St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1898-03-12
OAK is GETTING SCARCE
The Visible Supply I5 Rapidly
disappearing.
Increased Consumption During fhe
Hard Times Period on Ac-
count OF It's Being a
Cheap Wood.

No ons who 10 at all familiar with
existing conditions In the lumber trade
can fall to note that there Is already
considerable complaint OF the dearths
Of desirable oak. Both In quartered and
plain stock fairly good lots of dry oak;
are notably scarce. The leading job.
bers have had their buyers out for
months picking up anything good they
could find, and the result is that 9 very
large proportion Of tbs oak on sticks.
has already passed into second hands
and is held by the present owners for.
distribution To consumers. Mill men
in the south are cutting 1t oil the time,
but they do not have to wait until 1t
Is dry, or even partly dry. before sell.
Ing. II they choose to do SO, they can.
usually negotiate for 1t in advance OF
the saving, and ON terms that few.
years ago would have been regarded
as extremely liberal. Oak Is. perhaps,
the most readily salable OF any saw
mill product, which fact indicates that
1t is now. and Is believed likely to be
hereafter, relatively scarce article.
While there is no occasion for'alarm
rs to the present adequacy OF the oak
supply, 1t is a question II the time Gas
not come when serious consideration
should be given to the possibility, not
to say probability, that in the not dis
tant future oak may become one OF the
scarce woods. Considering the wide
distribution Of oak, this may strike
Ia, Ia
tingency, but that 1t Is not an impos-
sible result, or so distant IN point of
time as to be removed from present
consideration. is suggested at least by
the existing conditions OF demand and
supply. Oak has been called for stead
lily during most Of the hard time period.
The consumption has been large, and
has even increased, while that of
other woods has fallen below the NOR
rrgl quantity. This shows an increasr
Ing popularity and growing require
ment which, it Is obvious, must be met
from the constantly -lessening supply.
The growth Of oak is too slow to count
much In adding to our stock. Practi-
cally we are restricted for supplies to
the wood already grown and ready for
the saw. That there Is of this no In
exhaustible stock Is readily proved by
the difficulty, which has increased rap
idly within the last Ave or ten years, of
buying the standing timber In punches
large enough to make them the basis
of numbering operation. If oak cam
not be bought in quantities now, there
is no reason to suppose that it is ever
going to be any more plentiful. III it
cannot be found now, 1t never can be,
and within comparatively short time
the lumber trade and the users of oak
must fact that 1t does not ex-
list In suffl~ nifty TO warrantt the
liberal and es----
now made of it. l4AeA ---~
1t Is the conviction of those who have
given the closest study to oak that its
present market value is basedsupon an
incorrect idea of what is left, and tha'
we shall wake up some morning to ffnd
that we have sold almost for song
the most valuable OF our timber pos.
sessions. Oak, except in the finest
grades oS quartered stock, is still a
cheap. wood. Is 1t not cheap fore
variety that is In universal demand and
In only limited supply aSt. Louis Lum-
hArynns