B.C.WaterbourneLumberExports Planting o[ Largest Shelter Belt

33.6 Pes Cent Above 1933 Will Begin Soon

British Columbia waterborne lumber exports (including some logs) from the principal British Columbia ports during 1934 totaled 9K,543 M bd. ft., as compared with 73g,O29 M ft. in 1933, a gain of 33.6 per cent, states reports from Vice Consuls Nelson P. Meeks, at Vancouver, and Robert E. Newcomb, at Victoria, made public by the Forest Products Division of the Department of Commerce.

December tr934 British Columbia lumber exports totaled 85,915 M bd. ft. compared with 94,440 M ft. in November and 73,386 M ft. in October, 1934. (U. S. exports of Douglas fir squared timber and boards, planks and scantling totaled 72,890 M bd. ft. in December; 66,884 M ft. in November; and 55,674 M ft. in October.

British Columbia waterborne lumber exports to the principal markets during 1934 compared with 1933, were respectively, as follows :-to the Lrnited States 4,679 M It. compared with 15,406 M ft., a decrease of 69 per cent; to the United Kingdom and Continent (largely to the United Kingdom) 443,222 M ft. compared with 260,736 M ft., a gain of nearly 7O per cent; to the Orient (Japan and China) 297,612 M ft. compared with 294,937 M ft., a gain of about 1 per cent; to Australia and New Zealan d 202,737 M ft. compared with 143,532 M ft., a gain of 4I pet,cent; to South Africa 19,ffi5 M ft. compared with 73,749 M ft., a gain of 42 per cent. Saw logs scaled in British Columbia during 1934 totaled 2,056,947 M bd. ft. as compared with 1,631,358 M ft. in 1933, a gain of 26 per cent. Of the 1934 log production, hemlock ranked first rvith 34l,9l} M ft. ; cedar second with 268,792 M ft.; Douglas fir third with 144,M9 M ft., and spruce fourth with 132,327 M ft. Other species were'cut in much smaller quantities.

According to reports from the trade, Douglas fir log prices ranged from $9 to $19 in the early part of 1934, but de'clined to $6 to $16 toward the end of the year. There was an excess of cedar logs throughout the year creating a rather difficult problem although the agreement with U. S. shingle producers which increased the quota for Canadian shingles aided the situation somewhat. Supplies of hemlock logs were not above normal and prices were fairly firm most of the year.

Los Angeles Housing Exposition

The Los Angele_s Housing Exposition which will open on April 27 is expe,cted to be one of the most colorful and elaborate home shows conducted in the country. April 27 to May 19 arc the dates of the exposition. Selection of the site and announcement for the date of the groundbreaking ceremonies will be announced soon. Prominent business establishments have already made reservations for approximately one-half of the available exhibitors' space rvithin the 100,000 square feet of the auditorium.

Back On The Job

Carl R. Moore, in charge gf tltq San Francisco office of Moore Mill & Lumber Co.,'is back at his office after arr enforced absence of sevetal weeks due to an attack ol flu-

Initial work on the President's plan for a 1,000-mile shelter belt of trees stretching from North Dakota to the panhandle of Texas will commence early this spring with the planting, by the U. S. Forest Service, of 4 million trees on 150 miles of the belt located in six difierent states. Basing his statements on explorations of the region, contact with local authorities and scientific data, F. A. Silcox, chief forester, says that the Forest Service is whole-heartedly back of planting shelter belts in the prairie-plains region and is more than ever ,convinced of the value of this proj,ect to agriculture and to the improvement of physi,cal *nditiorrr.

Planting will be ,confined to a zone of agricultural land which under normal conditions should support produ,ctive farms and where there is an annual rainfall of from 18 to 20 inches on the western boundary to 25 inches on the eastern side of the belt, which foresters say is sufficient pre'cipitation to support tree growth under proper handling. No attempt will be made, except experimentally, to plant trees on marginal lands, which, because of alkalinity of the soil or deficient rainfall present an agricultural hazard. The Shelter Belt will not replace marginal lands but will make good agricultural lands more valuable and contribute to the permanency and stability of agriculture.

\(/ood Sash in Excellent Condition After 118 Years' Service

Washington, D. C., Feb. 2O.-Further proof of the durability of wood for all ,construction purposes and particular ly for window sash is brought to light in the February 7 issue of the Waterways Journal, whi,ch, under the caption "Astounding But True," discloses an interesting story gleaned from Government records.

While reconditioning the old clock tower at the Rock Island Arsenal to furnish new quarters for the Rock Island engineers, during the closing months of 1934, it was founC that the wood sash in the basement of the building were in excellent condition despite the fact that the structure had been 'completed as far back as 1865. This excited su,ch interest that an inquiry was made as to the origin of the sash, rvhereupon it was discovered that they had been made from used timbers taken from Fort Armstrong, built in 1816, 118 years before.

These facts r,r'ere brought to light by A. Fletcher Marsh, Vice President of the Marsh & Truman Lumber Company, of Chicago, which concern is now shipping timbers to the Rock Island engineers for'use in the Locks near Muscatine and Burlington.

A. L. SAILOR VISITS I-OS ANGELES

A. L. Sailor of San Francisco, sales representative for the E. K. Wood Lumber Co. in the Valley territory, was a visitor at the company's Los Angeles office the latter part of February. tle also called on lli.s old friends in the rvholesale trade.