The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-10-28
LUMBER IN NEW YORK.
a TEADE AMOUNTING TO SEVENTY
MILLIONS ANNUALLY.
Sos.ir Interesting Statistic GLOW Tim
Der and Boards are ;ia.dlcd In Che Me-
sro,olis--vhorc tac Great Yards Arc
J I.ocstcd-Varyiny Dem "nds.
lSnclal Colrcspo.leace. }

fhcrc arc 2ii firms. corporations
md individuals engaged ia han
ding lumber Of which .0j are located
In New York. thirty-iiye in Brooklyn and
six in Jersey City The various divisions
Of the trade are known as exporters,
wholesalers. commission men and yard
dealers. The Kew York trido Is sub
divided ia;o ffty-onc Wholesalers twenty
nine commission dealers. fifteen dealers
in export lumber and lC5 retail yards.
where ihc general variety OF building aud
Bnanufaci airing lumber j. sold. Tho CAPT.
sal involved is placed by practical judges
al not less than Sl2.0000Oo. and the
annual sales ~ AT least $'oco0Oo0.
From these figures II viii he az
once observed that the handling Of ium'
Der in New York is q gigantic industry.
standing inferior only 20 iron ana coal
So quietly and unosteutatiorsly Is his
vaG business conducted that TIE daily
papers tad 10 comprehend is magnitude,
and while wc read detailed daily reports
Of tho cottra and coffee markets. we
rarely see ar creation Of lumber albeit
ats sales far -, that Of the commodities
named. To- acre are who ever stop 70
c0ntempia' $50 ..e amount Of timber land
Thai las b.. lcllded 10 supply the bill
ions of feet q. lumber shat have been con
suincd in tho construction Of houses.
stores, bridg aal docks in this great city,
while the .0r.owhct minor consumption for
street and elevated railways, manufactur'
lng industries. coaches carriages aud cars
as almost hcsond conception. Who ever
stops so consider that within radius Of
eight miles If oar city hall the Product
of thousand Of acres Of timber land are
submerged beneath our docks and referred
10 by the simple word pilingy
-
The seeker for reliable statistics con
corning the annual receipts Of lumber in
tho Now York market viii search in vain.
Several attempts have been made 10 com
pin such. mt from the nature of the
sradc it was iocmd TO be utterly inDossi-
bloto prepare a statement that would be
accepted by those most interested as OF
any real valcc Even if it was possible
to correctly state the amount Of lumber
reeojiod dur.ng the year. II would by no
eneans Indicate the actual amount Of Dusi-
mess transacted. as sales arc made amount
sng &c uillions of dollars annually. where
the lumber is shipped direct from the mill
10 Purchasers outside the market. In
placing the annual sales of lnmber in New
YoTk Mt $4,000 600, | simply reflect the
views OF various dealers ia the trade. who,
in an unofficial way, have obtained data
from many Of tic largest firms and from
such agreed upon III approximation for
She remainder Of the trade, not forgetting
TO throw OF q round sum 60 make the
estimate we'll within bounds.
The retail or yard trade Of New York
IS in the hands Of 1913 firms and individ-
uals, and the majority arc located along
the water lYoat On both the North and
East rivers. Lumber shipped from the
mills by csr is delivered in bulk, on light
.crs. by all the railroad lines TO any dock
within vhatais known as the lighterage
limits. which extend from the Battery TO
Sevcnty.sccoad street on the North river,
and Sixty bird street on the East river.
Beyond the limits an extra charge Is
made The Increase in value Of property
along he water front las gradually driven
tho dealers % letting on docks north Of
Four. ccntL street, where rents are less
oppressive and more ground can be nth
lied, thus rendering il unnecessary TO
pile stoc,, c.cossively high. The largest
retail lumber Yards in New York contain
from 5000 coo TO 1900 900 feet, the aver
age of al is probably not over 800, 600
feet. and the steady flow of disburse-
rnentS is made good by an equally unin-
1errnptel stream of arrivals. There are
many yard dealers who continc their deal
ings entirely TO soft woods-that is, white
pinc, spruce and lemlocli-whilc others
deal only in hard woods, and we also find
a few who combine everything in the
Plumber line 81
Ia the Wholesale trade there are firms
handling only yellow pine, that is. the
pitch pine of the southern states. Others
operate only in spruce. obtained mostly
from Maine and the provinces. few
deal exclusively in hard woods. and obtain
supplies from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky.
Tennessee the Virginias and North Caro-.
lima The hard woods OF Michigan and
Canada cut very small figure IN this
market, but what is known as state
stock, ~" that is. native wood, found largely
in IIcrlimcr and adjoining counties, finds
II ready sale among few classes OF con-
sinners. Wholesalers Gro those who pur-
chase stock from the mills and sell to
ward dealers Commission dealers secure
consignmcnts from mill men having lnE-
Der and confidence and dispose of il for
commission of per cent. Exporters arc
not lumber dealers. and the handlers Of
export lumber arc rot exporters. ms
statement may appear devoid Of sense,
but tho explanation IS simple. In all the
foreign markets there IS well defined and
unwayoring standard OF grading which
can 10 mastered only by years Of practical
contact with such duty. The handlers
of export lumber in New forl, have men
employed known as inspectors, who arc
proficient in ,ha, part of the business, and
they do nothing but sort lumber rs it ar
rivcs at the dock. and when that is done
it + piled and awaits shipment. Export.
ers are the individuals who receive orders
and act as agents for buyers in foreign
markets Such agents place orders with
a dealer in export. or shipping grades. and
when the lumber las been tailed and
loaded Oh board a vessel, the agent in New
York pays the bill. Thus the dealer in OK
port stock really has nothing TO do with
exporting, and seldom has direct dealings
with tho foreign buyer. a fair idea Of the
amount Of lumber exported from New
York may be gained from the following
figures, which represent tho amount Of
lumber exported from the port Of New
York fer tno present year up 10 Aug 81,