Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-07-15
ON irI,. Wh~iiNuEoN TER.
FRIDAY ENEG. JtLY J., ISL
Economy in Timber.

Economy i'll Timber.
While p party Of gentlemen uu
the Oiymiia-Tenino train, a few day
ago. were expressing their aIillra-
ton Of the beautiful timber which
Was being hauled by iail to t;de-wa-
ter, the question arose, how inEch
one huge log would "scale at the
mill, and finally Mr.. Turner, the
owner OF one Of the most extensive
camps Oh the Sound, WAS appealed
to for authoritative infOi nation.
His figures, TO the surpris" OF ali,
were considerably less tLan TIC low
est estimate. Noting the sutpri> G
with which his statement was le-
ccived, lie explained the custom
which prevails on Puget Sound of
estimating the capacity OF log '
the number of iuchcs it will square
at the small end; thus rendering,
sometimes, fully one-third of the
cubical contents of ''stica" a total
loss to the logger, the cutting and
handling of which costs him just as
much as the portion for which ne
receives pay. We are aware that as
long az slabs are burned at the mills.
to get rid of them, this system must
prevail, but is there not something
radically wrong in business involv-
ing so much loss of material capable
of an infinite variety of useful OBJ
jec!s?
The most convincing proof we have
that this prodigal waste is sin
which will have to be atoned for in
after years, is the present condition
of the once supposed-to-be mex
haustible pine forests of Maine, and
the increasing scarcity of timber in
the Lake States; threatening evil
which became SO alarming ten years
ago, that the Government inaugural
ed measuresto encourage tree culture
and offered liberal premiums rs an
inducement for labor to secure as q
blessing for posterity a product we
enjoy without ever a thought OF
stint. In Maine, there are no longer
trees large enough for masts of a
ship, and the logs that are driven
down her rivers are so small that
they will scarcely bear the weight OF
the men who manage the RATS.
This is the result of an overdraft,
long continued, upon comparatively
a small area to supply domestic and
foreign demand for lumber. There
is no waste in the Pine Tree State
now that the result predicted is be-
ing fulfilled.
The growing evil has suggested
other means of relief. Various econ
omic industries have beeninaugurate,,
on the northern border with the view
of utilizing the waste material. An
Ottawa (Canada) paper, from which
an exchange makes an excerpt, says
that slabs are now almost invariably
worked up into fence pickets and
lath, and have become a source of
wealth to the mill-men, paying about
as we'll as the lumber itself. The
edgings remain, which are cut into
four-foot lengths and sold for fire.
wood. The blocks even are turned
to use, the best of which are sold to
match manufacturers, and patent
fre-hohter is made from the very
saw-dust, remaining after the fur
naces are supplied with fuel. Il q
slab is thick enough to produce an
other board, a special machine stands
ready to slice it off; then the latl
mill selects its proportion, and in
some places pail and tub factory
takes what is left, and still there are
chips and blocks which may be made
to yield golden revenue by the APP
plication of American enterprise and
Yankee skill. The match blocks in
the Ottawa mills sell at S. per cord,
and as the product is about $50 pei
month, it will be seen that from the
last and least of these saving pro.
cesses, a profit of 5000 is derived.
The time may not be far distau,
when our own unrivaled forests will
be robbed of their majestic growth.
Already the good logs which fastidi-
Gus lumbermen on Puget Sound in
sist upon having, must be hauled as
many miles as twenty years ago they
had to be rolled rods into the Sound
and in another decade probably q
second-grade of timber will, from
necessity, be accepted. AS one
means of deferring this evil as we'll as
of affording some return for actual Ia
Dor, we suggest that consideration
be directed towards the methods
which equally favored districts have
been obliged to adopt and which
have resulted in such satisfactory re-
turns.
The Associated press reporter
telegraphs all over the country that
" the English custom of locking up
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