Price of Timber.

Hokitika Guardian, 30 December 1922, Page 4

Price of Timber.

WELLINGTON, Dev 27. I’u rtic u 1 nrs of revisions recently made in timber prices by tile Main Trunk Timber Trade Protection Guild wore made available to a “Times” reporter yesterday by tile secretary of the guild (Mr Arthur Seed). He said that at a general meeting at Tailiape readjustments in prices were made, and these would affect all the district frpm Auckland, to Wellington. “The trend of the trade for some considerable time past has been in the direction of a good demand lor heart and better class timbers, while there lias been a poor demand for ordinary building and second-class timbers.” .stated Mr Seed

“An effort was made in August by readjustment of prices to divert the consumption of timber into lower grades, but it was found tiiat the same disparity in demand continued. Hence it became necessary to increase the price of the heart and better quality 1 in.c#> and again lower the prices of those qualities which account for a

large proportion of the cut of the log. Another reason for the cut was to try and encourage the use of narrow flooring in preference to the almost unil'crin Gin. x fin. flooring. It was decided to make a substantial reduction in tho price of Sin. x lin. o.b. and heart mafai for flooring. “In connection with this, Dr Tiemann (of the American State Forest Service), when recently in New Zea-

land asked why New Zealanders used Gin x lin flooring, and in doing so showed unsightly nail boles. He mentioned that in American houses the floors were generally the pride of the house, and the narrow flooring was always used because it showed loss shrinkage and did not curl at the edgets. Moreover, the nailing was done in such a manner that the holes did not show. If the use of this narrow flooring can be encouraged in New Zealand it will tend materially to bring about that higher utilisation which it is the effort of the State Forest and Sawmiller’s Federation to accomplish, for it is a great deal easier to get tlio quantity of narrow -.vidtl.s in any particular quality than it is to get the Wider boards.” Speaking .of /the reductions, Air Seed said that in ordinary building .matai, they were from 5s 6d per hundred superficial feet in Sin. x lin. flooring to Is Gd in scantling sisses. In heart of matai there had been a reduction. of 4s Gd per 10011 in Sin. x 3_iu. flooring, and 3s in Tough heart flooring and 'weather boards. Sehond-.class scantling in riiiiu lias been reduced Gd per 100 ft, and rough heart boards by Is per hundred. Increases in both riniu and matai were Is per 100 ft on wide boards in ordinary building timber, to 3s m clean quality. In the heart lines, the increase had been from Is per 103 ft on wide framing quality boards to 8s <>u in wide sizes in clean heart. “The whole, readjustment lias been made with a due consideration ol the proportion or percentage of each quality produced from the log,” Mr faced continued. “Though the increases in some lines appear to he rather much, the quantity of these qualities produced from the log is so small that tin' ultimate effect el the readjustment to building will practically leave the timber costs as they were before.”