Materials used.-Lumber enters very little into the construction of dwelling houses in the United Kingdom, most of them being either brick, plain or stucco, or concrete. Some experiments have been .made with wood and steel houses, but these are largely temporary expedients to meet the housing emergency.

Tile is the favorite roofing, having practically superseded slate, the use of it having been influenced to a large extent by the garden city movement.

Northern, eastern, and central European spruce and pine, and Canadian spruce, are all used in building construction, the quality depending upon the type of house to be built, the principal parts and sizes used being as follows:

Ground floor.-Joists, 2 by 4 inches; plates, 2 by 4 inches (in best construction plates are creosoted); flooring, 1 by 6.

First floor.-Joists, 2 by 7 inches and, to a lesser extent, 2 by 6 inches; plates, 3 by 4 inches; flooring, 1 by 6 inches and sometimes 7% by 6 inches.

Ceiling. Joists, 2 by 4 and 5 inches; rafters, 2 by 4 inches; plates, 3 by 4 inches; ridge, 114 by 7 inches; hips, 11⁄2 by 9 inches.

In order to take the tiles the rafters are covered either with 3/4 or 1 by 4-inch featheredge boards. In the better class of house the slating and tile battens are laid on a 34-inch boarded roof covered with felt, while in the cheaper ones the battens are laid directly on the bare rafters.

The walls are generally of plaster on sawn lath, the most popular size being 1 by inch, but the shortage of plasterers has caused a considerable increase in the use of wallboard during the past few years.

Most floors are of Swedish or Norwegian softwoods, 1 by 6 inches being most in demand for this purpose. Strange to say, square-edged lumber is largely used for flooring, only hardwood or flooring of southern pine and Douglas fir being tongue and groove.

The average subsidized house requires about 9 doors, 7 interior and 2 exterior. Douglas fir doors from the United States are most popular, followed, to a lesser extent, by pine from Sweden.

In addition to the ordinary brick, concrete, and stucco houses, some of wood and also of steel have been built under municipal housing schemes, the latter principally in Scotland. These, however, were largely approved by the authorities on account of the shortage of building labor, but by 1927 this shortage had been met, and it is very doubtful if, when the present contracts have been completed, orders for any more of these alternative methods of building will be approved.

BUILDING AND LOAN SOCIETIES

Since the war, owing to economic conditions, a greater proportion of the middle classes are owning their own homes and, as a result, the services of building and loan societies are being utilized to an increased extent. According to the latest report of the Registrar General, there were in 1927 a total of 1,066 building societies in Great Britain, having a membership of 1,257,000, mortgage assets of £171,220,815, and total assets of nearly £194,000,000. During the previous 12 months, the membership had increased by over 100,000, showing an increased understanding of the convenience of house purchasing through building societies.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

In spite of the large number of dwellings that have been erected, there is still a great shortage of those for the wage-earning class. According to those in close touch with the situation, it will take at least another five years before the shortage is made up. It is not considered, however, that the boom conditions that have existed during the past few years will continue, but a steady activity in house building may be reasonably anticipated.

HEAVY CONSTRUCTION

Offices, bank and apartment buildings, factories, warehouses, churches, and schools, are either of steel or of reinforced concrete faced with stone or brick. Very little wood is used in their construction apart from that required for temporary work, except for flooring, which has been covered in the section on "Planing-mill products."

For concrete forms, large quantities of softwood lumber, usually 14 or 11⁄2 inches thick, are used, any inexpensive variety being used; and, while tight knots are not considered a defect, it is essential that the boards be square edged.

Temporary scaffolding, which is erected for every building, whether large or small, under construction in Great Britain, requires very large quantities of poles, putlogs, and scaffolding boards. To protect the public from the danger of falling material, temporary platforms are generally built over the sidewalk when a city building is being erected; these platforms are also used as a place to store material, such as brick and cement. Southern pine timber is always used for the supports of these platforms, its superior qualities making it preferred to any other wood for this purpose.

READY-CUT HOUSES

Since the armistice great efforts have been made by American, Swedish, and Norwegian manufacturers of ready-cut houses to place them on this market in view of the great housing shortage. While several municipalities approved their use in housing schemes and experimental houses were erected, they have not been entirely satisfactory and it is very doubtful if any additional ones will be built. The only demand at present for ready-cut houses is for inexpensive seaside bungalows in out-of-the-way places and cricket and football pavilions, but the total business is exceedingly small as, for any building of a permanent character, brick is always preferred.

RAILROADS

Next to building and construction it is probable that the railroads annually consume more lumber than any other industry in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately there are no data available, so that it is impossible to give any figures as to the quantity used. There are about 20,000 miles of main-line railroad and, with the exception of a few hundred miles, it is grouped into four systems. All railroads are privately owned, there being none under Government control.

METHODS OF PURCHASE

All major purchases are made by the chief stores superintendent by tender, particulars of which are advertised in the public and trade press. Tenders must be made on the railroad company's printed form, which must not be altered. While not specifically mentioned in the tender, the ethics of the British lumber trade do not permit either foreign shippers or their agents to submit tenders, but they must pass through importers. American firms interested in this business, therefore, should bear this in mind and not attempt to approach the railroad companies direct but rather submit offers through their accredited agents.

The following are the general conditions applying to contractors for the supply of lumber issued by one of the leading British_companies; and while each railroad uses its own form, the one shown may be taken as applying to all. It might be added that the results of these tenders are never made public, so that it is not possible to ascertain from official sources either the names of the successful bidders or price accepted.

CONTRACT FOR THE SUPPLY OF LUMBER

1. The contractor shall supply such of the timber comprised in contractor's tender as is included in the company's acceptance of the tender at the prices quoted by the contractor. Delivery to be effected at the contractor's risk and expense into trucks at the station named in the tender, consigned as directed but not before inspection. The company reserves the right of accepting any tender for a portion only of the quantities offered of any timber mentioned herein, and of making as many contracts as they think fit. The company does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender.

2. The contractor must state in the tender the time in which he undertakes to commence and complete delivery of the timber, and the timber must be delivered within the time stated.

3. The contractor shall notify in writing the company's divisional or district stores superintendents named on the order the place in Great Britian where and when the timber may be inspected before delivery, and shall there produce such timber for inspection. No timber to be loaded up or dispatched until it has been selected by the company's inspector, but such selection shall not be deemed an acceptance or affect the provision contained in condition 4 hereof. Timber must be delivered within seven days after selection by the inspector.

4. Any timber found, either on receipt or subsequently, to be inferior in quality, in any manner defective, or not in accordance with this contract, will be rejected, whether it be the whole or any portion of a delivery, and returned to the contractor at his own risk and expense; contractor (if required) to replace such rejections within a reasonable time.

5. Ends supplied with fair average specification parcels will be paid for at three-fourths the price quoted herein for full lengths.

6. If the contractor fails to supply any of the timber purchased, or shall omit to notify in writing the company's divisional or district stores superintendent that the timber required can be inspected, or fail to produce such timber for inspection, or shall fail to deliver in accordance with this contract within seven days after the selection of any timber, or shall supply any timber of an inferior quality, or in any manner defective or not in accordance with this contract, the company shall in any of the said cases have power to purchase from any other party and charge the contractor with the difference (if any) between the cost of the timber so purchased and the price under this contract and deduct the same from the moneys which may be due or subsequently become due to the contractor, or the amount of such difference may be recovered as a debt.

7. If the contractor shall commit any breach of this contract in any respect whatsoever, he shall compensate the company for all loss and damage which the company may sustain thereby, and the company shall have power (without prejudice to the company's rights and remedies in respect of such default) to terminate the contract at any time by notice in writing.

8. Separate invoices in duplicate to be sent to the divisional or district stores superintendent named on the order, simultaneously with the dispatch of the timber. The reference and number of the order to be quoted in each invoice.

9. A general statement of account to be sent the divisional or district stores superintendent named on the order within seven days after the end of each month, for all timber supplied in the preceding month, and in which all outstanding claims must be included, or they will not afterwards be admitted.

10. Payment by the company will be made at the end of the month following the month in which delivery is effected, if the timber is, in the opinion of the company's divisional or district stores superintendent, in accordance with the contract, subject to a reduction of 22 per cent discount, which contractor shall take off each invoice.

The railroad companies are exceedingly strict in their inspection methods, so much so that the supplying of their needs has become a special branch of the lumber trade catered to by a comparatively_few large importers thoroughly conversant with their requirements. Further, a large proportion of the lumber purchased must be cut to special lengths and sizes, requiring sawmill facilities on the part of the successful bidder, as the cost of having this done at custom mills would be prohibitive.

PERMANENT WAY

Ties are naturally the largest wood item entering into the upkeep and renewal of permanent way, and these have been thoroughly covered under that heading.

Unlike in the United States, rails in Great Britain are not laid direct on the ties but rest in cast-iron blocks known as "chairs" which are in turn bolted to the ties. The rails are held in position by means of six-sided wedges or "keys," as they are called, made either of teak or native oak. When of teak they are imported in a finished state.

An illustration of a key is shown in the section on teak. Several sizes are used, 24 by 3% by 6 or 7 inches long being greatly in demand. As an illustration of the great number of keys used it may be added that one railroad alone estimated the requirements for 1928 at about 5,500,000.

While some railroads use galvanized-iron bolts to fasten the chair to the tie, others use wooden ferrules and treenails, the former being either of teak or native oak, while the latter are of oak only. Both ferrules and treenails are used in various sizes and must be manufactured according to templates and gauges approved by the railroad engineer.

ROLLING STOCK

According to the annual report furnished by the Minister of Transport, the number of passenger, restaurant, and sleeping cars (exclusive of those operated by electricity) on hand as of December 31, 1925, was 46,486, of Pullman cars 177, and in addition 21,608 cars of a miscellaneous character such as mail, baggage, or horse cars. The number of freight cars of all descriptions totaled 721,359, having a tonnage capacity, excluding brake cars, of 7,602,942 long tons (2,240 pounds). As the smaller freight cars wear out they are being replaced by ones having a capacity of 12 long tons or over, which is reflected in an increase in the average capacity per car as compared with the previous year from 10.58 tons to 10.75 tons. The total number of cars (other than special types) of 20 tons and over was 25,008 as compared with 22,790 in the preceeding year.

Besides their own, the railroads also hire some cars from private individuals and these numbered 2,284 on December 31, 1925. In addition to those either owned or hired by the railroad companies there were 11,010 privately owned cars registered during 1925 to run on the railroads of Great Britain. It is interesting to note that the average load per car for all descriptions of freight cars was 5.5 long tons during 1925. Only the privately owned freight cars are standardized and must be constructed according to the standard specifications of the railway clearing house. The majority of these

consist of 12-ton cars for general freight and coke and 12 and 20 ton mineral cars largely used for the transportation of coal.

CAR BUILDING

Railroad equipment in Great Britain is manufactured and repaired both by the railroad companies themselves and in private carbuilding plants. Practically all the passenger cars and about onehalf the freight cars used are built in railroad shops. The other half, consisting principally of mineral cars (coal, road material, asphalt, oil, etc.), is built by private companies. There is also an important export business in both passenger and freight cars, particularly to South America, South Africa, and other British Dominions. The principal car shops operated by the railroads themselves are located in Derby, Wolverton, Earlstown, Newton Heath, Stoke-on-Trent, York, Heaton, Darlington, Dukinfield, Stratford near London, Doncaster, Swindon, Eastleigh, Lancing, and Ashford. In addition to these there are a number of smaller plants located in different parts of the country.

The principal car-building plants privately owned are in Birmingham, Sheffield, Nottingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Lincoln, Cardiff, and Gloucester, many of them being quite extensive and employing a large number of hands.

The car-building plants of Great Britain are equipped with modern machinery and are an important part of the woodworking industry.