The news & observer., 1905-07-28
Valuable Timber Tree in
Hardwood Bottoms.
RED GUM ON MARKET
Found in immense Area Throughout
the Eastern Part of the State.
Cheaper Than Any Other
MerchantabIe Timber.
Biq Profit i'm 1t.

A few weeks ago there was pub
lished in The News and Observer az
interview with Mr.. VIM. Dunn, of
New Bern, on the red gum, or as
some call it, sweet gum or star-leafed
gum, that is found in wonderful abun-
dance in this State. Red gum is per-
haps the commonest timber tree in
the hardwood bottoms and drier
swamps of the South and recent ex-
periments near New Bern had demon
strated this wood to be of large COM
mercial value. These were discussed
by Mr. Dunn, and the article ante
dated a bulletin issued by the United
States Department of Agriculture, on
the Red Gum. This bulletin treats
fully of the subject, and reveals the
fact that there are i'll the swamp
lands of North Carolina wealth that
was never before dreamed of, and
countless numbers of trees that are
valuable for marketable purposes have
been felled and burned as useless. But
the supply is inexhaustible, and it is
impossible to calculate the approx
mate value of the lands containing
the red gum.
Red gum grows in mixture with
W
the hardwood bottomlands of the
South. These rich, alluvial bottoms
are among the best natural farming
lands of the region. In the past the
gum, having no marketable value, has
been left standing after logging, or,
where the land has been cleared for
farming. has been girdled and allowed
to rot, and then felIed and burned as
trash. Not only were the trees a total
loss to the farmer, but from their
size and the labor required to handle
them, they were so serious an ObStruc-
ton as OFTEN to preclude the clearing
of valuable land. Now, however,
that there is a market for the timber
it will be profitable to cut the gum
with the other hardwoods and land
can be cleared more cheaply. This in
crease in the value of gum timber will
also bring more sawmills into the
South, and in many ways is going to
be of great benefit to the Southern
landowner. In logging operations
now that practically all of the hard
woods are merchantable. a cleaner
numbering job can be made, and the
value of the land for forest manage
ment will be greatly increased. Where
only a few trees in the forest are of
merchantable value, forest manage
ment is out of the question; where
nearly all are of value it viii often
pay to hold the land for second
crop.
In this country a constantly in
creasing quantity Of red gum is used
in the manufacturing of furniture.
The commoner grades are made into
drawers, frames, and backing, for
desks, bedsteads tables, etc. The furn-
iture factories in the cities use an
nually 10000. 900 and 60,000,090 board
feet of this lumber, figures which show
that red gum is becoming a thoroughly
established wood in the market.
One of the most important uses of
red gum is for interior finish. Stained
or in it's natural color it may be made
, very attractive, and when properly
seasoned fulfills every requirement of
a first-class wood for that purpose.
For the manufacture of slack bar
rcls red gum is now one of the most
important woods in the country. Prac-
tically all of the manufacturers of
slaves. headings, and hoops III the Mis-
sissippi Valley are using gum. Up to
the year 1900 elm and little cotton
wood were used for this purpose, but
with the advance IN price of these
woods a substitute had to be found,
and red gum, owing to its cheapneSs,
was eXperimentted with and found to
be quite satisfactory. The objection
was at first raised that it tended to
break in bending, but after much eX-
pertinent it was found that by steam
ing it more than cottonwood or elm,
the breakage was greatly decreased,
and at the present time the percent
age is no larger than in these other
woods.
The relative price of logs delivered
at the mill is Sc to 81 per 1000 board
feet, against 50 to SO for elm and
about $12 for cottonwood. The gum
is. therefore, 25 to so per cent cheaper
than these other hardwoods
The use of gum in the manufacture
of tight barrels, such as are used for
oil, moasses, Whiskey, etc, is now in
the experimental stage. Some few
barrels have been made, but they have
not as yet. been introduced on the
market In the experimental stage
the wood has been found easy to bend,
and being free from knots, it makes
good joint and seems to fill all nee
essary requirements.
During the last six years lumber
dealers have been introducing red
gum flooring on the market They
advertise it as lasting longer than any
other wood now used in flooring, as
having a smoother surface. and as
being easier to handle They claim
that they thoroughly dry the timber
before disposing of it to the trade. and
in this manner overcome all objections
to it,
Red gum logs can be brought from
the river, run through the saw, and