Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-04-10

Inn
ttn... ulhs 80
Twelve. or muev. 90 tai
timber land was practically WORTHLESS
and could he purchased, in tracts t,
suit, at anywhere from cents to s
per acre. 1t was only when the hm
bermen of Michigan, Wisconsin an,
other northern states began to come
| in here To make investments tina
] these great forests had any value il
| the eyes of their owners. The rail
| road companies are responsible fol
| tatiOn facilities the great part Of the
| forests would still be worthless. Ia,
lands along the rivers and streams
were stripped by local lumbermar
long ago. Because of the growing de
mand the prices of pine lands in tho
South have steadily advanced, until
today those most conveniently located
are selling as high as high as 500 All
acre, wnile the average would b.
somewhere between Sc and 50 an acre
Quite phenomenon may be motto
ed The land is worth more after II
Is cleared than while the timber is
standing, and II yields two or three
revenues before it finally passes into
the hands OF the honest farmer. 40
plants 1t to cabbages and strawber-
ries and peach orchards. Ordinary
pine lands costing $40 an acre, " i'll
yield from 500 TO $50 worth of lum.
ber; from So to 50 an acre In turpen-
tine and will then sell for 500 an acre
to the farmers.
Progressive men have found a new
source of revenue and are erecting
plants to utilize the stumps and other
waste portions of the trees which can.
not be cut into lumber.
What is known as dry dstillery''
can be erected for $4,000 and up.
ward, according to the size, and with
It the stumps and waste of the trees
can be turned into tar. cresote and
turpentine, while the residue makes
The very best OF charcoal These by
products, whicn are all clear gain and
come from material that is now aban-
doned as waste, pay enormous reve-
mes They are worth more than the
timber Only a few people have thus
far utilized the stumps and other
wasteage in this way. but several pro-
gressive men have SHOWN how large
the profits are, and are thus teaching
sawmill owners now to double their
profits. Other experiments are being
made with sawdust. which thus tar
have not proved so successful, al
though the chemists are very sanguine
OF discovering a process by which It
may be made as valuable for turpen-
tine and creosote as the stumps.
There are now fourteen large saw
mills on the Mobile and Ohio railroad,
with an output of S0.000,000 feet a
year; fifty on the New Orleans and
Northeastern railroad, with an output
of 100000, 900 feet; twenty-three on
the Louisville and Nashville railroad,
with an output of 100000. 900 feet,
thirty-fcur ON the Illinois Central, with
an output of $50 900 900 feet, and sew
enty on the Gulf and Ship Island, with
an output of 350000,000 feet. This
makes the total output, with a few
other scattering mills, about 1,250, 900
900 feet year, watch at $40 per thou
sand is worth sl2.500.0OO.
In 1904 Pensacola shipped to for.
eIgn countries 800 100000 feet of tim.
her and lumber more than any other
port in the United States. Mobile
came second with 100000, 900 feet, and
Gulfport, Ship Island and other places
in this neighborhood, which draw from
the same forests, shipped about 300,-
100000 feet, This brings the exports
up to about s4O,0OO,OOO feet. leaving
something over 100000, 900 feet which
was consumed in this country.
TIE small trees are chopped up into
railway ties and many of them are
shipped abroad, but Brunswick, Ga,
is the big market for that trade. Last
year l24, ,637, ,734 ties we're shipped
from Brunswick. In 1908 the total
was 1872. SOS ,2i7. which. at the rate OF
1000 ties to the mile, will build 44,-
2l6 miles of railroad.
The river banks in Washington and
Clark counties, Alabama. furnish the
cedar for nearly all of the lead pencils
and pen holders manufactured in the
United States and Europe. The sup
ply of soft red cedar required for this
nuIppHt III Nu' ruIOptdu lOl'SAS "ho
exhausted several years ago. and now
the Faber family of Germany, which
manufactures more than one-half the
pencils used In all the world gets its
cedar near Mobile. The trees grow
scattered. and cruisers are sent out
to look for them. When found they
are cut and shipped to mill on Three
Mile creek. on the south side of Mo
bile, where the cedar is cut into lit
tie strips half the size of lead pen
ell and tied up in punches to be ship
ped abroad. When they reach the
factories in Germany they are cut
into seml-cyllnders, or octagonal
shape. the grooves are cut and filled
with plumbago and the two pieces are
Glued together and polished. The
same kind of cedar was formerly used
for buckets but has lately become too
rare and expensive. A considerable
quantity was formerly used also foi
wardrobes and chests. because the
odor keeps the moths away. and even
now you can buy trunks veneered on
the inside with IT, The cigar box ce-
dar comes chiefly from Cuba and is
VI much coarser grain and different
fplpr