Billy Kendrick Wins Gus Russell's Question Contest

Thirty-five perspiring retailers, located in California, Arizona, and Nevada, entered the Lumber Questionnaire Contest recently announced by A. J. "Gus" Russell, of the Santa Fe Lumber Company, and submitted their answers to the 56 perplexing guestions expounded.

Jack Dionne, publisher of The California Lumber Merchant, was the judge. The questions and correct answers were both submitted to the Judge by Mr. Russell, and the award was made on the basis of those answers.

W. K. "Billy" Kendrick, of Fresno, Sales Manager for Thb Valley Lumber Company, answered the grcatest number of questions correctly, and is awarded the prize of $50 cash, offered by Mr. Russell.

-One lady entered the contest, Miss Mae Spurger, of Swift & Company, Oakland, and she turned in a vei creditable paPer.

Mr. Russell wishes to give honorable mention in regard to the contest to Mr. Judd Greenman, General Superinlen- dent for the Central Coal & Coke Company, Veronia, Oregon, who ably.assisted him in the preparation of both the questions and answers.

fn order that everyone may take a look at the 56 hard questions asked, and of the correct answers to same, they are printed herewith. Understand, these answers are not those giveh by Mr. Kendrick, but are the correct ansurers submitted toMr. Dionne with the questions.

The questions and answers follow: l-Ques. What is "yard" lumber? lO-Ques. What is the method of ascertaining the answer to Question 9?

Ans. Lumber that is less than 6" in thickness and is intended for general building purposes.

(Authority) "Revised Practice Recommendations, No. 16, U. S. Department of Commerce," Page l.

Z-Ques. How did "Douglas Fir" obtain its name?

Ans. Named after Davis Douglas, a Scotch botanist who explored British Columbia, then called New Caledonia. in 1825-183O.

(Authority) "The Practical Lumberman," by Bernard Brereton.

3-Ques. How close grained must Douglas Fir really be to comply with the usual or accepted appellation of "close grained stock"?

Ans. Douglas Fir selected for "close. grain" shall average on either one end or the other not less than six nor more than trventy annual rings per inch measured over a radial line representative of the average growth.

(Authority) "Revised Practice Recommendations No. 16, U. S. Dept. of Commerce," Page 14.

4--Ques. Is Red Oak a hard or soft wood?

Ans. Hard.

S-Ques. Is Cottonrvood a hard or soft wood?

Ans. U. S. Government classifies cottonwood as a hard wood due to its species of growth and not on account of the texture of the wood.

6-Ques. What is botanical name for Douglas Fir? For West Coast Hemlock?

Ans. Pseudotsuga taxifolia. Tsuga Leterophylla.

(Authority) "Revised Practice Recommendations No. 16, U. S. Dept. of Commerce," Page 26.

7-Ques. How many Lrf" Lath are usually figured to the square yard of plaster and what is the quantity of lath nails required therefor?

Ans. 16 l,ath usually figured to the yard. .11 lbs. of lath nails.

(Authority) "The Practical Lumberman," by Bernard Brereton.

8-Ques. How many board feet in one cord of Douglas Fir cord wood ?

Ans. 517 board feet (Scribners Dec. "C" scale.)

(Authority) "The Practical Lumberman," by Bernard Brereton.

9-Ques. What is.the board measurement of a sawn tapered timber l2xl2 at butt, 6x6 at top and 4O ft. long?

Ans. 280 ft. B. M.

(Authority) "The Practical Lumberman," by Bernard Brereton.

Ans. Square both ends separately, multiply the top side by the butt side, add entire sum together, multiply by the length and divide by 36-thus l2xl2: 144

6x6 : 36

6xl2: 72

252x40: 1fi)80

10080 -+. 36 : ?30 l2-Ques. What are "sleepers." l3-{ues. What is meant by quarter sarvn lumber? l4-Ques. In what order does California rank as a lumber producing state? lS-Ques. In what order does California rank as a lumber consuming state ? l6-Ques. What does the abbreviation "E. M." indicate? l7-Ques. What does the abbreviation "S4S&C. S. 2E" indicate ?

(Authority) "The Practical Lumberman," by Bernard Brereton.

1l-Ques. Are Pitch pockets considered more of a defeet in Douglas Fir than in Western Hemlock?

Ans. Yes. 'Western Hemlock contains no pitch.

Ans. Term used in United Kingdom and some other foreign countries to denote railroad ties.

Ans. Vertical or edge grain stock.

Ans. Fifth, for 1924 (last year for which figures were available).

(Authority) Special Industrial Report No. 3 California Development Asociation, also "Dept. of Commerce Bureau of the Census 1926 Bulletin on Forest Products Manufactures" ranks California and Nevada together in 5th place.

Ans. First, for 1924 (last year for which figures are available),.

(Authority) "Special Industrial Report No. 3, Califor- nia Development Association," also "Dept. of Commerce Bureau of the Census 1926 Bulletin on Forest Products Manufactures" ranks California and Nevada together in lst place.

Ans. End Matched.

(Authority) "Revised Practice Recommendations No. 16, U. S. Dept of Commerce."

Ans. Surfaced four sides and caulking seam trvo edges.

(Authority) "Revised Practice Recommendations'No. 16, U. S. Dept. of Commefce."

(Continued on Page 48.)

(Continued from Page 45) which works in Tennessee or Aromatic Red Cedar, making an oblong hole approximately one-eighth by three-sixteenths inch. This species attacks the tree after it is cut, but continues to work in the lumber. There is also a small bark beetle which works under the bark of this wood, but is most troublesome in yard stocks.

Those of us who handle White Pine mav find the round headed bark borer (Callidium antennatum) working in the lumber from which the bark has not been completely removed. This beetle attacks the log after it is felled, continues to work in the sapwood, and will reinfest the lumber if there should be barky edges providing a depository for eggs. This is a large beetle, and makes an elongated burrow one-quarter to five-sixteenths inch across.

In Spruce we find the horntails or wood-wasps (Sinex cyaneus). This insect attacks logs in the woods or dead trees. It will continue to work after the log is sawn, but will not reinfest the lumber. It makes a hole some threc-sixteenths inch in diameter.

Numberless other insects cause damage to wood. We see the evidences of their depredations in sound wormy Oak which is mined by a species of weevil (Eupsalis minuta), which works in the living tree but not in the lumber,

Similar damage is done to Ash, Oak and Hickory, and occasionally to Maple, Gum, Birch and other hardwoods, by an ambrosia beetle, (Platypus compositus), which lives on a fungus. that lines its burrow and leaves the walls stained dark. It attacks the log shortly after the tree is felled, and often living trees. This beetle also attacks Mexican and Central American Mahogany logs.

There are several species of beettes which cause the familiar pin-holes found in some Philippine Mahogany. One group attacks the living tree, usually the largd over-matured trees containing rotten or punky hearts. The srnaller sound trees are rarely attacked. The holes made by these beetles may be recognized by a dark stain, caused by a fungus growth lining the burrows.

Another group of beetles attack the log after the tree is felled. They burrow through the bark and sapwood, into ihe heartwood, and leave a small, clean-cut unstained hole. Neither of these groups works in the seasoned lumber.

The Philippine beetle whioh attacks the living tree is by far the most troublesome, being difficult, if not impossible to control. Damage by beetles which attack the log could, according to the Bureau of Forestry of the Philippine Islands, be almost entirely prevented if the logs could be sawn into lumber within three weeks after the trees is felled, the time usuatly elapsing before the beetles commence the attack, and penetrate through the bark. If the bark is removed from the log the destruction commences sooner, as the beetles can then reach the wood at once. Careful observations bv an entomologis.t of the Philippine Bureau of Forestry, at one of- ttre mill operations there, denronstrated that there was no evidence of pin-hole borer activities in lumber in thirty days after seasoning commenced.

It will be noted that in ,the case of powder post beetles, thc eggs are laid in the pores of the wood by the adult female, the larvae, working within the wood, cause the principal damage, atrd the holes on the surface are made by the adult in emerging; while the Philip- pine adult beetle commences his attack on the outside and penetrates into and through the wood.

A curious provision of nature is to be found in certain parasitic and predatory insects which attack the Lyctus beetles as well as other insects, but cannot be depended upon to keep them under con- trol. Certain predominating wasplike parasites and adult Lyctus beetles have been found emerging from infested wood for from four to ten years. After such periods of breeding, both the Lyctus beetles and the parasites are considerably decreased in size.

There are also hyperparasites (parasites of the parasites) and ternary parasites (parasites of the parasites of the parasites).

An effective predatory enemy of the Lyctus beetle is the Clerid beetle. The larvae of the Clerid preys on the Lyctus larvae, and tfre adult Clerid pursues and devours the adult beetle. There are also insects which act as scavengers of the Lyctus beetles.

The parasitic Ichneuman fly posses what has bees termed the "most wonderful drill in the world," a slender ovipositor, in some species as much as four inches long, no larger in diameter than a fine needle and as flexible as a horse-hair. with which it bores into the hardest wood to reach the beetle larva in its burrow. The egg is laid on or under the skin of its victim which is called the host. When laid under the skin, the egg hatches and the young larva feeds upon the body of its host, leaving the vital organs until the last. When the host is about to die, the vital organs are consumed and the parasite larva enters the pupa stage, using the s'hell of the host for a home until it transforms into a fly. This attack is directed particularly against the beetle, larvae, young caterpillars, and similar insects.

An interesting side-light on insect habits is the fact that certain beetles live at times in ant and termite nests, apparently in completc harmony with these insects. In some cases this association seems to be so mutually agreeable that the ants at times regurgitate food which they give to the beetle, and the beetles do the same for hungry ants. The ants feed the larval beetles as carefully as their own, and even clean the young beetles by licking them.

Among the many methods with which nature has equipped insects with means of defense, perhaps the most unique is that of a certain ground beetle, called the Bombordier beetle, which protects itself when pursued by predatory parasites or other enemies, by discharging with an expl'osive sound, a drop of fuid wfiicb tonrs to a visible smokeJike gas on contact with the air, producing an irritating odor which so confuses its pursuer that the beetle has time to escape. The discharge,can be repeated seferal times in quick succeSsron.

In view of their activities in certain localities on the Pacifc (Continued on Page 49)

Ajontr:

(Continued from Page 46) l&-Ques. Define rot in lumber. l9-Ques. Define a knot in lumber.

Rot (decay) in lumber is a disintegration of the wood substance due to action of rvood destroying fungi.

(Authority) "Revised Practice Recommendations No. 16, U. S. Dept. of Commerce," Page 28.

Ans. A knot is a limb or branch imbedded in the tree which has be'en cut through in the process of manufacture.

(Authority ) "Revised Practice Recommendations No. 16, U. S. Dept. of Commerce," page 30.

2O-Ques. Define wane in lumber.

Ans. Wane is bark or the lack of wood or bark from any cause, on the edge or corner of the piece.

(Authority) "Revised Practice Recommendations, No. 16 U. S. Dept. of Commerce."

2l-Ques. Define saw kerf.

Ans. That portion of log or lurnber lost by sawing and thus converted into sawdust.

(Authority) "Revised Practice Recommendations, No. 16 U. S. Dept. of Commerce."

Z2-Ques. What is-"dote" in lumber?

Ans. The equivalent of rot or decay. (See question 18).

(Authority) "Revised Practice Recommendations, No. 16, U. S. Dept of Commerce," page 28.

2}-Ques. What constitutes short length lumber?

Ans. Short length lumber is that which is less than 8 feet long.

(Authority) 'The Marketing of Short' Length Lumber," IJ. S. Dept. of Commerce," Paragraph 1, Page 2.

24-Ques. What was the production of soft wood lumber for the U. S. in 1925 ?

Ans. 38 billion feet.

(Authority) "The Marketing of Short Length Lum. ber, U. S. Dept of Commerce," page 1.

25-Ques. From 1909 to 1924 did consumption of lumber in the U. S. increase or decrease and what percent?

Ans. Decreased. t9.3%.

(Authority) National Lumber Manufacturers Association Trade Extension Com. No.4.

26-Ques. From 19O9 to 1924 did the production and use of lumber substitutes increase or decrease and what percent?

Ans. Increased. 194.4%,.

(Authority) Nat. Lbr. Mfrs. Assoc. Trade Extension Com. No. 4.

Z7-Ques. From 1909 to 1924 did consumption of wooden shingles increase or decrease, and what percent?

Ans. Decreased. 54/o,.

(Authority) Nat. Lbr. Mfrs. r\ssoc. Trade Extension Com. No. 5.

28-Ques. From 1909 to 1924 did consumption of substitute roofing increase or decrease and what percent ?

Ans. Increased. 339%.

(Authority) Nat. Lbr. Mfrs. Assoc. Trade Extension Com. No. 5.

29-Ques. How does concrete construction compare in cost with standard "mill construction ?"

Ans. The "American Lumberman" of. 8-26-16 states Concrete More Expensive. The West Coast Lumber Manufacturers Assn., Seattle, 'Wash., will gladly furnish you with complete information on "mill construction."

30--Ques. What is Philadelphia fencing?

Ans. The term used in Eastern trade for 1x6 run B. C. B. 1 side.

3l-Ques. Approximately what amount in dollars is invested yearly in the erection throughout the U. S. of small houses and farm buildings?

Ans. Every year $2,000,000,000 is invested in small houses and farm buildings in the U. S.

(Authority) "The Marketing of Short Length Lumber," IJ. S. Dept of Commerce, page 4.

32-Ques. What is the estimated percentage of standard stock in a retail yard that must be degraded before it can be sold?

Ans. It has been estimated that 3%t of. the standard stock in a retail yard is degraded before it can be sold.

(Authority) "The Marketing of Short Length'Lumber" IJ. S. Dept. of Commerce, page 9.

33-Ques. In ordinary house construction what are "ribbons ?"

Ans. "Ribbons" are boards framed into the studs to support the floor or ceiling joists.

(Authority) "The Marketing of Short Length Lumber," lI. S. Dept. of Commerce, page 28.

34-Ques. In an ordinary bill of lumber covering materiat for a usual one-story "box type" house 98.45/o of. the structural stock is called for 8 feet and longer. What percentage of the total structural stock has it been determined is actually necessary in lengths 8 feet and up?

Ans. It has been determined that 80,6% of the structural stock is required 8 feet and. ap-19.94/o usable in l-foot to 7-foot lengths.

(Authority) "The Marketing of Short Length Lumber," IJ. S. Dept. of Commerce, page 16.

35-Ques. If 3xl2 No. 2 Clr&Btr Ro Green Fir costs $45,00 f.o.b. car mill taking 28/1c per 100 pounds rate of freight what is delivered 6s5f-u5u1l practice, on the above rate?

Ans. $55.0G-3x12 Common has shipping weight of 3300 pounds, 3x12 Clear 3500 pounds.

(Authority) Current West Coast Douglas Fir Price Lists.

36-Ques. What is the approved type nail for a 4o-year shingle roof ? Approximately how many nails will there be to the pound ? What sizes are most adaptable ?

Ans. Two types recommended by Red Cedar Shingle Bureau, Seattle, Wash. Hot-dipped Galvanized Cut Iron Nails. (Mfrs. W. H. Maze Co., Peru, Ill.) Hot Dipped Steel and Copper Nails. (Amer" Steel & Wire Co.) The first run 320 to 345 nails to the pound. The round nails (Amer. S. & W" Co.) (3d) 400 per pound. Approved sizes Zfd, 3d and 3ld.

(Authority) Red Cedar Shingle Bureau, Seattle, Wash.

37-Ques. If. 4x4 No. 2 Clr BetRo Green is selling at $45.00 f.o.b. car mill how much additional charge would be made if ordered V. G. ?

Ans. No extra charge-the stock is necessarily so manufactured as to comply with usual V. G. specification.

.38-Ques. Iforv many square feet will 1000 18' shingles cover, laid 5f" exposure?

Ans. 141.3 square feet.

(Authority) Red Cedar Shingle Bureau, Seattle, Wash. 39-Ques. In how many standard grades are 18" Cedar Shingles manufactured?

Ans. Four. No. 1 Perfections, No. 2 Perfections, No. 1 Eurekas. No. 2 Eurekas.

(Authority) Red Cedar Shingle Bureau, Seattle, Wash. 4O-Ques. How .many pounds ^of 2r/z-d cut -ir on -type_ nailsare required to lay 100 sq. ft. of.16" shingles 4" exposure? How many pounds of 3ld?

Ans. 27/s" of.2%d, 3% pounds of. 31d,.

(Authority) Red Cedar Shingle Bureau, Seattle, Wash.

(Continued on Page 51.)

White Brothers Open Oakland Yard On May 15

C. Harry White, vice president and general manager of White Brothers, announces that their Oakland yard will open for business on May 15.

The new yard occupies nearly three acres of ground and covers the block bounded by High, Howard and Commerce Streets. The yard is 130x275 feet with the new shed l30x15O feet. The shed is modern in structure with a concrete floor throughout. The yard is just two blocks from tide-water and has a spur track 704 feet long. The offices are very attractive; the downstairs office is finished in quartered oak and the upstairs offices are trimmed in Philippine mahogany. The yard has a capacity of nearly eight million feet of lumber.

The Oakland yard will be under the management of William T. Meyer and Walter J. Herkenham. Both have been connected with the company for many years, have had outside experience as salesmen and are well known to the hardwood trade in Northern California.

White Brothers have operated continuously in San Francisco since 1872. The oflicials of the company are: W. T. White, president; C. Harry White, vice president afid general manager; and Orven Gibson, secretary-treasurer. John A. Howatt, is sales manager of their San Francisco yard.

(Continued from Page 47) Coast at the present time, it seems appropriate to say a word about the termite, or white ant, Reticuliternes flavipes.

There are two kinds of termites, the subterranean and no.nsubterranean, and some 42 species, in the United States.

United States Departm€nt of Agriculture Farmers Bulletin No. 1472 shows the nonsubterranean, or flying termite, to be confined to localities near the seaboard from Norfolk, Va,. to San Francisco, but states that the subterranean termites are found'in nearly atl peits of the United States.

The subterranean termite is the more destructive, entering wood only through the ground, and in da.rk places, If, however, the wood is not in direct contact with the ground, the workers will build shelter tubes on the face of a wall which they cannot penetrate, until they reach the wood, returning continually to the ground to procure moisture. They cannot work without moisture, which they carry with them by means of moist excrernent mixed with earth; they are blind and avoid the light. Their shelter tubes sometimes extend as much as one and a half to two feet.

In building their shelter tubes to reach t,he wood, the blind workers remain on the inside of the tube, while non-workers or soldiers station themselves on the outside, and by striking their jaws together, make a noise intended to ward ofi the'attacks of othei insects, particularly the true ants. The subterranean termite is very destructive, and will penetrate the hardest wood.

The nonsubterranean, sexual adult termites migrate once a year; the adults then lose thcir wings and breed nerv colonies. They will attack living trees, woodwork, and even furniture. The adults which have lost their wings and the young termites, or nymphs, are the destructive forms. They do not require as much moisture as the subterranean species,

Another insect, the Black Hills beetle, (Dendroctonus ponderosa), epidemic from l9l9 to 1925 in the Kiabab National Forest,

CHAS. R. McCORMICK ON EASTERN TRIP

Chas. R. McCormick, president of the Chas. R. McCormick Lumber Co., San Francisco, is in the east on a business trip. On his way east, he stopped at the company's Portland office for a day and also visited the company's mill operations at St. Helens, Port Gamble and Port Ludlow. While in the Northrvest, he was also a visitor at the company's Seattle office.

L. ANDERSON LUMBER CO. CHANGES HANDS

Clarence Elsworth, formerly manager of the Emry Lumber & Fuel Co., at Hood River, Oregon, has purchased the yard of L. Anderson & Co. at Martinez, California. The Anderson yard is one of the old retail lumber concerns of the Bay District. Mr. Elsworth will take over the active manag'ement of the yard at once.

Prominent Lumberman Dies

Edward Everett Ayer, multi-millionaire Chicago lumberman, capitalist and philanthropist, died on May-3rd in the Pasadenl hospital. 'Mr. Ayer wai well known'in Southern California, berng one of the organizers of the League to Save the Redwoods.

Arizona, and now in certain parts of Colorado, attacks healthy and injured trees of lodge-pole and yellow pines and Englemann Spruce. Tbis beetle bores through the bark and excavates longitudinal channels in the layer betwecn the bark and the sapwood, where the eggs are deposited. The larvae excavates horizontal burrows in the inner bark and on the face of the sapr-ood, eventually completely eucircling the tree, which prevents the downward course of the sap and the tree dies. It will not attack logs or sawn lumber. This beetle is not found in Pacific Coast forests. but therd is a beetle. the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus moniicotae) which attacirs Sugar and White Pine trees. In the Kiabab National Forest, during th- recent epidemic about l2Vo of the totat stand of yellow pine, approximately 120 million board feet of stumpage was destroyed.

That this beetle problem is not a new one, is strikingly illustrated by an incident related in a recent bulletin issued by the Forest Insect Bureau of Stanford University. A giant Sequoia in Sequoia Na- tional Park, California, was struck by lightning at the age of 412 years. A wood-boring beetle (Trachykele opulenta) attacked the tree in the lightning scar, and a brood of beetles developed in the wood. Some of the beetles failed to emerge and new growth covered the scar. 1200 years later several specimens were found in the 'scar in a perfect state of preservation and are now in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. Comparing them with the present generation of the same beetle, no appreciable change in the species is evident after all these years.

In my investigation of this problem, I have received valuable help from Emanuel Fritz, associate professor of forestry of the University of California in Bcrkeley; J. M. Itiller, entornologist and Dr. H. E. Burke, associate entomologist, of Stanford University, but particularly from Dr. Burke, who has patien,tly and painstakingly responded to requests for identification 9f specimens of beetles. and for information and adv.ice regarding their life history and methods of control.