San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-06-30
WOOD YARDS.
How They are Operated-A Few
Points As to Where and How
Our Fuel Is Fractured.

One of the industries of this city Is that
OF the wood yard, where fuel is sawed and
split and then placed IN the market.
This industry is becoming greater every
year n at present there are, probably,
over q hundred cities and towns in this
state dependent on San Antonio for their
wood supply. Though the trade would
seem immense, still, during the dull sea-
son now on there is but little money TO be
made In the business.
In this city there are six yards run by
machinery and probably twenty axe
yards. The latter are mostly run by
Mexicans or negroes, and some Ameri-
cans. These have a stock on hand usual
ly from two to twenty-five cords. general
ly OF mesquite. The six machine
yards generally have a stock
on hand, ranging from one hundred to
seven or eight hundred cords, according
TO their size. They handle both mesquite
and post-oak wood, though the demand
for the latter is the greatest. The reason
that mesquite wood is not much in de-
mand at the yards is that Mexicans and
country people bring IL in from the coun-
try and sell it on the plaza so cheap that
the wood yards can not handle II and
gain anything in so doing. The wood
dealers herald cotton picking time with
JOY, as most of the Mexican wood vendors
20 out to pick cotton and leave the wood
Yards to make the prices. These soon go up,
especially on mesquite, and are held high
until the following spring, when the Mex
lean vendors again slaughter the prices.
The cotton picking season is fast ap-
preaching and with II the subsequent rise
in the price Of mesquite wood. Il Is sta.
ted that wood will sell during the winter
months for IS per cord for long wood and
Sc per cord for split wood.
At the present date the wood trade is at
, a stand still and many yards lave stopped
work to await the rise. Most of them
will soon begin to stock their yards for
: the winters demand and then they will
double the stock now on hand. In the
winter there are probably four thousand
cords of wood in the different yards here,
at present two thousand cords would
cover all there is in the city. The mes
quite wood used by the wood companies
is shipped to this city by railroad from
the country lying west of here, while the
postoak comes mostly from the east, also
by railroads. One of our most prominent
wood dealers has 1900 acres of land east
of here, on the 5. A. p. railroad, at Null
door station, Fayette county, which is
covered with postoak, and from where he
gets his supply. Several other wood deal
eTs here get their supplies from that
place. One wood company get theirs
from east of here. on the Sunset railroad,
which also brings il in.
Lie WOOu Is received dI In6 WOOu ydTu,
long, in box cars, and the cars are run up
to the yard near the saw. One man I'M
loads il, another hands ii to the sawyer
who saws it n another man then takes
the piece of the saw and lays IL beside
the two splitters who stand beside a
block, where large knives are raised and
dropped by steam power. They place
the sawed wood under these knives where
they are split In suitable sizes and some
times thrown on an elevator which car
ries hem out and drops them on an i'm
mense pile or IT is thrown on a pile near
by, where IL is ready for the market.
In the summer when the yards are
working they employ about twelve men
each and in the winter when business is
rushing they employ about sixteen men
each. The wages paid these men range
from 81 to N.z5 per day, according &c
their Wort
In saving the wood, an immense amount
of saw-dust is made. This is disposed o.
by some by giving it away to people tC
make horse beds, ETC., or used in fixinC
streets about the yards to make then
less muddy. Some yards mix the.saw
dust with chips and burn it under theil
boilers.
A great many of the petty vendors O
the city, i. g.. those who sell only in small
quantities, as an eXpress-wagon load
buy from the yards. These get their Woo
for about fifty cents a small load, and re
tail at rs cents, n man, persons
imagine that they are getting their Woo
cheaper than If they were buying IL Of tn,
yard direct by the cord.