New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-21
THE ARTS OF A LUMBER YARD
SCIENCE IN MAKING THE GREAT STACKS
OF TIMBER
DANGER ATTENDING THE WORK OF THE
sTACKER-INTEREsTING THINGS ABOUT
PLACE THAT At FIRST GLANCE
SEEMS PRCsAIc ENOUGH
IE WORK OF THE

II would certainly seem to the uno5cervant
man that of all places in the void city lum.
her ward was the dul,est. Tina! there is romance
ar any conceivable iEteres. IN heaps Of timber
stacked nigh up in the a!r, he would hardly
admit Even those who get their bread and but
ter in the trade acknowledge no enthusiasm and
hardly know how 20 describe what their work.
men do. Until you enter into its mysteries.
therefore the lumber trade is very rrosaic and
a lumber yard but sleepy place, hardly worth
q moments notice
Once in amid the stacks. however the point
Of view changes. What at distance seemed
simply wood without distinctions now is seen to
be timber Of many different sorts Each variety
has its heap or heaps; each heap Is now in
process Of seasoning Some OF these stacks
may lie there for months, some even for years.
| growing meanwhile more and more valuable
For il is age sun baths. the eject OF the At
mosphere that improve lumber week N and
week out A lumber yard, carclessly arranged
| as it may seem to be, is nevertheless tho per-
lection Of precision Its heaps are by TO means
lust wood" as they appear to the casual
| passerby On the contrary. they are sores Of
varieties. each subject to some especial treat
ment each piled in some especial manner, some
to wait over 50 many weeks TO be sold at Ger.
tain figure, so many more weeks II designed to
bring a higher price.
| Towering up in the air, thirty, forty feet
sometimes fifty. again even sixty. stretch these
lumber heaps Each variety needs treatment
NJ i,s own. Some must lie in the open air. ex.
posed 10 all fashions OF wind and rain, others
after a little time must be put under sort Of
covered sheu-a sned that has only back and
"eyehrow" roof that projects far over in sort
Of hood and allows a free and constant circula.
ton OF wind and air.
SCIENCE IN TUE STACKING
Verify. there is science in this stacking OF
wood a science that does not appear or show
itself at the first glance. The Zimmerman is not
ONLY he who up in the North Woods in the far
East or West, down South or in the tropics Sc.
lects cuts down and hews but quite as much
the man in the heart Of New York City who
heaps M the sticks. and 10y arranging them
deft and knowing just what they reed cares
for and cures them until out they come well.
seasoned lumber.
There is even trick and pretty art in stack.
irg these lengths OF wood each hundreds OF
pounds in weight. Danger hangs over the men
who mount the piles and from their elevated
perches pull UP swing down the huge
is not easily preserved The weigh, Of the
stick" may cause him to topple at any instant
Especially when letting down" must he see to
4, that he lets go at precisely the right second,
else the stick" will drag him along with il,
despite his efforts and struggles. on top Of a
lumber pile very truly does the city Zimmerman
take his lie into his own hands. And ye, such
is their skill that an accident seldom happens
|
clumsy and so h., avy with the ease Of Japan.
csc master OF tricks. The lengths Il wood are
handed up end first The man On the
ground raises one men Oh staging above
grasp IT, draw il up and swing It's end 10 stag.
ing beyond. Two s,agings usually suffice When
pile is not itG topmost one is all that is neces-
sary. These stagngs are built out from the lum.
Der itself and form what would seem 70 be pre-
carious and unsafe platforms. They are none
too steady at the best Yet. somehow. they never
break and the one danger man has 70 fear Is
losing his balance and falling from them.
PRICES OF VARIOUS KINDS.
A lumber stack OF we-s,asoned oak some
thirty feet high may be easily worth Sl""
One-inch maple (for the purposes # compare
som that has laid in stack for ore yea: "oud
be valued at about one-haf the price OF the oak
Spruce again. is figured. under similar cohdl'
! tions Of seasoning al about three-ifihs the ns'
ure OF the maple. But all this depends Olrcu"'
stances govern the value Of the WOODS Inc
seasoning" gradually drives ou' the water anu
reduces the weight. II is well worth knowing a.
an independent fact. that 10 yer cent oil '"e
weight Of a green tree consists Of water
The technical terms abou, lumber yard are
curious and interesting. heap OF woo' %