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California Pine Man Addresses San Francisco Lumbermen's Club
At its weeklv luncheon held at the Palace Hotel on March 31, the Sin Francisco Lumbermen's Club listened to a talk bv Edward P.Ivorv of the California White and Sugar Pine Manufacturer'i Association onthe kinds of wood produced by members of that Association.
Mr. Ivorv recentlv came to the Association from the Forest Proiucts Lalioratory, N{adison, Wis.
It appears from Mr. Ivory's talk that the old adage, "A prophet is notwithout honor save in his own country" comes near to being the truthin the case of the principal California pine species, for while these wodds are well known and highly thought of in the middlewest and eastern lumber markets, they are comparatively little known to the building trade in California. Species of wood are being imported into the state and used for general building purposes rvhile the California pines must seek a market on the other side of the mountains.
"There is something over three hundred billion board feet of lumber in the California white and sugar pine region which extends from Klamath Falls, Oregon, south through the Siskiyous, Sierra Nevada, and part of the California Coast Range to the Tehachapis. At the present rate of cutting, this stand of timber should last for the next 200 years. In addition, timberlands now being operated are handled in such a manner as to promote regeneration of the forest thus insuring an adequate supply of lumber for several centuries."
Mr. Ivory gave a description of the two principal species, Sugar Pine and California White Pine, and then called at.tention to the fact that large quantities of.white fir and Douglas fir (Oregon pine) are also being cut in this regron. These species of lumber are carefully seasoned before being dressed and shipped out. They arrive on the job light in weight, bright in color, and uniform in size because the natural shrinkage of the wood took place before the dressing was done. Thus a carpenter using these woods can do his work more easily and rapidly than with varieties of wood which are dressed in the green condition and shrink non-uniformly before being put into use.
The two general types of lumber manufactured from the pines were next described. These species are manufactured into the ordinary forms of retail yard lumber such as finish, common boards, siding, mouldings, ,etc., and into factory lumber from which sash, doors, and other kinds of mill work are fabricated.The Association has well established gradingrulesunderwhich this lumber is graded and sold. A detailed description of each of the yard grades and general description of the factory grades was given by Mr. Ivory.
fn closing, attention was called to the fact that the California pine species, especially the upper grades, sell at upwards of twice the market price for similar grades of some of the species with which they compete in the California market. Lack of time prevented a discussion of the qualities of the woods which create this situation but the fact that California pines are able to command these prices in markets where they must compete not only with the same species sold in California but also with num'erous eastern sfecies was pointed out as significant of their general qualities.
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