness) by dots or short lines in the appropriate space.t The lum- 
ber eontents of all the logs of each class can then be easily determined 
by (1) finding in Table 6 or 7 the board foot volume of a log of the same 
length and diameter inside bark; and (2) multiplying this figure by the 
number of logs. The total volume for each class may conveniently be 
written into the proper space, as shown in the form, and these totals 
may be added across so as to give the total volume in board feet of the 
logs of each species and each grade. The form may be extended to pro- 
vide for any number of species and diameters; it may be simplified by 
omitting the columns for grades if a graded estimate is not desired. 


tA compact method is to record the first four logs by dots forming the corners of a small square; 
the next four by straight lines completing the square; and the next two by diagonals, thus: 


. oe oe i a Be 


(1 log), (4 logs), (6 logs), (8 logs), (9 logs), 10 logs) 
The logs thus grouped by tens can be easily counted. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


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SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 15 


When the woodlot consists of only two or three species and it is not 
necessary or practicable to grade the logs, a more compact form of 
recording is possible as indicated below, which largely does away with 
the second operation of totaling. Where the owner knows that two or 
more of the species have closely similar values, they may be grouped 
together; but the general proportion of each should be kept in mind, 
since in bargaining it may happen that other prices will be offered than 
those which the owner contemplates. 


Log : 
Diameter :_ Pine am hemlock logs on 1 average acre 
(outside : Length in feet 
bark, Hy 2 3 : : ‘ 
igmall end: 16 : 14 > 12 : 10 : 8 
Inches [mee 7B Bae :-20 (Bar 
6 332 320 249 219 327 
oo :: [oS cag : 63 oy’ & 
7 244 :31 122 721 26 
AR wo [EL 2] :O 
8 277 228 217 39 38 a 
7 Ol By Bo BY Bo aor 280 Oe) °s 
9 750 =” 3 18 ad 35 
[Rw fe sais : $ 
10 342 26 2 : : 
°BIT : Lor : 
pee 216 : 5 -5 : 
SI By: ° (Cc <° $ 78 
12 23 i7 23 : <2 
etc. 3 5 : . Pas 


A rough estimate of the cordwood contents of woodlots can be ob- 
tained by tallying the number of trees of each diameter and dividing by 
the number of trees per cord shown for different diameters in the follow- 
ing table. The table is compiled from existing tables for northern hard- 
wood trees, but will apply roughly to softwoods as well: 


TABLE 1.—-NUMBER OF TREES TO MAKE A STACKED CORD OF UNPEELED SPLIT AND ROUND WOOD IN 4 
FOOT LENGTHS, 3 INCHES AND OVER IN DIAMETER AT THE MIDDLE.* 


, . Number f Number 
Diameter breasthigh of tree—inches. of trees Diameter breasthigh of tree—inches. of trees 
per cord. per cord. 


earerrerners 


mao ouwan 


*Compiled by G. N. Lamb, from various tables for forest grown northern hardwood trees. 


16 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


Choosing the Market 


After finding out what the woodlot contains, the next thing to do is { 
to ascertain for what uses each kind of material will bring the best 
price. An index showing the uses of each species is given on pages 39-40. 
The farmer should look up all the local wood using industries like saw- 
mills, firewood dealers, pulp mills, fruit box and basket factories, rail- 
roads, etc., and obtain the prices they will pay for the various kinds of 
timber he has to sell. It is a good plan to inquire of neighbors who have 
had dealings with local buyers. 

It is very often possible to get better prices than those offered by 
local dealers, however. The woodlot owner should investigate the avail- 
able markets not only within wagon haul of his lot but also at points 
some distance away; valuable logs can often be shipped 100 miles or 
more with profit. It is easy to secure prices for different products by 
writing to all the firms in towns and cities not too far away which are 
manufacturing special articles and which seem to offer a good market. 
In such letters, the kinds, amounts, and general qualities of the timber 
available should be stated as clearly as possible, and inquiry should be 
made about the point of delivery,—whether on board cars at the shipping 
point or at the destination. In the latter case, the shipper pays the 
freight, and this amount must be deducted from the price offered in com- 
paring the returns to be derived with those which local sales would yield. 
In most shipments, carload lots are required. When buyers are sent 
by the firms in response to letters, however, they may accept less 
amounts, making up the carload from other farms in the vicinity. It is, 
of course, possible for two or more farmers to combine and make up 
carload lots, sharing the freight charges between them. 

On pages 41 to 46 is given a directory of Michigan industries which 
buy wood in rough forms—logs, bolts, billets, ties, posts, poles, ete. 
While this list is necessarily not quite up to date, most of the establish- 
ments are probably still in the market. For convenience in reference, 
the firms are arranged by towns, and the towns by counties, in alpha- 
betical order for the upper peninsula and for the northern and southern 
parts of the lower peninsula. This will make it easy for the farmer to 
find out what firms buy rough wood in his own and adjacent counties. 
In writing for bids he should not confine himself to these, but should 
also approach firms manufacturing specialized articles, like veneer, 
handles, etc., in any part of the State. 

The directory does not include sawmills or wood yards, since it is 
assumed that the farmer is already acquainted with such of these estab- 
lishments as are in his vicinity. It is rarely practicable to ship any 
great distance for these uses. In the list, the kind of product sold 
precedes the name of the company or buyer; wherever possible the species 
dealt in are specified. 

Prices and specifications for different uses can not be given to good 
advantage because they vary constantly. A general idea of the usual 
forms and grades required and of the relative values of the different 
species can, however, be given, and these will be useful in determining 
what firms to write to. It should be borne in mind that, unless other- 
wise specified, prices are for materials delivered f. 0. b. mill; in other 
words, the seller bears the freight charges. For some rough products, 
like pulp wood, excelsior wood, ties, etc., there are standard prices per 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 17 


cord, per thousand board feet, etc. This is less true of log sales for 
veneer and other uses; buyers usually secure these at lowest prices, and 
it is best to obtain bids from a number of different sources. As a rule, 
the larger the size of a sound, high-grade log, the higher the price it 
will bring. 


Lumber. 


Among lumber dealers there is a strong prejudice against farm lum- 
- ber, due to the fact that it ig commonly poorly manufactured and poorly 
graded-as compared with the lumber cut in the larger stationary saw- 
mills. Most of the farm lumber is sawed in small portable mills with 
circular saws, and the work is paid for at so much a thousand board 
feet—usually $3.50 or $4. It is of course to the advantage of the sawyer 
to turn out as many thousand feet a day as the capacity of his mil] will 
permit. Getting the best lumber out of a log requires considerable judg- 
ment and necessitates a frequent turning of the log, which materially 
reduces the daily output. It is probable that a good sawyer could, by 
taking care as to grades, save as much as $10 per day over what ordinary 
portable mill lumber is worth. Most of the larger plants which use lum- 
ber, therefore, get it from the big sawmills or from wholesalers who are 
able to supply well manufactured stock of specified grades in the amounts 
and at the times required. 

There are many establishments in the State which do, however, buy 
lumber from farmers, and even fairly high grade lumber. Usually this 
lumber is bought “log run” (No. 2 common and better) or No. 1 common 
and better. Woodworking companies usually buy sawed lumber on de- 
livery. Local lumber yards often prefer to buy standing timber “by 
the lot” or by “acreage,” either hauling the logs to a mill in town or 
sawing them out on the spot in a portable mill. In such deals there 
are apt to be no standard grade values, the lumber being purchased at 
prices reached in bargaining. 

Lumber is put to a great many different uses, each having different 
requirements which can not be stated to advantage in a bulletin of this 
_. size. It is necessary, however, to be thoroughly aware of such require- 
ments, so that as much as possible of the material can be sawed to fit 
them, and as little as possible rejected at the yard after being hauled. 
This applies both to grade and to size. Some plants want 1-inch lumber, 
others thicker material. Plants which require lumber only for such 
purposes as furniture, finish, etc., usually require only the higher grades. 
It is usually best, when possible, either to sell such companies in 
the log—observing, of course, the points regarding competitive bargain- 
ing already mentioned—or to haul the logs to some established mill 
accustomed to producing high grade lumber, and have them sawed out 
there. Where lower grades are purchased, as for example No. 2 com- 
mon and better, a good portable mill, operated by an experienced sawyer, 
may be secured, and the cull lumber rigidly graded out. By grading 
rigidly the farmer may avoid loss through the rejection of culls at the 
point of delivery. 

Much high grade lumber undoubtedly goes into the construction of 
farm buildings. The farmer should look on this as a distinct loss until 
he has proved to his own satisfaction that he could not get better value 
from the logs or lumber either from local or from distant buyers. It is 


18 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


usually a distinct misuse of good material to put hard woods ae aa 
lings, rafters, etc. Softwoods are much preferable for aes as rp i 
and as a rule only the lower grades are necessary, which, 1 e a 
lot itself does not supply enough, can almost always be bought at low 
prices from local dealers. Culls left in portable mill work can, of course, 
be used to advantage for such purposes, especially when of hemlock, 
pine, or other softwood. Some small mill operators make a business 
of buying up farm logs and selling the culls to farmers for about $17 
per thousand feet. 

The following figures, gathered at random from a few firms in the 
southern part of the State, show prices paid in 1914 for different species 
and grades of farm lumber delivered at the company’s yards: 


TABLE 2.—PRICES PAID FOR FARM LUMBER BY A FEW FIRMS IN SOUTH CENTRAL MICHIGAN, 1914. 


Oak, red and white, Ists and 2nds, 1 inch lumber.......... 0... c cece cere cent e tent ee ee eee c eaten eeeetenes $37-39 
Oak, red and white, No. 1 common, 1 inch lumber.. sence ee seta wane 28 
Oak, red and white, No. 2 common, 1 inch lumber............... Sar ates eee 23 
Oak, red and white, No. 1 common and better, 1 inch lumber 30 
(1 inch and 1} inch oak lumber, Ists and 2nds, $2 or $3 more). 
Oak, white, 1sts and 2nds, 3-3} inch plank........... hoes 38 
Oak, white, No. 1 common, 3-34 inch plank. pene 28 
Elm, rock, Ists and 2nds, 3-34 inch plank... eee 38 
Eln, rock, No. 1 common, 3-33 inch plank.......... sateen ae ere 28 
Sim, sett, iste and ads; $2) neh Mane cons 5-05 curecenynens ay uk eae eR A mE MRE oo ALEK REM NE AS 5 pee OR RE ae ek 25 
Elm, soft, No: 2:comnion,-2 incl planks esis osc scegncuad a os ERG ae RRA EEE AS Ring Bs HES ee as eaten Gere dae 20 
Elm, soft, No. 2 common and better, 1 inch lumber. . des 2 20 
* Maple, hard, Ists and 2nds, 4 inch plank.......... Katte rabies ee 8 45 
Maple, hard, Ists and 2nds, 3-34 inch plank. . . ede : i EM a 35 
Maple, hard, No. 1 common, 3-3} inch plank..,..... 8 Sosa = oe 25 
Maple, hard, No. 2 common and better, 4 inch plank. chen Rots ae ae = 32 
Maple, hard, No. 2 common, 2 inch plank.............. Hire Sales ao 20 
Maple, hard, No. 2 common and better, 1 inch lumber... 22 
Maple, soft, 1sts and 2nds, 3-34 inch plank............. 25 
Maple, soft, No. 1 common, 3-3} inch plank. ......... 2.0.00. ccc cece cece e eee t eee ee nace nenes 20 
Maple, soft, No. 2 common and better, 1 inch lumber 23 
Basswood, No. 2 common and better, 1 inch lumber 25-26 
Beech, No. 2 common and better, 1 inch lumber.... 16 
Black ash, No. 2 common and better, 1 inch lumber 23 
White pine, No. 2 common and better, 1 inch lumber 25 
Poplar, No. 2 common and better, 1 inch lumber 27 


Sawtogs 


Selling logs by the thousand board feet is a very desirable method, 
since by it may be avoided the errors usually incident to estimating and 
the uncertainties introduced in the sawing operation. The prices paid 
for logs of a given species depend on the size and quality of the logs, 
and are usually fixed by bargain. The farmer should protect himself 
by finding out what prices have been obtained by neighbors who have 
sold logs, and also by correspondence or interview with dealers in logs 
for other purposes than lumber, such as veneer, handles, etc. 

As a rule, there are no standard grades of logs, but the price is fixed 
on inspection by the purchaser. If possible, this should be done before 
delivery. Otherwise the seller is at the buyer’s mercy. 

The best prices are those paid for select walnut logs, oak and syca- 
more for quarter-sawing, cherry, etc. A moderate market has existed 
in the southern part of the State for export logs of hard maple, rock 
elm, oak, ete.; but this market is very limited at the present time. 
Maple logs for export have been bought at about $35 per thousand bonrd 
feet, f. o. b. shipping point; especially fine maple and elm logs brought 


Farm logs and lumber hauled to the railroad for shipment. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 19 


as high as $40 per thousand. The minimum size of such logs is 24 
inches inside bark at the small end; and the requirements are about the 
same as for veneer logs—they must be sound and surface clear, but a 
slight crook is allowed. 

In the southern part of the State, high grade hard maple logs, 20 inches 
and more in diameter, often bring from $23 to $26, delivered at the mill. 
In 1914, some buyers paid for the common species, such as hard and 
soft maple, soft elm, and basswood, a fixed price of $20 per thousand 
board feet, delivered, for good logs, and $10 for poor logs. One such 
company paid from $20 to $25 per thousand for good white ash logs. 
Where the farmer has ash, oak, walnut, cherry, basswood, or especially 
good logs of hard maple and elm, it is decidedly advisable to consider 
the special uses for which such logs might be suitable before selling to 
sawmills. Veneer and handle companies are often able to pay con- 
siderably more for them than sawmills will,—often enough to make 
shipment profitable. There are certain defects which are apt to be 
overlooked and which unfit apparently good logs for the most paying use. 
White oak, for example, is apt to be wormy in some parts of the State, 
which spoils it for quarter sawing. Wormy logs can often be sold to 
advantage to vehicle manufacturers for wagon rims. 


Veneer 


Veneer logs must be sound, so that they can be held firmly at the ends 
in the machines. They must be at least 10 inches in diameter inside 
bark at the small end; and some companies specify minimum diameters 
of 12 or 14 inches. Often two grades are specified: No. 1 logs, which 
must be surface clear, straight, and with not over two knots; and No. 
2 logs, including all usable logs that fall below these specifications. In 
dealing with veneer companies at a distance the farmer should take 
pains to find out just what the minimum requirements are for logs of 
the second grade; otherwise he will be in danger of having his lower 
grade logs graded out and refused at the destination, which would in- 
volve either the complete loss of the logs or a payment of shipping 
charges in returning them. 

Standard log lengths, with a minimum of 8 feet, are usually required. 

Average prices paid for veneer logs by Michigan buyers in 1914 were 
as follows: 


TABLE 3.—VENEER LOG PRICES PER 1000 BOARD FEET, F. 0. B. MILL, 1914—MICHIGAN. 


Diameter at small end, inside bark. 


Species. 


All sizes 

10 to 14 | 17 inches | 18 to 24 | 25 to 28 | 29t034 | 35 inches 
sashes and under.| inches. inches. inches, and up. 
and up. 


Maple 050 sieeve et cs ee asec encase: 
Yellow poplar... : 
Birch...... 
Elm......- 
Basswood...... 


20 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


These were average prices. Sometimes dealers in veneer logs receive 
as high as $45 or $55, depending on size and quality, for mixed oak 
logs, but the dealers rarely pay more than the above prices for: their 
material. Farmers favorably situated may be able to command better 
prices for large, sound, symmetrical logs. The veneer industry re- 
quires the highest class of logs and on an average pays a better price 
for such logs than other industries. An exception is high grade oak 
and sycamore logs for quarter-sawing, which may bring even higher 
prices. 

Nearly all the native species are used for veneer. Veneer from such 
woods as basswood and elm is used chiefly for the manufacture of 
boxes, crates, and other packages. The furniture and finishing indus- 
tries pay higher prices and use the high-class finishing woods, such as 
oak, walnut, and cherry. Several companies make both kinds of veneer. 


Handles 


The factories manufacturing wooden handles of various kinds are one 
of the very best markets for farm hardwoods. Hickory and ash bring 
the highest prices, but maple and beech furnish the greatest amount of 
raw material. In 1911, according to reports received from Michigan 
handle manufacturers by the Forest Service, the following prices were 
paid for the rough materials (logs, bolts, and split billets). The pro- 
portion which each species formed of the total cut is also shown: 


TABLE 4.—SPECIES USED FOR HANDLES AND THEIR PRICES IN 1911. 


Value of 
raw material, 
per thousand 

board feet. 


. Perceat 
Species used for handles. of total 
consumption. 


69 $9-35 
14 8-16 
8 20-50 
5 25-40 
3 9-13 
16-35 

i 16-35 

8 


Undoubtedly other species, like basswood, cherry, applewood, etc., 
were used in small amounts, but these were not listed by the firms which 
reported. 

The form of raw material required by establishments manufacturing 
different kinds of handles naturally differs a great deal. Hickory, for 
example, goes into short and medium length handles, such as axe, pick, 
and hammer handles; ash is used for longer handles requiring greater 
stiffness, such as those for forks, hoes, and rakes. Broom handles take 
a large part of the maple and beech logs. Small tool handles are made 
of a variety of woods, some of them requiring special kinds; plane 
handles, for example, are made very largely of applewood. Where 
strength is a requisite. second-growth wood is often specified. Thus, in 
the manufacture of cant hooks and peaveys, second-growth maple and 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 21 


rock elm are usually required, and the billets for the handles are, as a 
rule, split in order that no cross-grain may be left in them. Some beech 
is also used in making logging tools. 

Handle companies buy very largely in the log or bolt through buyers 
who get the material from farmers. Firms using hickory have to go to 
other States for the bulk of their raw material, since there is compara- 
tively little good hickory timber left in Michigan. Farmers owning good 
young stands containing considerable hickory can well afford to hold 
them and care for them in view of the steadily decreasing supply and 
increasing demand. The same is true of thrifty, rapidly growing, young 
ash timber. For fork and hoe handles, the specifications often designate 
only second-growth ash. The requirements are high, and as a rule the 
smallest sizes taken are: length 4 feet and a few inches, diameter 6 
inches at the small end. The logs must be nearly straight, and with no 
knots or branches showing on the surface. 

Manufacturers of scythe snaths use elm and white ash, with some 
beech and maple for tholes. The elm is mostly rock elm, with some 
tough soft elm. The log requirements of one company were: diameter 
(small end) 12 to 30 inches, length 514 feet and up, logs to be straight 
and smooth. This company paid a good price for farm timber, on the 
stump, with the understanding that it must be good to be accepted. 
Top logs of inferior grade were left in the woods. 


Vehicles and vehicle parts 


Vehicle manufacturers draw the greater part of their supplies from 
the general lumber market; much of it—especially hickory and white 
oak—is supplied by southern jobbers in roughly shaped sawed products 
and split billets. Nevertheless, some vehicle makers draw largely from 
farm woodlots, and when this is the case it usually constitutes one of 
the desirable markets for the farmer to investigate. Most of the ma- 
terial thus bought, however, is in the form of rough planks from portable 
mills. , 

Some of the uses to which the various species are put in vehicle mak- 
ing are as follows: 

Rock elm—sleigh runners, sled beams, sled poles, eveners, single-trees, 
brake blocks, etc. 

Soft elm-——-wagon box bottom cleats, etc. 

Hard maple—wagon axles, plank for wagon and sled bodies and 
beams, bolsters. 

Soft maple—wagon box bottom cleats, ete. 

Oaks—gearings, sills, bed pieces. 

White oak—reaches, tongues, etc. 

Birch—hubs. 

Basswood—wagon box boards. 

White ash—wagon poles and bodies. 

Shagbark hickory—axles, single trees. 

Second-growth hickory—spokes. 

Whitewood (yellow poplar)—wagon bodies. 

White pine—wagon box bottoms. 

Norway pine—wagon box bottoms, 


22 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS, 


The grades demanded vary considerably, some firms taking No. 3 com- 
mon and better, others only clear lumber. As a rule,. planks are speci- 
fied, but some 1-inch lumber is also taken. 

The proportionate amounts taken by companies which used local 
rough products in 1911, and the prices paid for them are as follows, for 
a few of the native species: 


TABLE 5.—PRINCIPAL MICHIGAN WOODS USED IN VEHICLE MAKING AND THEIR PRICES, 1911. 


Percent 
‘ Value per thousand 
Species. of total 
consumption. board feet. 
Maple: jicsiiaeag a) oo Gomneeeemaneeee eames eal aa ee ee a aoe ae Haka Ok 96 | $12 (logs) 
AE sacs sens 3 | 13-30 (logs and plank) 
Ash, white. 25-30 (logs) 
Elm, rock. . 1} 30 (plank) 
Hornbeam 25 2:56 conten tera snes bacon so anelad cate siniohe acs wiemiemome Gee ee ta heed vious 30 ~—_ (logs) 
White spine ees Score hs eds lieu heet state afocdyes dae Seed vce voraraualayat tee Miteane dats a ondt: Soddeepeye inte 30 (plank) 


These prices are, of course, obsolete, and are only inserted to give a 
general idea of the values of the species by reference to the lists given on 
other pages of this bulletin. 

Vehicle manufacture affords a good market for hornbeam, which how- 
ever, is a small tree not commonly found of sufficient size to produce 
the 7 inch, 16 foot logs required. It is used for tongues for the “big 
wheels” used in logging in the northern part of the State and elsewhere. 
Blue beech (sometimes called hop hornbeam or water beech) is occasion- 
ally bought, when of sufficient size, for making spokes, felloes, and other 
parts of heavy wagons. The common beech is also used for felloes. 


Cooperage 


Slack barrel cooperage offers a much larger market for Michigan wood- 
lot trees than tight barrel cooperage. Many different species are used 
for the former, but the latter takes only white oak, both for staves and 
headings. The following specifications published by a firm outside the 
State will serve to show what the requirements are, in general, for 
tight barrel stave and heading bolts. 


SPECIFICATIONS FOR WHITE OAK STAVE BOLTS. 


All stave bolts to show a 3-inch heart face. 

White oak stave bolts to be made full 36 inches long, not over 6 inches 
from heart to sap, and not under 41% inches from heart to sap; to be 
made from sound green trees, not under 18 inches in diameter. Timber 
must be straight and all defects worked out. Knot, seed and worm holes, 
windshakes, splits, dead timber, pecks, and short bolts will be classed as 
culls. Bolts to be ricked close. All bolts must be barked. 


SPECIFICATIONS FOR WHITE OAK HEADING BOLTS. 


Bolts shall be full 22 inches long, and measure 10 inches from heart 
edge to outside of sap; to be not less than 10 inches across sap side. Bolts 
shall be ricked close. Knots, seed holes, wind shakes, splits, dead timber, 


Getting out barrel stave stock. Method of splitting the tree sections into ‘‘quartered”’ bolts. 


Barrel stave stock. Bolts piled in woods, ready for hauling to the mill. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 23 


pecks, and short bolts will be classed as culls. Bolts with five to ten 
straight worm holes will be accepted. 

For slack barrel cooperage the specifications are similar, but not so 
severe. For example, the stave bolts do not have to be quartered, as they 
do for tight barrel cooperage, for which the staves must be straight 
grained. Cross grained or twisted grained bolts are acceptable for slack 
stave and heading manufacture, unless the defect is sufficient to weaken 
the product materially. Bolts containing sound knots, bird pecks, sap 
stain, and other minor defects, which would cause their rejection for 
tight barrel staves and headings, are accepted for slack cooperage. 

Slack cooperage establishments turn out large quantities of lime, 
cement, apple, potato, and other fruit and vegetable barrels, butter tubs, 
etc. In order of the amounts used the species made into staves in 1912* 
were pine, beech, elm, maple, birch, basswood, spruce, ash, oak, cotton- 
wood, tamarack, hemlock, and balsam fir. The species used for heading, 
also in order of amounts used, were pine, beech, basswood, maple, cotton- 
wood, elm, ash, birch, oak, hemlock, chestnut, sycamore. For hoops, the 
species used were elm (95 per cent), beech, ash, oak, maple, and bass- 
wood. Head linings—thin strips used to hold the heading in place— 
were mostly of elm, rock elm being preferred. 


Railroad Ties 


The demand for ties fluctuates considerably, but there are usually 
standard prices offered which are much the same for the different roads. 
Many different species are used, including white oak, walnut, and cherry. 
For these valuable species better prices can ordinarily be obtained for 
some other use; but when the logs are knotty and crooked no other 
use may be possible. The hearts of logs, which contain the lower grades 
of lumber, can often be utilized for this purpose, although it is question- 
able whether the value would not be greater in low grade lumber than 
in ties. 

Regular No. 1 ties are 8 feet long, 8 inches wide, and 6 inches thick. 
The ties used on the Lake Shore Railroad are 814 feet long, 9 inches 
wide, and 7 inches thick. Switch ties are 7 by 9 inches in end dimensions 
and of different lengths. The requirements of the company and the 
prices paid should be ascertained before a sale is made or the timber is 
cut. The best prices are those paid for white oak ties, which are used 
by the railroad without preservative treatment, and ordinarily bring 
from 55 to 60 cents apiece when cut to standard specifications and de- 
livered along the right-of-way. “Treatment ties” are mostly of beech, 
birch, hard maple, and tamarack. Before using they are treated with 
a wood preservative. No. 1 treatment ties, hardwood, brought in 1914 
about 48 cents apiece; No. 2 ties, hardwood and tamarack, for use on 
side tracks, brought about 38 cents. 

Quantities of white cedar ties are bought by railroads in the northern 
part of the State. The Northwestern Cedarmen’s Association specifica- 
tions for 1912 require that “a standard tie shall be 6-inch face and wider, 
12 inches from small end, 6 inches thick and 8 feet long, sawed ends. Ties 
made different from these specifications shall be regarded as special 
contracts.” 


*'Wood-using Industries of Michigan,’ by Hu Maxwell; 1912, Published by the State of Michigan 
{n cooperation with the Forest Service. 


24 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


Ties are either sawed or hewed. Hewing is wasteful, since a good 
deal of the best wood in the log, suitable for lumber, is chipped off, 
the amount of waste being greater, of course, with large than with 
small logs. Furthermore, tie hewing is a difficult job for an untrained 
axeman, and it is doubtful if farmers not already experienced would be 
wise in attempting it. Before deciding to have his logs sawed into 
ties the farmer should satisfy himself that the value in ties is at least 
as great as that in lumber. A good deal depends on the qualitv of the 
sawing. Logs of desirable species, well sawed into graded lumber, will 
undoubtedly bring better prices than if sawed into ties, although the 
log hearts may in some cases have a higher value as ties than as low 
grade lumber. For less desirable lumber species such as beech, on the 
other hand, ties at 48 cents apiece may afford the best possible use. 


Poles and Posts (white cedar) 


Of the native trees, white cedar (arborvitae) is the only one used ex- 
tensively for poles. This is a common swamp tree in the northern part 
of the State. It combines the qualities of durability, lightness, strength, 
and form, which are requisites of poles and posts. Fall and winter, 
when the swamps are frozen up, are the best seasons in which to cut 
cedar. The stumps should be cut high enough to avoid any pronounced 
crook. Peeling is most easily done in the spring, but it is better to do it 
in the winter to facilitate drying. Poles cut and peeled during the late 
fall and winter should be laid in a single layer on a pair of skids large 
enough to keep them well off the ground. By the first of May a large 
part of the moisture will have dried out, and the weight of the poles 
thus considerably reduced. The reduction in freight weight will more 
than equal the expense of holding, and in addition the poles will gain 
in strength and durability. Spring and early summer offer the best con- 
ditions for maximum seasoning in the shortest time, but checking dur- 
ing seasoning is greatest in poles cut during these seasons. It does not 
materially affect the strength of the poles, however, and can largely 
be prevented in the ways mentioned on page 38. 

The standard specifications of the Northwestern Cedarmen’s Associa- 
tion for 1912 may be summarized as follows: 

All posts and poles must be cut from live timber and peeled, and 
must be reasonably sound. In posts, “pipe rot” and other rot defects 
that do not impair the strength for use in fences are allowed. In large 
poles a certain amount of butt rot is allowed, not exceeding 10 per cent 
of the area of the butt, provided it does not plainly impair the strength 
of.the pole above ground. The tops of poles must be reasonably sound. 

Three classes of materials are recognized: “posts,” 7 and 8 feet long; 
“large posts and small poles,” from 10 to 20 feet long by 4 or 5 inches 
top diameter; and “standard telegraph, telephone, and electric poles,” 
25 feet or longer, by 4 inches or more in top diameter. Some latitude 
is allowed in the size specifications: posts may be 2 inches less in 
length, and, if seasoned, 14 inch less in diameter; poles may be 14 inch 
short for each 5 feet in length, and 6 inches short for any length greater 
than 20 feet; and the top diameters of seasoned poles may be slightly 
less than specified—l4 inch less for 4 and 5 inch poles, 44 inch for 6 
inch poles, and 1/10 inch for 7 inch poles. No such latitude in diameter 


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Suvoyreyt pue SutInsvoWy,, ‘STZ uTeTING §,1owsey aihqa{hst3y jo yueurredeq ‘yf wor) ‘sreuTIe] Aq [TUT 9AeIS BY} OF PaTNeY s}[Oq 9AV4s JoITeq SLL 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 25 


is allowed, however, for green, fresh-cut, or water-soaked material which 
must come up to, or exceed, the full diameter specifications. 

“Sweep” or crook, one way, is allowed, but must not exceed 4 inches 
for posts and for poles up to 16 feet long. For 18 and 20 foot poles a 
4 inch crook, one way, is allowed, and it may be measured from a point 
4 feet from the butt. For larger poles, a one way crook of 1 inch for 
every 5 feet in length is allowed, and it may be measured from a point 6 
feet from the butt. The crook is measured by tightly stretching a tape 
line from top to bottom or other specified point (4 or 6 feet from the 
butt) on the post or pole, on the side where the sweep is greatest, and 
then measuring the distance, at the point where it is greatest, between 
the tape and the pole. 

Poles must be reasonably sound and well proportioned for their length. 
Large, sound knots are allowed, if trimmed smooth. “Wind twist” is 
no defect unless very unsightly and exaggerated. 

Prices of cedar poles and posts vary, and should be learned im- 
mediately before the sale. 

Practically all the Michigan species are used for posts, the values of 
the different kinds depending on durability. Next to cedar, white 
oak is probably the most durable of the more common species. Where 
obtainable, black locust makes extremely durable posts; and black wal- 
nut, also, is a good post tree. But since these species are usually of 
much greater value for other uses, it is a mistake to use them for posts 
except as a means of utilizing rough or small material good for nothing 
else except fuel. The greatest consumption of posts cut from woodlots 
is on the farms themselves. Considered as a source of posts alone, a 
small, thrifty woodlot often proves a valuable adjunct to the farm. 


Small rough products 


In the northern part of Michigan the industries which draw their 
supplies wholly or partly from farm woodlots are much less numerous 
and less specialized than in the southern part of the State. The prices 
are lower, since the supply is greater, the demand less, and the length 
of railroad haul to the consumer so great as, in many cases, to impose 
prohibitive freight charges. The products used are apt to be in the form 
of relatively short bolts, though considerable quantities of logs are also 
taken. Among the industries which take quantities of rough products 
otherwise of small value are pulp mills, excelsior factories, wood- 
distillation plants, and lime kilns. The market is not, of course, limited 
to the northern part of the State. With the possible exception of wood 
distillation, these industries are represented also by firms in central or 
southern Michigan. One of the features of these markets is that they 
afford a means of disposing not only of small trees but also of large, 
straight, sound branches of big trees cut for other purposes. This is 
especially the case with hardwood trees, whose tops often afford large 
quantities of cordwood, salable for fuel and distillation, and some- 
times for excelsior and pulpwood. 

The importance of these markets to woodlot owners in northern 
Michigan lies in the fact that they present a source of income during 
the period in which the lands are being cleared and put on a productive 
basis; a period often of great financial hardship. Even when the farmer 
can get only the equivalent of day wages for his products these markets 


26 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


are distinctly useful; and since wood can be cut often to better advantage 
in the winter than in the summer, a means of securing an income dur- 
ing the unproductive season and at the same time clearing the productive 
areas for cropping is presented. When the early struggle of clearing is 
over, however, the woodlot assumes the same importance to the farm 
that it has farther south,—for shelter from hot and cold winds, supply 
of fuel, posts, etc., for the farm, and eventually as the source of a re- 
current income from the sale of the products to specialized industries 
which may spring up in the vicinity or within a profitable shipping 
distance. 

Wood for pulp.—Industries reporting the manufacture of wood pulp 
in Michigan have in the past specified only softwoods—spruce, balsam, 
hemlock, white pine, jack pine, tamarack,—to which may be added a 
little “poplar” or aspen. There is a- likelihood that certain other hard- 
woods besides aspen will be used in the near future, as is now being 
done in many other States. Pulpwood dealers buy either unsplit bolts, 
by the cord, or logs, by the thousand board feet or cord. The wood is 
taken either peeled or unpeeled, some companies specifying one or the 
other, but many of them taking both at a difference of a dollar a cord in 
favor of peeled material. Bolts are bought in 4-foot lengths, with diam- 
eters at the small end of 4,5, or 6 inches. The cord is the standard cord 
of 128 cubic feet—a stack 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high, with 
usually 3 or 4 extra inches in height to allow for settling. Logs may be 
8 or 16 feet long. 

Spruce is the most valuable of the pulpwoods, but the amount of 
spruce in Michigan is so small that it is doubtful whether it will figure 
to any extent in woodlot sales. At northern points prices of from $5 
to $6.50 per cord f. o. b. shipping point were offered for unpeeled spruce 
bolts in 1912, while spruce delivered at Detroit brought $9.85 per cord. 
Hemlock pulpwood sold for $3.50 rough and $4.50 peeled, balsam for $4 
or $5 rough, tamarack for from $3.25 to $4, and white pine for about 
$3.25 per cord. 

Eecelsior—Excelsior manufacturers buy chiefly basswood and aspen, 
or poplar. Some spruce, balsam, “whitewood” (yellow poplar), willow, 
and Balm of Gilead, is also bought, and often a little tamarack and 
birch is accepted, although these are inferior species for the purpose 
and are not wanted in any amount. The preferred species is basswood, 
which comprises about half the wood used for excelsior. For the northern 
farmer, however, it is in reference. to aspen that the excelsior market is 
most important. Aspen (“popple” or “poplar”) is a small tree which 
has sprung up in great quantities over cut and burned areas in the north. 
Twenty-five or thirty years after a fire the aspen is about large enough 
for excelsior bolts, although much more can be cut from stands 10 or 
15 years older. When farm lands contain stands of small, thrifty aspen 
not yet big enough for bolts, it is decidedly worth while to hold them 
for the comparatively short period necessary to give the trees value. 

Excelsior wood is bought in bolts 387 or 55 inches long, either peeled or 
unpeeled. Specifications usually require the bark to be removed “un- 
less otherwise agreed in writing.” Bolts from 4 to 8 inches in diameter 
are taken unsplit; from 8 to 12 inches in diameter they should be split 
in two; and when over 12 inches they should be split to the heart into 
pieces 6 to 8 inches wide on the bark side. Further requirements are 


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SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 27 


that the bolts be “cut from live timber, free from gnarls, doze, rot, and 
large knots....Bolts should be piled up in ranks with a space of about 
two feet between piles and on poles to keep them up from the ground 
until they are seasoned and ready to ship. All culls and bolts under 4 
inches in diameter will be thrown out.”* 

Prices paid for 37 inch excelsior bolts in 1914, delivered to factories in 
Grand Rapids, were about as follows: 


Basswood (peeled), per cord ..............-. $5.50-$6.00 
Aspen (peeled), per cord .................4. 5.00 
Aspen (unpeeled), per cord ................. 4.00 


At Grand Rapids there is a limited market} for 36-inch bolts of soft 
elm, basswood, and soft maple for the manufacture of fiber “binder,” to 
be used in place of hair in plaster block making. These bolts must be 
between 8 and 36 inches in diameter, with solid centers to take the dogs 
of the lathe; pieces with “dozy’” centers are culled out and rejected. 
The bolts may be limby, if the limbs are trimmed fiush with the bark, 
but they must be straight and the ends must be square. Double heart 
is no defect. The bolts are bought from farmers or jobbers; and in 1914 
the prices offered, delivered at the factory, were $6 when the bolts 
were mainly soft elm, and from $5 to $5.50 when mainly basswood 
and soft maple. 

Wood for distillation—Hardwood distillation for the manufacture 
of charcoal, wood alcohol, and acetates consumes a large amount of cord- 
wood of maple, beech, and birch, and offers a means of disposing of the 
top wood, small trees, and low grade logs left after disposing of the 
more valuable products. This material is taken with the bark on in 
lengths of 4 feet or 50 inches, and to minimum diameters of usually 3 
or 4 inches. The price paid per standard cord of distillation wood de- 
livered at the factory is in the neighborhood of $3 or $4. Most of 
the companies get their material largely from the cutover areas of the 
big lumber companies, and some of them require that the wood shall be 
“body-wond,” with only a small mixture of branches. Pieces over 6 
inches in diameter must be split in a manner generally similar to that 
described under “Excelsior.” 

Firewood.—Probably no other form of woodlot material has brought 
such large aggregate returns as firewood; and yet this is, in the majority 
of cases, the least paying use to which good log timber can be put. It 
offers, however, practically the only means of disposing of branch and 
top wood, defective logs and slabs, of some species throughout the State 
and of all species in some parts of the State. 

The best fuel wood is hickory; high prices are paid for it, but its 
promise for much more exacting and remunerative uses is so great that 
the farmer who has it in his woodlot should hesitate to sell for firewood 
any but the lowest grade timber and the refuse left in logging. This is 
also true of other woods, such as ash, oak, walnut, cherry, basswood, 
rock elm, and even thrifty second-growth hard maple, yellow birch, and 
soft e?m. Beech is generally less valuable than most of the other species 
for many uses, and second growth and defective beech trees can often 
be cut from a woodlot and sold to advantage as cordwood. This 
affords a means of improving overstocked woodlots by thinning out the 
trees and giving the most desirable of them more light and growing 


*From pe specifications furnished by the Excelsior Wrapper Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 
+The Alabastine Co., Grand Rapids; associated with the Michigan Gypsum Co. 


5 


28 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


space. Thinnings should not, however, be made so heavy as to admit a 
great deal of light into the woodlot, except when the soil is plentifully 
stocked with young trees which will shade the ground.* 

In selling fuel wood there are two units, both called “cords,” which 
are apt to be confused, with danger of loss to the seller. These are the 
“standard” cord and the “stove-wood” cord. Both are piles 8 feet long 
and 4 feet high, but the standard cord consists of 4 foot lengths, so that 
the pile is 4 feet wide; while the stove-wood cord consists of 16 inch 
lengths, so that the pile is 16 inches wide. The solid volume of a cord 
of stove-wood is thus only about a third that of a standard cord. Since_ 
the shorter the pieces, the less the amount of crookedness, a cord of stove- 
wood will actually contain a little more than one-third the volume 
of a standard cord. Cords made up of thick pieces contain more wood 
than those of small pieces, while round sticks give a higher wood volume 
than split ones of about the same size. Considerable maple and beech 
body wood is shipped from upper Michigan ports in 4 foot lengths, but in 
the southern part of the State stovewood lengths are more often under- 
stood in woodlot sales. 

The price of wood for fuel depends on its heating value, the rate at 
which it burns, and its abundance and availability. Compared with 
coal, the heating value of different species is about as follows: one ton of 
coal is equal to a standard cord of hickory, oak, beech, birch, hard maple, 
ash, elm, locust, or cherry; a cord and a half of sycamore or soft maple; 
and two cords of cedar, poplar, or basswood. The greater abundance of 
wood and the smaller population in the northern part of the State give 
it a somewhat lower value than in southern Michigan. 

Wholesale values for stove wood in some of the cities in the central 
and southern counties average from $2 to $2.50 per cord. Retail prices 
run from $3 to $3.75 per cord. By working up a direct market for his 
wood among town consumers the farmer can frequently better his sales 
by 50 cents or $1 a cord. 

Stove wood of beech, birch, and maple usually brings from $2.25 to 
$2.50 per cord, wholesale. The best second-growth oak and hickory 
often sells to dealers for no more than $2.50 per cord. Elm and other 
softer woods usually sell for from $2 to $2.25 per cord. Except where 
sawmills have accumulated slab-wood in excess of the demand, hard- 
wood slabs from portable mills can often be disposed of for from $2 to 
$2.25 per cord. 

Lime kilns and brick yards use a great deal of wood, which they buy 
in 4 foot lengths. They can use very low grade material, and since the 
shipment must often be for long distances, do not pay high prices for it. 
Low as the prices are, however, they may make it possible for farmers to 
clean up their clearings and make day wages in doing it. The prices are 
apt to be from $2 to $2.75 per cord of 4 foot lengths. 


CONDUCTING THE SALE. 


Timber may be sold either standing (“on the stump”) or felled and 
cut into logs, bolts, ties, or other products. Standing timber may be 
sold either by “the lot,” by “acreage,” or by “stumpage.” Selling by the 
lot or by acreage is the easiest method, but it presents the greatest like- 


*See U. S. Department of Agriculture farmer’s bulletin 711—''The Care and Impr 
Woodlot,’’ which can be obtained free of charge on application to the Forester, Wash nerodeu & a 


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4 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 29 


lihood of the farmer losing a large part of the value of the timber. He 
is very apt to sell for what he thinks a “good offer” without taking the 
trouble to find out for himself just how much of each species of tree the 
woodlot contains, and what the best market for it is. The buyer 
naturally pays as little as possible for it, and since he is experienced in 
sizing up timber he is much better prepared than the farmer to estimate 
at a glance the value of the woodlot. In some regions “acreage” prices 
of from $50 to $100, according to the amount, quality, and situation of 
the timber, are customarily offered by portable mill operators. The 
acreage price may be all that the stand is worth, and the buyer may be 
perfectly honest in computing for himself only a fair profit. On the 
other hand, if the buyer is unscrupulous the farmer who does not know 
his timber is at a very great disadvantage in this method of selling. 
Furthermore, much is usually to be gained if the farmer, instead of 
selling through a “middleman,” deals directly with the manufacturer for 
whatever materials he can, and sells the rest, in the log or by stumpage, 
to a local sawmill, wood yard, or other purchaser. 

Sales of stumpage (standing timber) are much preferable, since these 
involve an actual estimate of the standing timber, which is paid for by 
the tree, or by estimated contents in board feet or other unit. The owner 
should protect himself by making his own estimate of the stand, in some 
such way as described on pp. 9 to 15. Having done so, and having 
found out for himself what values he can command for his rough 
products in different markets he is, of course, in a position to bargain 
with local buyers for a lump sum, on the basis either of acreage or of the 
entire lot. As a result of such an investigation he will often prefer to 
sell parts of his stand to a number of different dealers in specialized 
industries, such as veneer, handle, or woodenware manufacturers. 

In most cases, probably, the sale of cut products will be the most 
satisfactory method of all. Such sales are made either on delivery by 
the farmer of material cut by himself, or on the scale or tally of timber 
which is being cut in his woodlot by the buyer. In either case a unit 
price for each species and form of material is agreed upon in advance. 
When logs are sold the unit is the thousand feet, board measure, scaled 
according to a specified log rule. The Doyle and the Scribner rules are 
those most used, and of these the Scribner is preferable, since it gives 
more accurate results with the smaller logs. These rules are given on 
pp. 31 and 32. To protect himself the farmer should check all scaling, 
and an understanding as to deduction for defects should be reached in 
advance of cutting. This is discussed on p. 33 under the heading of 
“Scaling.” In selling to portable mill operators a good basis is the 
thousand feet of lumber, actually sawed out at the mill. 

The sale on delivery of timber cut by the farmer himself has a great 
deal to recommend it. The farmer pays the cost of cutting and delivery, 
and the prices he receives should therefore be greater by the amount of 
the labor cost, often a considerable item. Since woods work can be done 
in the winter and at odd times when the regular farm work is not 
pressing and teams and men otherwise idle can be used, the difference 
in price to be realized may be considered a clear gain. By doing his 
own cutting the farmer may also conduct it in such a way as to im- 
prove the condition of his woodlot, a matter in which the contractor or 
sawmill employee would have no interest. 


30 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


Contracting for the sale 


Even in small sales, it is always best to put the agreements into writ- 
ing. In this way a great deal of disagreement and financial loss may 
be avoided. In making the contract the seller must have fully in mind 
the terms of the sale; and the contract may call to the farmer’s atten- 
tion important details which would otherwise have been overlooked. The 
essential conditions of a complete contract relate to (I) description 
and location of the timber, (II) price and manner of payment, (ITI) 
conditions of cutting and removal, and (IV) title and means of settling 
disputes. Under the third heading comes the duration of the contract, 
the size and character of the timber to be cut, and the method of mark- 
ing to designate it, method of scaling, designation of what material is 
to be considered merchantable and must be removed from the woods (to 
prevent the leaving of any more low grade or refuse stuff than necessary 
or desirable), and protection against injury to any trees left standing. 

The contract should prescribe the estimated amount of timber to be 
sold, and its condition, whether living or dead or both. It should specify 
the unit of sale—i,000 board feet of logs or lumber, cords, ties, poles, 
etc..—and the amount to be paid, per unit, for each species of timber 
sold. Such items as the kind of log rule to be used, and the size of the 
cord (16-inch or 4-foot lengths, etc.,) should be clearly designated, and 
the time at which the payment shall be made, should also be entered. 
The contract should give the amount to be allowed for trimming log 
ends, in excess of which the logs are to be scaled as though a foot 
longer. If the timber to be sold is to be marked, the contract should 
prohibit the removal of unmarked timber. If only the trees above a cer- 
tain diameter are to be sold, this diameter should be specified, as well 
as the height at which it is to be measured, as “1 foot above the ground” 
or “at breast height (41% feet).” Low cut stumps and close utilization 
into the top should be required, together with the exercise of due care 
on the part of the purchaser to prevent fire from spreading. A provision 
retaining title to all timber covered by the agreement should be included. 

(Onher clauses which might be included are those requiring that the 
timber shall be scaled in the presence of the seller or his authorized 
agent; that log lengths shall be varied so as best to utilize the timber; 
that unmarked trees, if cut, shall be paid for at double the stated price; 
that tops left in logging shall remain on the tract for the use of the 
seller (or, if desired, shall be utilized by the purchaser). In selling by 
lump sums the provisions relating to scaling and unit prices may, of 
course, be omitted, but not the total amount to be paid. It is assumed 
that the farmer will precede any lump sum sale by a careful estimate of 
his stand and an inquiry as to the price, on the stump, which he should 
receive for each kind of product; with this knowledge he will be pre- 
pared to sell “by acreage” or “by the lot.” 

A sample contract for woodlot sales is contained in U. S. Department 
of Agriculture farmer’s bulletin 715, “Measuring and Marketing Wood- 
lot Products,” which can be secured free of charge on application to the 
Forester, Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 31 


Scaling the logs 


“Scaling” logs means determining their approximate contents in 
lumber by measuring them and applying volume figures already worked 
out. Tables containing these figures are called log rules, and the two in 
most common use are the Scribner and the Doyle log rules. The Scribner 
is undoubtedly the better rule for woodlot use, since it gives a fairer scale 
to the small logs. These rules are given in Tables 6 and 7. 


TABLE 6.—SCRIBNER LOG RULE. 


Length of log, in feet. 
Pen ey bark, - 
Spy soe 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 
Inches. Contents in board feet. 

7 10 14 16 18 21 24 
10 14 18 22 24 28 30 
13 17 23 28 32 36 40 
19 25 30 35 42 48 54 
26 33 38 45 54 62 70 
32 41 48 56 64 72 80 
39 49 59 69 79 88 98 
49 61 23 85 97 109 129 
58 72 86 100 414 129 143 
71 89 107 125 142 160 178 
79 99 119 139 159 178 198 
93 116 139 162 185 208 232 
106 133 160 187 213 240 267 

120 150 180 210 240 270 300 
140 175 210 245 280 315 350 
152 190. 228 266 304 342 380 
167 209 251 292 334 376 418 
188 235 283 330 377 424 470 
202 252 303 353 404 454 505 
230 287 344 401 459 516 573 
250 313 375 439 500 562 625 
274 342 411 479 548 616 684 
290 363 436 509 582 654 798 
305 381 457 533 609 685 761 
329 411 493 575 657 739 821 
355 444 532 622 710 799 888 
368 460 559 644 736 828 920 
392 490 588 686 784 882 

400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000 
438 547 657 766 876 985 1,095 
462 577 692 807 923 1,038 1,152 
515 644 772 901 1,029 1,158 1,287 
535 669 801 934 1,068 1,201 1,335 
560 700 840 980 1,120 1,260 1,400 
602 752 903 1,053 1,204 1,354 1,505 
636 795 954 1,113 1,272 1,431 1,590 
672 840 1,007 1,175 1,343 1,511 1,679 
698 872 1,046 1,222 1,396 ‘ 1,745 
740 925 1,110 1,295 1,480 1,665 1,850 


32 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


TABLE 7.—DOYLE LOG RULE. 


Length of log, in feet. 
Diameter inside bark, 
small end of log. 
6 8 | 10 12 14 16 18 20 
Inches. Contents in board feet. 

1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4 4.5 5.0 
3.4 4.5 5.6 6.8 7.9 9 10.1 is 
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 

9 12 16 19 22 25 28 31 
13 18 22 27 31 36 40 45 
18 24 31 37 43 49 55 61 
24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 
30 40 51 61 71 81 91 101 
37 50 62 75 87 100 112 125 
45 60 76 91 106 121 136 151 
54 72 90 108 126 144 162 180 
63 84 106 127 148 169 190 211 
73 98 122 147 171 196 220 245 
84 112 141 169 197 225 253 281 
96 128 160 192 224 256 288 320 
108 144 181 217 253 289 325 361 
121 162 202 243 283 324 364 405 
135 180 226 271 316 361 406 451 
150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 
165 220 276 331 386 441 496 551 
181 242 302 363 423 484 544 605 
198 264 331 397 463 529 595 661 
216 288 360 432 504 576 648 720 
234 312 391 469 547 625 703 781 
253 338 422 507 591 676 760 845 
273 364 456 547 638 729 820 911 
294 392 490 588 686 784 882 980 
315 420 526 631 736 841 946 1,051 
337 450 562 675 787 900 1,012 1,125 
360 480 601 721 841 961 1,081 1,201 
384 512 640 768 | , 896 1,024 1,152 1,280 
408 544 681 817 953 1,089 1,225 1,361 
433 578 722 867 1,011 1,156 1,3 1,445 
459 612 766 919 1,072 1,225 1,378 1,531 
486 648 810 972 1,134 1,296 1,458 1,620 
513 684 856 1,027 1,198 1,369 1,540 1,741 
541 722 902 1,083 1,263 444 1,624 1,805 
570 760 951 1,141 1,331 1,521 1,711 1,901 
600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000 


The ordinary way of using these rules is by means of “scale sticks,” 
which are thin strips of hickory, with the log volumes in board feet 
corresponding to different lengths of log burned into the two sides of 
the stick. In scaling, the stick is laid across the average diameter of 
the log at its small end inside the bark, and the figure nearest the bark 
which corresponds to the estimated or measured log length is the con- 
tents in board feet according to the particular rule used. Scale sticks 
Ae ae the Scribner or the Doyle rule can be purchased for $1.50 
or $2. 

While the use of scale sticks makes it possible to read off the volumes 
directly and thus save some time in scaling, it is by no means necessary 
to have one. It is a simple matter to measure the average inside bark 
diameter with an ordinary rule, and refer to the tables here given for 
the corresponding volume, In measuring the diameters, fractions of an 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 33 


inch should be disregarded; for example, if the actual diameter is 714 
inches, the volume used should be that of a 7-inch log. The length of 
the log can be measured conveniently by means of a stick 8 feet long, 
marked at every foot or two. Logs should be cut about 3 inches longer 
than the specified length, so that the rough end may be trimmed at the 
mill. Three inches is as much as is necessary for this; larger amounts 
constitute a direct waste. 

The volume of each log should be immediately entered in a notebook, 
together with the species, and the log should be marked with a lumber 
crayon to avoid danger of rescaling it. A convenient way to record the 
volumes is to put them in columns under the name of the species. It 
is a good plan to number the logs with the lumber crayon as they are 
scaled, and to record the same number opposite the respective volumes 
in the notebook. This makes it possible, in case of dispute, to go back 
to any individual log for the purpose of remeasurement. 


“Scaling out” defects 


Log rules are made for sound logs and do not take into account de- 
fects; consequently the amount of defect must be estimated and deducted 
from the full scale. When the defect is rot or hollow at the center of 
the log it may be “scaled out” either (1) by giving the log a volume corre- 
sponding to that of a log an inch or more smaller or a foot or two 
shorter, the amount to be gauged by the estimated amount of the defect; 
or (2) by deducting from the full scale the amount of board feet which 
would be contained in a board as long as the log and a little wider and 
thicker than the defect. Where the log is hollow or badly rotten at the 
heart, as is apt to be the case in old basswood trees, the defect may be 
scaled as though it were a small log, and the volume then subtracted 
from the full scale of the log. When the heart is sound but the sapwood 
is rotten or badly checked, only the heart should be scaled. 

Crooked logs cut out a large per cent of short and bark-edged pieces 
of very little value, and it is necessary to deduct from the full scale the 
amount which in the opinion of the scaler would be lost in cutting. The 
scaler should sight along a curved log, noting where the saw will square 
it sufficiently to cut boards on both sides affected by the curve. Curve is 
much more serious in short than in long logs. In crooked logs 16 feet 
or more in length, little need be deducted from the full scale, since most of 
the shorter boards manufactured will still be long enough for sale. 

4 : 


Shipping by railroad 


The two essentials in determining the cost of shipping woodlot 
products are the rate per 100 pounds to the destination and the weight 
of the materials to be shipped. The shipping charge, as for any other 
farm product, is simply the rate multiplied by the number of 100 pounds 
in the weight. Freight rates on wood products are low; since different 
roads have different rates, and these are not strictly uniform according 
to distance, they should be ascertained in advance of the sale from the 
local freight agent. At the same time the minimum carload weight 
to which the rate applies should be ascertained. The minimum weight 

usually exceeds 30,000 pounds and is sometimes as great as 60,000 


34 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


pounds. Less than carload lots can, of course, be shipped, but at a greater 
expense per 100 pounds. When one farmer has less than a carload to 
sell, two or more may combine in order to take advantage of the lower 
rate. Freight rates over two or more lines are higher than when the 
same distance is covered by only one railroad. Such combined rates 
can be worked out and other information secured on inquiry of freight 
agents. The approximate weights per 1000 board feet of lumber and 
logs, and per cord of bolts, for different species of trees are shown in 
table 8. Table 9 gives the weight per stack of green and air-dry bolts 
of different species and different lengths. The advantage of shipping 
air-dried material is at once apparent. Not all the native species are 
given in the table, but their weight may be quite closely estimated by 
comparison with some of the others. For instance, the weight of aspen 
would be about the same as that of cottonwood, that of soft maple 
about the same as that of cherry, etc. The figures in these tables are not 
given as weights adopted by any railroad company, but only as average 
weights upon which the timber owner a base his preliminary estimates 
of the cost of shipping. 


TABLE 8.—WEIGHTS OF VARIOUS WOODLOT PRODUCTS. 


pape {rer J 000 Logs per 1,000 board feet log scale. Doyle rule. 
Cordwood, bolts, 
, . butts, etc., 90 cu. ft. 
Diameter inside Diameter inside Diameter inside per cord. 
Species. 1 inch thick. bark at small end, bark at small end, | bark at small end, 
12 inches. 18 inches. 24 inches. 

Green. | Air Dry. | Green. Dry. Green. Dry. | Green. | Dry. Green. Dry. 

Pounds. | Pounds, | Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds | Pounds. | Pounds.| Pounds. | Pounds. 
Ash, white..... 4,000 ,500 11,100 5 ,700 ,800 , 60 5,700 4,300 3,800 

asswood..... 3,400 2,100 9, 5,900 ,600 | 4,100 | 5,600} 3,500 3,700 2,300 

Beech......... 4,600 3,600 12,700 10,100 8,900 | 7,000} 7,500! 6,000 5,000 3,900 
Birch, yellow. .| 4,800 3,700 13,200 10,300 9,200 | 7,200 | 7,800] 6,100 5,100 4,000 
Cherry, black..| 3,800 3,000 10; 500 8,300 7,300 | 5,800] 6,200| 4,900 4,100 3,200 
Chestnut...... 2,500 12,600 7,000 8,800 | 4,900} 7,500{ 4,100 4,900 2,700 
Cottonwood... 2,200 10,700 6,300 7,500 | 4,400] 6,300] 3,700 4,200 2,500 
Elm, soft...... 2,900 11,200 8,000 7,800 | 5,600} 6,600] 4,700 4,400 3,100 
Elm, rock..... 3,300 12,600 9,200 8,800; 6,400} 7,500}; 5,500 4,900 3,600 
Gum, red...... 2,800 10,700 7,800 7,500 | 5,500} 6,300; 4,600 4,200 3,100 
Hickory....... +3 14,700 11,900 10,300 | 8,300} 8,700] 7,000 5,700 4,600 
Locust, black..| 4,800 4,100 13,300 11,400 9,300 | 7.900) 7,900} 6,700 5,200 4,400 
Maple, sugar..| 4,700 3,600 12,900 10,000 9,000} 7,000} 7,600 | 5,900 5.000 3,900 
Maple, red....| 4,300 3,000 11,900 8,200 8,300 | 5,700 | 7,100] 4,900 4,700 3,200 
Maple, silver...| 3,800 2,800 10,500 7,800 7,300] 5,400] 6,200] 4,600 4,100 3,000 
Oak, red....... 5,400 3,600 14,800 10,100 10,300 | 7,000} 8,800 | 6,000 5,800 3,900 
Oak, white....| 5,200 4,000 14,400 11,000 10,000 | 7,700) 8,500] 6,500 5,600 4,300 
Sycamore...... 4,300 3,000 12,000 8,300 8,400 | 5,800) 7,100; 4,900 4,700 3,200 
Yellow poplar..| 3,200 2,400 8,800 6,500 6,100 | 4,500] 5,200] 3,900 3,400 2,500 
Tupelo. . 3,000 15,100 8,400 10,500 | 5,900] 8,900; 5,000 5,900 3,300 
Walnut. 3,000 11,900 8,200 8,300 | 5,700) 7,100} 4,900 4,700 3,200 
Willow. . 2,100 11,800 5,900 8,200 | 4,100} 7,000} 3,500 4.600 2,300 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 35 
TABLE 9.—WEIGHTS PER STACK OF BOLTS, GREEN AND DRY, OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS AND 
DIAMETERS AND DIFFERENT KINDS OF WOOD. 
Length of bolt—feet. 
Tins pe 
meter. cu. ft 
Species oy 3h 4 4h 5 5} 6 ane 
peels (& cord). (& cord).|(1 cord).}(14 cords).|(14 cords).|(1 cords).}(14 cords). 
Inches. Weight per stack—pounds. Pounds, 
Ash, white: 
6 | 2,600 8,700 | 4,200 4,800 5,300 5,800 6,300 
Green.......... 9} 2,800 3,900 | 4,400 5,000 5,500 6,100 6,600 48.1 
12 | 2,900 4,000 | 4,600 5,100 5,700 6,300 6,900 
6} 2,300 3,200 | 3, 4,200 4,600 5,100 5,600 
Alt dry viscose ea 9 | 2,400 3,400 | 3,900 43400 4,800 5,300 5,800 42.1 
12 | 2,500 3,500 | 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500 6,000 
Basswood 
6 | 2,800 3,200 | 3,600 4,100 4,500 5,000 5,500 
Green.......... 9 | 2,400 3,300 | 3,800 4,300 4,700 5,200 5,700 41.3 
12 |} 2,500 3,400 | 3,900 4,400 4,900 5,400 5,900 
6 | 1,400 2,000 | 2,300 2,600 2,800 3,100 3,400 
BER cos cases 9; 1,500 2,100 | 2,400 2,700 101 3,300 3,600 25.8 
12} 1,500 2,100 | 2,500 2,800 3,100 3,400 3,700 
Cottonwood: 
6 | 2,600 3,600 | 4,100 4,600 5,100 5,600 6,100 
(C) 1a eee ‘ 9 | 2,700 3,700 | 4,300 4,800 5,300 5,900 6,400 46.5 
12 | 2,800 3,900 | 4,400 5,000 5,500 6,100 6,600 
6 | 1,500 2,100 | 2,400 2,700 3,000 3,300 3,600 
Ale dy isiavsiecte 9] 1,600 2,200 | 2,500 2,800 3,100 3,500 3,800 27.3 
12 1,600 2,300 | 2,600 2,900 3,200 3,600 3,900 
Elm, rock and 
white: 6} 2,700 3,700 | 4,300 4,800 5,300 5,900 6,400 
Greenisyccsccces 9| 2,800 3,900 | 4,500 5,000 5,600 6,100 6,700 48.6 
12 | 2,900 4,000 | 4,600 5,200 5,800 6,300 6,900 
6] 1,900 2,700 | 3,000 3,400 3,800 4,200 4,600 
Air dry......... 9} 2,000 2,800 | 3,200 3,600 4,000 4,400 4,800 34.6 
12} 2,100 2,900 | 3,300 3,700 4,100 4,500 4,900 
Hickory, shagbark: 
6 | 3,500 4,900 | 5,600 6,300 7,000 7,700 8,400 
Green.......... 9] 3,700 5,100 | 5,900 6,600 7,300 8,100 8,800 63.8 
12} 3,800 5,300 | 6,100 6,800 7,600 3 9,100 
6 | 2,800 4,000 | 4,500 5,100 5,700 6,200 6,800 
Air dry......... 9 | 3,000 4,100 | 4,700 5,300 5,900 6,500 7,100 51.5 
12 | 3,100 4,300 | 4,900 5,500 6,100 6,700 7,300 


Stacks are 4 feet high 


feet long, made up of bolts of different sizes. 


Bolts 


sg 
4 feet long make a standard cord, while shorter lengths make “short cords,” and longer 


lengths a cord and over. 


36 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


Tables 10 and 11 give the approximate cost per 1000 board feet of 
shipping green and air dry logs and lumber, respectively, to distances 
such that the freight rates. per 100 lbs. are from 2 to 10 cents. 


TABLE 10.—COST OF SHIPPING GREEN AND AIR DRY LOGS, PER THOUSAND BOARD FEET (DOYLE 
SCALE), WITH RATES OF FROM 2 TO 10 CENTS PER 100 POUNDS. 


(Costs given are for logs measuring 18 inches in diameter at the small end. For 12-inch logs add 40 per cent, and for 
24-inch logs subtract 15 per cent of the costs given. Weights used are those shown in Table 8. 


Rate in cents per hundred pounds. 
Species. 2. | 3. | 4, | _ 5 | 6. | a | 8. | 9. | 10. 

< Cost of shipping per 1,000 board feet. 
he Green... $2.31 | $3.06 | $3.85 | $4.62] $5.39] $6.16] $6.93] $7.70 
settee eeeeeenes Air dry. 2.04] 2:72] 3.40/ 408] 4.75] 5.44] 612] 6.80 
1.98] 2.64] 3.30) 3.96] 4.62] 5.28] 5.94] 6.60 
Basswood........... { 1.23] 1.64; 2:05] 2:46] 2.87] 3.28] 3.69] 4:10 
ai 2.67| 3.56| 4.45| 5.34) 6.23] 7.12| 8.01] 8.90 
sitter et eeeeeas 2:10| 2:80] 3.50) 4.20] 4.90| 5.60] 6.30] 7.00 
: 2.76| 3.68) 4.60) 5.52] 6.44] 7.36) 8.28] 9.20 
Birch, yellow......... { 2:16| 2.88) 3.60] 4.32] 5.04] 5.76] 6.48] 7.20 
2.19/ 2.92] 3.65) 4.38] 5.11] 5.84] 6.57] 730 
Cherry, black........ {Sag 1.74] 2.32] 2:90) 3.48] 4.06| 4.64] 5.22] 5.80 
Green....... 2.25| 3.00| 3.75] 4.50| 5.25] 6.00] 6.75] 750 
Cottonwood. ........ { Air dry 1:32] 1.76] 2.20} 2.64] 3.08] 3.52/ 3.96] 4.40 
ee Green....... 2.49| 3.32) 415] 4.98| 5.81] 6.64] 7.47] 8.30 
Dp reseee eae eenes Air dry 1:80} 2:40] 3.00] 3.60] 4.20} 4:80] 5.40] 6.00 
: Green....... 3.09] 4.12] 5.15) 6.18] 7.21} 8.24] 9.27] 10.80 
Hickory...........+. {Sar ai49] 3.32| 4115| 4.98) 5.81] 6.64] 7.47] 8.30 
Green....... 2.70| 3.60) 4.50) 5.40] 630] 7.20} 8.140] 9.00 
Maple, sugar......... { dry 2:10 2:80) 3.50] 420| 4:90] 5.60] 6.30] 7.00 
Pee Green 3.09] 412] 5.15| 6.18] 7.21] 8.24} 9.27] 10.30 
PTOd. ss eseveeeees Air dry 2:10| 2:80] 3.50) 4.20] 4:90] 5.60] 6.30] 7.00 
; Green....... 3.00/ 4.00] 5.00] 6.00] 7.00] 8.00} 9.00] 10.00 
Oak, white.......... (ae 231} 3.08) 3.85| 4.62] 5.39] 616} 6.93] 7.70 
Green....... 2.52] 3.36] 4.20| 5.04] 5.88] 6.72| 7.56] 8.40 
Sycamore........-... te 1.74} 2.32} 2.90] 3.48| 4.06] 4.64] 5.22 5.80 
Green....... 1.83| 2.44] 3.05) 366] 4.27| 4.88] 5.49] 6.10 
Yellow poplar........ { fear. 1.35] 1.80| 2.25] 2.70| 3.15] 3.60/ 4.05) 4.50 
aan { Gross eee 2.49] 3.32) 4.15! 4.98] 5.81] 6.64! 7.47] 8.30 
serineeereees Air dry 171) 2.98) 2185] 3:42| 3.99] 4.56] 5.13) 5.70 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 37 


TABLE 11—COST OF SHIPPING GREEN AND AIR-DRY 1-INCH LUMBER, PER THOUSAND BOARD 
FEET, WITH RATES OF FROM 2 TO 10 CENTS PER HUNDRED POUNDS. 


Weights used are those shown in Table 8, columns 1 and 2. 


Rate in cents per hundred pounds. 
Species. 2, | 3. | 4, | Bi | 6. | 7. | 8. | 9. | 10. 
Cost of shipping per 1,000 board feet. 
Ash Green....... $0.80 | $1.20) s1.60| $2.00] $2.40] $2.80] $3.20] $3.60] $4.00 
Settee eee rec eens Airdry......| .70| 1.05] 1.40| 1:75) 2:10] 2:45] 2:80) 3.15] 3.50 
Green....... 68| 1.02] 1.36] 1.70] 2.04] 2.38] 2.72] 3.06] 3.40 
Basswood........... {gk ee 42} 163 | 84] 1.05| 1:26] 1.47) 1.68| 1.89] 2/10 
Heth Green....... g2| 1.38] 1.94| 9.30] 2.76! 3.22] 3.68] 4.14] 4.60 
SCI sete Ne sa Gielen Air dry...... ‘72 | 1.08| 1.44| 1.80] 2.16 | 2.52] 2.88] 3.24 3.60 
F 96] 144] 1.92] 2.40) 2.88] 3.36] 3.84] 4.32] 4.80 
Birch, yellow ‘74! iit] 1148] 1185] 2:22] 2/59] 2/96] 3:33] 3.70 
Green....... 76| 1.14| 1.52] 1.90} 2.28) 2.66] 3.04] 3.42] 23.80 
Cherry, black........ { Air dry... ‘60| 190) 1:20} 1:50) 1:80] 2110; 2:40} 2:70] 3.00 
72| 1.08) 1.44] 1.80| 2.16| 2.52) 2.88] 3.24] 3.60 
Cottonwood. ........ f ‘44} 166 | .88| 1.10) 1.32! 1:54] 1:76] 1.98) 2.20 
nat s6| 1.29| 1.72) 2.15] 2.58) 3.01] 3.44) 3.97] 4.80 
Dire eerereeenees 62| 193} 1.24) 1.55| 1.86] 217] 2.48] 2:79] 3.10 
: 1.04] 1.56] 2.08] 2.60] 3.12] 3.64] 4.16]; 4.68] 5.20 
Hickory............. ‘36 | 1.20) 1:72] 2115] 2:58] 3.01| +3144] 3187] 4:30 
4/141] 1.88] 2.35| 2.82! 3.29] 3.76} 4.23] 4.70 
Maple, sugar [72] 1.08) 1.44] 1.80] 2.16; 2.52] 2.88] 3.24 3.60 
pee 1.08} 1.62} 2.16] 2.70} 3.24] 3.78| 4.32] 4.86] 5.40 
TEs reese eee ‘72| 1.08] 1.44] 1:80] 2:16] 2:52] 2/88] 3.24] 3.60 
. 1.04} 1.56] 2.08] 2.60! 3.12] 3.64) 4.16] 4.68] 5.20 
Oak, white........... ‘30 | 1:20] 1.60] 2.00) 2.40) 2.80| 3.20] 3:60] 4.00 
.86| 1.29] 1.72] 2.15] 2.58] 3.01] 3.44] 3.87] 4.30 
Byeamore............ 60 :90| 1.20] 1.50] 1.80} 2.10] 2.40] 2.70 3.00 
64 .96| 1.28, 1.60] 1.92] 92.24] 2.56] 2.88] 3.20 
Yellow poplar 4g | 172 96} 1.20] 1.44] 1.68] 1.92] 2:16) 2140 
86/ 1.29] 1.72) 2.15! 2.58] 3.01| 3.44] 3.87] 4.30 
Walout..........444 “60 ‘90 | 1.20] 1.50] 1.80] 2.10; 2.40] 2.70 3.00 


The average amount of forest products of any kind contained in a 
carload varies with the size and load capacity of the car and the weight 
of the material. The following amounts may be considered roughly as 
a carload for the standard car of 60,000 pounds capacity: 

Lumber (rough), 15,000 to 18,000 board feet. 

Lumber (finished), 17,000 to 20,000 board feet. 

Logs (large: 24 inches), 5,000 to 7,000 board feet. 

Logs (small: 12 inches), 4,000 to 5,000 board feet. 

Bolts or butts, 12°to 16 cords. 

Cordwood (4 feet), 15 to 18 cords. 

Stovewood (16 inches), 30 to 40 ranks. 

Mine timber (see posts, poles, logs). 

Poles or piling, 25 to 40 pieces. 

Ties (6x8’x8’), 350 pieces. 

Ties (7’x9’’x814’), 300 pieces. 


38 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


Ties (5’x6”’x514’; mine tie), 1,100 pieces. 

Posts (4” top, 7 ft.), 800 pieces. 

Posts (6” top, 8 ft.), 500 pieces. 

Tanbark, 16 to 18 cords. 

Sawdust, 12 to 18 tons. 

The necessity of investigating shipping charges can sometimes be 
avoided by making the sale f. 0. b. shipping point instead of at point of 
delivery. The buyer, instead of the farmer, thus handles the shipping 
end of the business, and this arrangement should be made wherever 
possible. 


HOW TO PREVENT THE DETERIORATION OF CUT WOODLOT PRODUCTS. ~ 


It is often necessary or desirable to put off the delivery of logs, bolts, 
poles, etc., until some months after cutting, either in order to allow them 
to season, or because a good sale can not be arranged at once. A great 
deal of the weight of freshly cut products is due to the water they con- 
tain, and a few months seasoning will often reduce this to a marked 
degree, the amount of reduction depending, of course, on the climate, the 
weather, and the exposure to sun and air. At the same time, unless 
preventive measures are taken, the products are sure to deteriorate 
through decay, insect attack, checking, or some other agency. A certain 
amount of deterioration is apt to take place in any. case if the delivery 
is put off for some time; but the amount can be greatly reduced, and the 
saving in weight and increase in strength due to seasoning is more than 
enough to counterbalance any small deterioration which may occur in 
spite of the preventive measures. 

Logs should never be allowed to remain long in the woods after cutting. 
As soon as possible they should be taken to a dry, well-aired, and un- 
shaded area, and placed on skids, well off the ground. The bark may be 
left on the logs, and the ends should be coated with paint, creosote, or 
tar. This will not only assist in preventing decay, but will also retard 
seasoning to some extent and thus keep the logs from checking badly. 

Poles should be peeled, and hauled or dragged to a place free from 
debris or rank vegetation and freely exposed to sun and wind. There 
they should be rolled upon skidways not less than 18 inches high, so 
that no part of them will rest on the ground. There should be only one 
layer of poles on each skidway. When ties are cut, it is usually cheaper 
and most desirable to haul them, unseasoned, directly to the railroad, 
and there pile them according to the specifications furnished by the tie 
buyer. 

Cordwood should be stacked in loose piles in a sunny well-aired and 
well-drained place free from rank vegetation. Two sticks on the ground 
running the length of the pile will keep it from contact with the soil 
and thus prevent decay in the lower layers. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 39 


SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL USES OF COMMON WOODLOT TREES. 


The following list will serve as a rough index to the most important 
uses, aside from lumber and fuel,* of the common trees in woodlots, 
which are discussed on pages 16 to 28 under “choosing the market.” 
Ash, black—handles; vehicle parts; baskets; tubs and pails; veneer for 

furniture; woven splint boxes. 

Ash, white—long handles; vehicle parts; singletrees; neck yokes, veneer ; 
slack barrel staves and headings; pails and tubs; novelties; agricul- 
tural implements (rollers, etc.). : 

Aspens (“popple”)—boxes; excelsior; wood pulp; tubs and buckets. 

Balsam— (see fir). 

Basswood—veneer for packages; handles, woodenware and novelties; 
slack barrel staves, headings, and hoops; excelsior; baskets; tubs and 
pails. 

Beech—veneer for packages; handles; felloes; woodenware; pails and 
tubs; slack barrel staves, headings and hoops; railroad ties (‘“treat- 
ment”) ; chemical distillation. 

Blue beech—felloes; singletrees; spokes; small handles. 

Birch, paper (“white’)—handles; agricultural implements; excelsior ; 
boxes; baskets; clothespins; toothpicks; novelties. 

Birch, yellow and black (‘“‘sweet”)—veneer for finish and furniture; 
handles; vehicle hubs; woodenware; novelties; spindles; slack barrel 
staves and headings; baskets; pails and tubs; railroad ties (“treat- 
ment”) ; chemical distillation. 

Butternut—veneer for finish, furniture, etc. 

Cedar, white (“arborvitae’)—poles; posts; piling; railroad ties; 
shingles; net floats; woodenware. 

Cherry, black—veneer for finish and furniture; novelties. 

Elm, cork (“rock”)—handles; vehicle parts; slack barrel staves, head- 
ings, hoops, and head linings; bicycle rims; basket hoops; bent-wood 
settees; insulator pins; tent pins and slides. 

Elm, white (“soft”)—veneer for packages; handles; slack barrel staves, 
headings, hoops and head linings; boxes; baskets; bicycle rims; pails 
and tubs; singletrees and veneers. 

Elm, slippery (“red”)—handles; plow handles; neck yokes; eveners 
and singletrees; saddle trees; wagon reaches. 

Fir, balsam—wood pulp; excelsior; boxes; slack barrel cooperage; pails 
and tubs. 

Hemlock—wood pulp; boxes; pails and tubs; slack barrel staves and 
headings; tanbark. 

Hickory—handles; axles, singletrees, and spokes; agricultural imple- 
ments; vehicle parts; lumber and log rules; bicycle rims; machine 
axles; mallets and mauls. 

Hornbeam—logging tool handles; tongues for “big wheels;” axles; farm 
wagon felloes; garden hose reels; levers. 

Locust, black—posts; poles; insulator pins. 

*Practically all the species contribute to lumber and fuel, which are omitted in order to simplify the 
list and because it is difficult to classify in short space the many uses to which lumber is put. This 
depends upon the size and quality as well as the kind of lumber. In general, softwood lumber (pine, 
hemlock, spruce, etc.) 1s used for building and rough temporary construction purposes, while hard- 
wood lumber (oak, maple, birch, beech, etc.), goes toe into finish, flooring, and furniture. Both 
kinds supply. large quantities of woodenware, novelties, agricultural implement frames, boxes, and 
crates. uch softwood lumber is used for cheap furniture and for furniture backing. 


For a complete list of the uses’of each species, see ‘‘'Wood-using Industries of Michigan,” 1912, 
obtainable from the Public Domain Commission, Lansing, Michigan. 


40 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


Maple, sugar and black (“hard”)—-veneer for finish and furniture; 
handles; vehicle parts; agricultural implements; slack barrel staves, 
headings, and hoops; railroad ties (“treatment”); bicycle rims; 
woodenware; novelties; dishes; mallets; pails and tubs; skewers; 
spindles; toothpicks; levers; chemical distillation. 

Maple, red and white (‘soft’’?)—-veneer for boxes, crates, etc.; handles; 
slack barrel staves; headings and hoops; woodenware. 

Oak, black (“yellow”’)—cultivator handles; plow beams; saddles; slack 
barrel cooperage; railroad ties (“treatment”). 

Oak, red—veneer for finish and furniture; handles; vehicle parts; slack 
barrel cooperage; railroad ties (“treatment”). 

Oak, white and bur—veneer for finish and furniture; handles; vehicle 
parts; agricultural implements; tight and slack barrel cooperage; 
railroad ties; car timbers. 

Pine, jack, red, and white—boxes; buckets and kegs; slack barrel staves 
and headings; woodpulp. 

Poplar, yellow—veneer for packages; excelsior. 

Spruce, black and white—woodpulp; excelsior; boxes. 

Sycamore—veneer for packages, finish, etc.; slack barrel headings; 
baskets. 

Tamarack—boxes; pails and tubs; slack barrel staves; railroad ties 
(“treatment”) ; ship knees; woodpulp; excelsior. 

Walnut, black—veneer for finish and furniture; woodenware and novel- 
ties; gun stocks. 


DIRDCTORY OF MICHIGAN FIRMS WHICH BUY WOOD PRODUCTS “IN THE ROUGH.” 


The following list of wood-using firms which buy rough products is 
supplied for the use of woodlot owners in finding the best markets for 
their timber. It is based partly on reports received by the Forest Ser- 
vice within recent years and partly on directories of firms compiled 
from other sources. The list is as complete as it could be made, with- 
out, however, including sawmills. These were omitted because of the 
large number scattered throughout the State, most farmers knowing 
already those in their immediate vicinity. A number of firms which 
might buy lumber sawed from farm woodlots are also unavoidably 
omitted. While the list is as nearly up to date as possible, there are 
probably a few of the concerns which have ceased operating. 

The list is divided into three parts: the Upper Peninsula, the northern 
part of the Lower Peninsula, and the southern part of the Lower Penin- 
sula. In each of these divisions the counties* are given in alphabetical 
order, and the cities and towns in each county are arranged, also in 
alphabetical order, beneath the county name. The woods used by each 
firm are given in the right hand column, so far as they could be learned 
from the reports submitted. The kind of industry and of wood used are 
indicated by abbreviations, the explanation of which is given at the head 
of the table. 


*The location of the different counties is shown on the wood lot area map for71910, page 8. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


41 


TABLE 12.—MICHIGAN FIRMS WHICH BUY WOOD PRODUCTS “IN THE ROUGH.” 


(Abbreviations used.) 


Industries. 
Agr. imp, = Agricultural implements. Pulpwd. = Pulpwood. 
Wd. ware = Woodenware and novelties, dairymen’s supplies, etc. Sp.-Ath. = Sporting and athletic goods. 
Inst. = Instruments, professional and scientific. T.coop. = Tight cooperage. 
SI. a = Slack cooperage. Wd. dist. = Wood distillation. 
P.M.P. = Planing mill products, sash, door and blinds. Misc = Miscellaneous. 

Species. 
Asp. = Aspen. B.eld. = Boxelder. Hick. = Hickory. OQ. = Oak. Tom. = Tamarack. 
Bals. = Balsam fir. But. = Butternut. Ho. Hornbeam, Pop. = Poplar. W. bir. = White birch. 
Bass. = Basswood Ced. = Cedar. J.D. Jack pine. R.ced. = Red cedar. W.ced. = White cedar. 
Bee. = Beech. Che. = Cherry. ice. = Maple. R.o. = Red oak. W.o. = White oak. 
Bir, = Birch. Hem. = Hemlock. N.p.= Norway pine. | Sp. = Spruce. W.p. = White pine. 

Wil. = Willow. 
County and town. Industry, Firm. Wood used. 
Upper Peninsula. 
Great Lake Veneer Co. . 


Chippewa: 
Rudyard 


Delta: 
Escanaba........ 
Escanaba........ 


Dickinson: 
Hardwood....... 


eee 


Mackinac: 
St. Ignace 


eae: 


cheno 
Marquette 


“Marquette 


Menominee: 


Poles, posts..... 


Veneer......... 


Ties, poles, posts 


Menominee, 
Menominee. 
Menominee. 


-| Goodman. B. J.. 


Munising Paper Co., Ltd. 


.| Superior Veneer & Cooperage Co.... 


Bird’ ety coe COvsnaysescean as 
Erickson & Hl... 
Escanaba ne COE siasuscisieisieoncninicressts 
National Pole Co.................. 
Northwestern Cooperage & Lbr. Co. . 
Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co., The...... 
Northwestern Cooperage & Lbr. Co.. 
Escanaba Lbr. Co...........ce ease 
National Pole Co..............0005 
ek Chem. & Iron Co 
Stephenson, I., C 


Anderson; PoS secu eu oeuawsoavenax 


Burkman & Sons, Nels............. 
Eilola, Frank 


Northern Cooperage & Lbr. Co...... 
Newberry Chem. Co.........0.0006 


Connor & Bissell 


Gwinn Lbr.. Coss. eccscasceee ee cee 


Pioneer Iron Co 


Sambrack, F. W., & Son............ 


Der go Ge Bais eeuwinny aaron nets 
Wisconsin Land & Lbr. Co 
Carley, Ira...........200e 
Craford Cedar Co. . 
Girard Lhr. Co... 
Huebel, C. J., 
Marinette & hecuee Paper Co... 
Peninsular Box Co.... 


Hem. 
Ced. 


Ash, Elm, But., Wil., B. eld., Map., 
Bee., Bir., W. p., N. p.. Hem., Si 
Bals., Ced., Bass., ABS Ho., Pop. 


Ced. 


W. p., Hem. 


.| W.p., Sp., Hem, Bir., Tam., O., Bass. 
‘| Consolidated Fuel & Lbr. Co........ 


W. p., aa Hen., Ben Bit. Tan. 
0., Bass., Elm, As 
Hen., Bir., W. bir., x ?. 


Ced. * 

Ced. 

W. ced. 

Hem., W.p., W. bir., N.p., J.p., Bals 


42 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


TABLE 12,-MICHIGAN FIRMS WHICH BUY WOOD PRODUCTS “IN THE ROUGH.”—Continued. 


County and town. Industry. Firm. Wood used. 
Upper Peninsula.— 
Continued. 
Ontonagon: 
Ewing........... PEM iPevoso insets ng gens beech, MaBises 544 oanecawad vaca Hem., Map., Bir., Tam. 
Ontonagon....... Peds Portekevee aig on bens Noble-Corwin Lbr. Co....7........ Hem. 
Schoolcraft: 
Manistique...... BOxOS! ic sccasiaces 60s ott Goodwillie Bros............4+ee00+ Hem., Map., Bass., W. p., W. bir. 
Manistique...... Ties, poles, posts........ White Marble Lime Co.......... :..| Ced., Hem., Tam. 
Northern part of 
Lower Peninsula. 
Eales Bros. & Co... 2... .seeee eens 
svarers .| Fletcher Paper Co..........-2-0000- 
' Michigan Veneer Co.........-..--+ 
Handles, Fixtures, P. M. 4 
P., vehicles, Misc...... Northern Planing Mill Co.......... Wii Ash, W.p.,N.p,Sp. Hem, , , . 
ap., Bir. 
Alpena.......... Veneer Walker Vencer & Panel Works...... P 
Antrim: 
Elk Rapids. .| Lake Superior Iron & Chem. eal oes 
Mancelona. Antrim Chemical Co..... 
Mancelona. -| Antrim Iron Co..... 
Arenas: 
Au Gres Goodchild) Bi sz. ssssecccievass ine neraictornirans 
u Gres Herman Bros...........0.0cseeees Tam. 
Au Gres Herman Bros, & Johnson........... 
Omer. . Rouse) Bs. Divan rceicerpiaiere ausremicreie 2 
Standish. International Milk Products Co...... 
Standish Michigan Cooperage Co., Ltd....... 
Benzie: 
Benzonia........ Sweltzer & Maise.................. 
Frankfort. . East Shore Woodenware Co......... Map., Bee. 
Honor... ...| Guelph Patent Cask Co............ 
Honor.. .| Seymore & Peck Co............... 
Lake Ann....... abbler, Wm., Co......-.... see eae 
Thompsonville. ..| Wd. Desmond, F.C...........ce cece eee 
Thompsonville. .. Dixon, B. M., & Co............2..- 
Thompsonville. . . National Wood Dish Co............ Map., Bee. 
Thompsonville. . . Piqua Handle Mfg. Co., The........ Map., Bee., Bass. 
Charlevoix: : 
Baysboro........ BLOOD sitar sec anieaate Elk Cement & Lime Co............ 
Boyne City is bisceaiccve woe sihaverebeoss Boyne City Chemica] Co........... 
Boyne City... SLcoOpssesssne sd cence! Elm Cooperage Co., The........... 
Boyne City... Ties; postaincisa maven. White, at Cisse saoweaaienns Ced. 
Boyne Falls. . MiP cece cgsacase aa ete tekate Newson, DAMES: fasak sco waren eh Ai W. p. 
Boyne Falls. . Widicwares.scioswwseees 3 Williams, G. G. Woodenware Co....| Map. 
Charlevoix.......| Wd. ware, P. M.P...... Wallace, Wm. .......... ccc eens Ced., W. p. 
East Jordan.....| Chairs, handles.......... Bennett Handle Co............ 0... Bir., Map., Bee. 
Hast Jordan. .... Handles, ties............ Black Land & Lumber Co.......... Bir., Map., Bee. 
East Jordan. .... Wa idist sce ssersseieinvazaiece East Jordan Chemical Co. . 
East Jordan..... SD) COO? ince wusseserasarssoseretnve East Jordan Coo} pperae Co... 
East Jordan..... Sli coop acdnetencaaiees Haight, As M. Co wscesutis va covsrens 


Cheboygan Novelty Turning Works.. 
Cheboygan Paper Co..........-.4+ 
Lombard & Rittenhouse............ 


-| Nelson Lumber Co................ 


aa Rittenhouse, John, Co............. 


"1] Forest Lumber Co.......0..0. 000. 


Stratton: DivA we ceistersses jose coemveiscnasess 


W. bir., Ced., Pop. 
Ced. 

Ced.- 

Bee., Bir., Map. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


TABLE 12.—MICHIGAN FIRMS WHICH BUY WOOD PRODUCTS “IN THE ROUGH.’—Continued. 


43 


County and town. Industry. Firm. Wood used. 
Northern part of 
Lower Peninsula.— 
Continued. 
Clare: 
Clare. .......... SISCOOD ssesswisarternssisvowe Rhoades & Shafer...............+5 
Temple......... SL. coop., ties... 0.2.6.0. Temple Mfg. Co.........2.000000+ 
Crawford: 
Frederick........ Walsh Mfg. Co...........ceeeeeeee 
Grayling. . i .| Crown Chemical Co. re : 
Grayling. . Grayling Dowel Co Bee., Map., Bir. 


Grayling. . 
Grayling 


Haber Sp aye 
Harbor Springs... 
Harbor Springs... 


Grand Traverse: 
Interlochen...... 
Traverse City.... 
Traverse City... . 
Traverse City.... 
Traverse City.... 


Leelanau: 
Suttons Bay..... 


Manistee: 


Mason: 
Ludington 
Ludington, . 
Ludington....... 
Ludington....... 


‘Missaukee: 


Montmorency: 
Atlanta......... 


‘) SL coop.... 


.| Veneer. 


:| Jackson & Pindle............ ; 
rd. ware, handles....... Pellston Turning & Mfg.Co........ 
NUP Ws. sausvsce asa ariveriotnrs Bear River Paper & Bag Co......... 
d. ware... Washburn Mfg. Co...............- 
Ties, posts Van Every Bros............2+20005 
Wed. distiss sos cnsaqersen Thomas, Arthur E,................ 
BL GOOD tires es aivein sieiniese Wylie r Wes Co., Ltd.......... 
VON OOF iii cicittecajninisssierosmis Beitner, W; Son ‘(estate) abe id 
Wd. ware, boxes, veneer..| Oval Wood Dish Co............... 
Boxes, P.M. P.......... South Side Co... ee. cece e eee e nee | 
Veneer...... sec. eee eeee Higman Co..........ceeceeee 
Loud’s, H. M., Sone Coseccus nega 
Tosco Turpentine Co..............% 
Loud’s, H. M., Sons Co.,.......... 
OM, cP esatcaciraaceamrmianae Teslie Bross. aicjs.sec-oceac avons ners 
Handles.............4. Kalkaska Handle Co............... 
Shingles... .936.i6. 0s ccweses Madden, Jerry, Shingle Co......... 
BOS racuias se wees yeia Denster, Leo...........ccseeeeeene 
VOMCOR iis satteissessatinsarees Arcadia Furniture Co.............. 
I. coop. Peters, ee ec Salt & Lbr. Cov...... 
SI. coop Biller: eS ous. sossscceicvinendiapaes siviasaivreractvs 


Sl. coop 


Veneer. 


Wd. ware. 
Poles, SI. coo 


:.| Grayling Wood Products Co........ 


.| Carrom-Archarena Co.. 


Salling & Hanson Co............-.. 


Markham, M.S 
Hunt, M.M.. 

Emmet Lumb 
Clark, W. J., & Soi 
Harbor Springs Lbr. 
Harbor Springs Woodenware C 
Levering Stave Mfg. Co...... 


Ludington Basket Co.. 
Ludington Woodenware 
Stearns Salt & Lbr..Co... 


Wyllyo, Charlet cc ccsvcauorewvevs 


Walsh Mfg. Co..... 
Joslin & Stark. . 
Rose City Mfg. Co. 

Rose City Wood Distillation Co 
Batchelor Timber Co......... 


Hem., Map., Bir., Bass., Bee. 


Bir., Bee., Map. 
Bir., Bee., Bass., Map. 


| Map. 


Ced. 
Map. 


Map., Bir., W. p. 
W. p., Hem., Tam. 


W. p., Hem., Bee., Tam. 


Bir , Map., Bee. 


Bazss., Pop. 


Ash, W. o., Elm, Ho., W. p. 


Map., Bee. 


44 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


TABLE 12.—MICHIGAN FIRMS WHICH BUY WOOD PRODUCTS “IN THE ROUGH ’—Continued. 


County and town. Industry. Firm. Wood used. 
Northern part of 
Lower Peninsula.— 
Continued. 
Champion Tool & Handle Co Map., Bee., Elm. 
Evart Tool Co...........+5 ap., Bee. 
Crawford, McGregor & Canby Co., | Map., Bass. 
Dayton Last Block Co Map. 
.| Jensen, L.. ‘| Map., Hem., W. p. 
Olds & Hixson. Bee., Bir., Map. 
Stephenson, Henry, -| Hem., W. p. 
Handles, P. M. P. vehicles} American Wood Rim Co,.......... Map., Bir. 
Ties, posts, poles........ Chandler, Geo. M........-.....+4- W. ced. 
Gardner Peterman & Co..........- 
Lobdell & Churchill Mfg. Co........ 
‘uhrman, Gustave H.............. - 
Loud-Haeft Lbr. Co............005 
Cadillac......... Wd. dist.........-0.2505 Cadillac Chemica Co.............. 
Cadillac......... Cadillac Handle Co., The........... a Bee., Bass., Che., Elm, Bir, Map 
em 
Cadillac......... Cadillac Mfg. Co...........2-2006- 
adillac......... Cadillac Veneer Co., The........... 
Cadillac......... Cummer-Diggins Co..............- 
Hattietta........ Fellers Bros...........0eeeeeee cues 
anton......... William Bros. Co....... tap, Bass. 
Mesick.......... Mesick Turning Works.. Map. 
Mesick.......... WPT Ipp is Lis:dDesciancs.ccevstie-apeserstescre oa Sean 
Southern part of 
Lower Peninsula. 
Allegan: 
> Douglas......... Veneer 224.038 weet vecucee Weed., E. E., & Co..... 2. eee eee 
Hooper.......... Blicoopyaa-cs.ncwreanes Deal; Jasvvecwsnyeeacin anatase we se 
Barry: 
Hastings........ Wd. ware..........000- Hodge; Et siseocwewnves os gueeanss Ash 
Bay 
Wd. ware, Sl. coop....... Bonsfield & Co..........0ceeeeeees ue Bass., Map., Bir., Bee., Hem., 
7 ‘am., Pop., Ash. 
Misc. . .| Goldie Mfg. Co........ Map. 
Veneer. . .| Hanson Ward Veneer Co 
Ties, pol Michigan Cedar Co..... 
Ties, poles, pats .| Michigan Pipe Co. . 
Wad. dist. -| Michigan Turpentine Co * 
Vehicles, .| Severance, H.B........ «| Ced. 
Sl. coop. .| Standard Hoop Co., L 
Sl. coop. -| McGinness, John..... 
Sl. coop. .| Jennings, Edward. . 
SlsCoop aces gia eases Sandusky Cooperage & Lbr. Go... 
Berrien: . 
Benton Harbor...| Boxes.................. Colly Hinckley Co................ Bee., Hem., Elm, Map., Pop. 
Benton Harbor...| Veneer...............05 Thayer, Geo. B., Co............... 
Niles French Paper Co..... 06... .e eee ae 
Branch: 
Athens Snyder & Bisbee.................. 
Bronson Frederick, W. H., & Co............ 
Coldwater Calkins, B H., & Son Co,........., 
Coldwater Coldwater Coo erage Co........... : 
Coldwater Nellenberg, J. B., & Sons.......... .| Hick., Map., Elm, Bass. 
Sherwood French, J. W., & Sons.............. HOiRs0, 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


45 


TABLE 12—MICHIGAN FIRMS WHICH BUY WOOD PRODUCTS “IN THE ROUGH.’—Continued. 


County and town. Industry. Firm. Wood used. 
Southern part of 
Lower Peninsula.— 
Continued. 

Cass: x 
Dowagiac........ f 2 el ae ere Doal & Murphy.............00e0 ee W. p., Pop., Bass. 
Glennwood...... Sl. coop., T. coop........ Hampton Stock Farm Co,.......... 

Eaton: 

Charlotte........ Handles..............55 Bemm Mile Co saseissd scaiatssssenesiassceaesatere Map., O., Ash, Elm. 

Genesee: 

Chics coseatnnicds 4 PEM -P actcs arin Stevens, Css gered imnieasdlenwneds wee W. p., 0. 

Gratiot: 

Middleton....... Dl, COOP Ss ss ta aa auc. Middleton Cooperage Co........... 

Huron: . 

Sebewaing....... Slicoopeecnse wes ara Liken & Bach civics vss anggnnees ¢ 
VenGeP cen caereai ay away Belding Basket Co................. 
Veneer dices ses viss age Be acct Stafford, E. H., Mfg. Co......... ate 
Agr. imp., handles, Sp.- 

CDs cicisisctiocas haseceme Lyons Handle Co.................- Ash, O., Hick. 

1 COOP E jerasssckonce ces Sdedarncas Middleton Cooperage Co........... 

Isabella: 

Mt. Pleasant....] Veneer...............45 Gorham Bros. Co., The............ 
Shephard........ BL. GOOD: cs slots tuted Bell, Edwin, Co., Theis scatsocnmanrs 
Jackson: 
Jackson......... Handles... 40 sc cceiacees American Fork & Hoe Co.......... Ash. 
Augusta Basket Co..............-. 
Kent Basket Co 
,G. 8 


Mecosta: — 
Big Rapids...... 


Montcalm: 
Vickeryville...... 


Muskegon: 
Montague....... 
Muskegon....... 


me Ties, poles, posts 


Ties, poles, posts. 

Coffins....... 

Wd. ware............... 

Handles e:cisie oe xé's.crs scare Charky; Ji, My yin sn ncelnoennecn th 
Veneer, SI. coop.. White Bros ies is:33 33 igeeaaseee 
Boxes, Handles, P. M. P. 

Sp-Ath..........000. Eringer Vogt Co., The..........,.. 
Sl. coop MTSE Wes 21 3s ssicius a cod aa deoine ore XS 
SI. coop -| Lenox Hoo es 
81. coop .| Snook & 

coop ened T. W., Son 

coop ar, A aeapbiotdtieteib heros ne 
Sl. coop Struthers Cooperage Co 
MONG OR pic sasvsienersusaaes ieee Hood & Wright.................05 

i 

TES, DONS aa wexnena sii Sterling, W. C., & Sons............ 
Bl GOOD evtacara dans Chittenden, C. E., & Co............ 
Veneer..........5 Beane Miller Package & Fruit Co......... 
PUB WE esas coer nds Central Paper Co................. 


Rice, Geo oe 
Dregge, Groover Lbr. Co. 
Grand Rapids Veneer Works 


Bass, 


Ced. 
W. p., ash 


.| Bass.,Map.,Bee.,Ash, Elm, W. o., R. o. 


Ash. 


Map., Hick., Ash, Bass., O., Pop. 


46 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


TABLE 12—MICHIGAN FIRMS WHICH BUY WOOD PRODUCTS “IN THE ROUGH."—Coneluded. 


County and town. Industry. Firm. Wood used. 
Southern part of * 
Lower Peninsula.— 
Continued. 
Oakland: ‘ 5 
Hollyic siteccicue Vehicles, car............ Holly Bending Co..............+.- W.0., R. 0. 
Pontiac......... Boxes, handles, Sp.-Ath...| Pontiac Turning Co................ Map., Hick., Ash, Eln. 
Ottawa: 
Grand Haven....{ Veneer................. Grand Haven Basket Factory....... 
Saginaw: 
Saginaw BGO sso tines asin Daa lntiee Berst Mfg. Co.............0.005 |.., Bir, 
Saginaw .-| Boxes, Wd. ware, Inst....| Lufkin Rule Co., The.............. N. p., Bass., Map. 
Saginaw .| Hd. ware Palmerton, F. G, Woodenware Ce, .| W. p., Bass, 
Saginaw Poles, posts .-| Phillips & Seeley. ed 
Saginaw Poles, posts .-| Porter Cedar Co Ced. 
Saginaw. Sl. coop...... ..| Saginaw Heading & Veneer Co...... . 
aginaw S81. coop. Mise ..| US. Tie ee CO eiiieisied ices ..{ Elm, Map., O., Ash, Hick., Bass., Pop. 
Saginaw Sl. coop........ Wylie, J. T., & Co... fares 
Saginaw SICOOD sas kceeeevees Mead Lies Co 
St. Clair: 
Marine City..... LACOOD ak cceresshc os aan Baker, 8., & Sons...........eceeeee 
Port Huron...... POStB io: «aie ceaccuesriesa esi seotace’s Hayes, qT Dip OO cecadiuererciznnane ‘adele 
Port Huron...... Pulpwebss : scsssssievasevosc-oiavavend Michigan Sulphite Fiber Co 
St_Joseph: 
Wasepi.......... De MAP sacs ussiareripatonntey Palmer, Geo. W.......0seseee eens W. p., W.0., R. 0. 
Shiawassee: 
Durand......... Bi OOO onccns va snawures Hercules Hoop Co..........--.20++ 
Owosso. . -| Boxes, Tandles, Sp.-Ath..| Turnerman, J. N.. -| Map. Elm, Ash. x 
Owosso Agr. imp., handles....... Wood, M., & Co Ash, O., Hick. 
Tuscola: 
ee ‘Haines, Arthur............e.ee eee Elm. 
.| Pardee, Lawson. ....-.....0.-.0008 
Butcher Folding Crate Co.......... Bee., Map. 
.| Decatur Hoop & Lumber Co 
Hinckley-Roberts Co 
.| Pensinger, J. W.. 
-| Hartford Stave C: : . 
Hartford. alker, L. .| Bee., Map., Bir. 
Lawrence. Wallace & Lockwood. : 
Lawton ‘| Lawton Basket & Box 
Paw Paw. -| Deal, Jos.............. : : . 
South Haven .| Pierce-Williams Co., The .| Bee., Map., Bass., Bir., Asp. 
Washtenaw: 
Pi Mic P. ssteresrceransined Lamkin; O} Pt cwcwwse taren ware gests W. o., Bass, 
ae imp., handles, Sp.- hes : 
ee Deikuim, C..Wocsccieve sk ca nexaces| ASh, Hiek, 
Telegraph poles......... Browilie tO. ose she ca twine 
.| Ties, poles, posts Detroit Cedar & Lbr. Co........... 
Ties, poles, posts........| Detroit Lbr. Co...............0005 
.| Pulpwd........... .| Detroit Sulphite Pub op & Paper Co... 
.| Ties, pa posts. .| Grace Harbor Lbr. Co............. 
Wad. ware........ .| Perfection Mfg. Co.............005 Bass., Map., Bir. 
Sl. Good sla araravceanersere ane National Mfg. Co... 0.0.00... 0000s 


Yin 
KS 


Pena eae 
Neel 


PERCENTAGE OF MICHIGAN fe 
FARM LAND IN WOODS,ACCORD- J:; 
NG TO THE. CENSUS OF.19/0 


5 CSR: I MI. SPE SCENES 
[___] REGION I-FARMLAND LESS THAN 10% WOODED 

REGION II- FARMLAND FROM 10 %, TO 20% WOODED 
REGION II- FARMLAND FROM 20% TO 40% WOODED 
REGION IV-FARMLAND FROM 40% TO 60% WOODED 


REGION V-FARMLAND FROM 60Z TO 80%WOODED 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 47 


TABLE 13—PRINCIPAL BUYERS OF BLACK WALNUT LOGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


State. Town. Firm name. 


.| Winchester Arms Co. 
National Sewing Machine Co. 


New Haven. 
Belvidere. 


11] Foley & Williams. 


Illinois Sewing Machine Co. 
....| Hoffman Bros. Co. 
‘...| Indiana Veneer & Lbr. Co. 
..| The Talge Mahogany Co. 
..| Batesville Lbr. & Veneer Co. 
-| Williamson Veneer Co. 


Baltimore. . 


Massachusetia...............65 #3} Boston sicr:aaie cave eile. ..| Mason & Hamlin, 
Massachusetts................. oss) CBmibM dees cso s in saa 6 ..| National Casket Co. 
Massachusetts................. ...| Chicopee Falls............. ..| J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. 
Massachusetts..............6.. ...| Springfield...............-- ..| J. W. Stein Organ Co. 
Michigans ceisieg te snjecis-nseidctiuven veo Big Rapids. c:.s5 shin fee eG we Geass Hood & Wright. 
East St. Louis. .. ..{ East St. Louis Walnut Co. 
Penrod Walnut & Veneer Co. 


Pickerel Walnut Co. 
Lenoir Veneer Co. 
.| The Ohio Veneer Co., 2624 Colerain Ave. 


H. C. Hossafores. 
..| George W. Hartzell. 

.| A. H. Fox Gun Co. 
Paine Lumber Co., Ltd. 


APPENDIX. 


FACTS RELATING TO THE WOODLOT SITUATION IN MICHIGAN. 


The agricultural development of a heavily wooded region is a slow 
and difficult process. The first farms in southern and central Michigan, 
as throughout most of the East, undoubtedly contained a great deal 
more woodland than tilled land. As the zone of pioneering was pushed 
farther north, more and more of the woodlot area in the longer settled 
sections was cleared for cultivation. The progress of agriculture can 
therefore be roughly gauged by the proportion of the total farm land 
which is in woods. This proportion is shown for Michigan in the map of 
“woodlot regions” (page 48). Each of these “regions” consists of coun- 
ties having similar proportions of woodland to total farm land, accord- 
ing to the 13th census (1910). The different regions are shown by shad- 
ing, the heaviest shading representing that in which the farms are from 
60 to 80 per cent wooded. Tables 14 and 15 and Diagram 1 are based 
on these regions, so that the chief facts relating to the status of wood- 
lots in any part of the State can be easily ascertained after locating on 
the map the “woodlot region’ in which the area falls. 


SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 


48 


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“40[POOM B Seq UHR] AIaA0 4B} SuTUMESYy, 


wet | og | ee po 


PIL POL ggg yo 


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5 “*(quaa Jad) papoos pur] ure; jo uolpiodoig 
se aakitn (sie[jop) aioe Jad pur] ULIEy Jo enjea oBeIOAY 


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+ “088T “OT6T 


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“OT6I 


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TROL 


“AI 


‘III 


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‘SHSOSNAO HLEl (NV HLOT AHL AG 


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SW vs SO 'ON 


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FHL AO HOW NI Wad FOVHFNY FHL IO IZIS -| NVHOVIG 


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£ oO? Oo Oo am 


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SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 49 


The table shows that where the woodlots are largest, farming is least 
important; land values are lowest; the percentage of improved farm 
land is least; and the value received for woodlot products on the average 
farm is greatest. Just the reverse ig true of the regions with the smallest 
proportion of wooded farm land. The figures given in the last line of 
the table bring out forcibly the importance of the woodlot in the dif- 
ferent regions. They show that while woodlot products comprised 6.4 
per cent of the value of all farm incomes in the entire State, the wood- 
lot income from region IV was over a fifth and that from region V over 
a fourth of the total farm income in these counties. 

How the growth of farming has affected Michigan woodlots is shown 
in Table 15, which gives the actual acreage in farm woodland in 1910, 
and the per cent of increase or decrease in farm woodland area in the 
thirty years from 1880 to 1910. 


TABLE 15.—FARM WOODLAND IN MICHIGAN, BY WOODLOT REGIONS, 1910, AND PER CENT OF INCREASE 
OR DECREASE IN AREA SINCE 1880. 


Farm Increase or 
Woodlot regions. woodland area, | decrease, 1880- 

1910. 1910. 

Acres. Per cent. 


209.209 53.9 decrease. 
1,698,043 | “46.6 decrease. 
783 , 836 11.0 increase. 
‘216,211 88.6 increase. 
20,255 * 


Total...... s Reeeeu Toa op sbeelcertstaatar os ee ete eterstpchgh al eedeveeenates Bite baeact 2,927,554 | 34.2 decrease. . 


*Alger county, with 68.6 per cent of its farm land wooded, was not organized in 1880, and no comparison is possible. 


The deduction which this table appears to justify is that for the 
present, at least, the farm woodland area can be expected to increase 
only in those regions where farming has not yet occupied large areas. 
Elsewhere the decrease will be rapid as more and more of the woodlot 
area is claimed for cultivation.