The sun., 1905-09-03
FOREST SERVICE PROBLEMS.
A STUDY or WOODS FOR SPECIAL
USES TO BE MADE.

lSES IU nE "hDNs
Iuau,ry Into the question sf Wosd
Paycments- Cooper Need More raw
, notwithstanding scarcity q wsed
Tor Packing Bsxes and bSskcs.
The United States Forest Service has
begun study Of woods for special uses.
aud will this season take up cooperage
woods, box and basket woods. vehicle ana
implement woods and woods Tor stree1
paving.
Paving with wood. In one form or another,
has been experimented with IN the united
States for nearly seventy-five years Inc
first experience was SO unsatisfactory
that municipal engineers for long time
looked upon wood pavement with ois-
fsvor.>
Il was quiet, cheap and comfortable,
but It soon wore into holes and ruts, ana
the absorption OF street flth rendered 1t
unsanitsry, while the wood speedily de-
cayed and had to be replaced. In recent
yeara, however, both knowledge and prac-
tise have improved
Il has been discovered that; with the
right selection and treatment Of woods
and the right method Of laying, wood paw
ing can be made successful; that q good
pavement, Ike a good house, must be built
on q sound foundation, and that both alb
sorption and decay can he prevented IN
the wood by proper chemical treatment
Consequently a revival Of wood paving
has begun and many o! the larsest cities
are again trying 1t.
Few people realize the enormous cost
and importance OF street pavements.
Measured by the money invested, street
paving b probably the most important
sinRle class Of engineering construction
except steam railroads, the amount in
vested to date being estimated by COM
petent authority as approximately &Sl5,-
900 900 for the United States.
Wood pavement Is now made almost ex-
clusively Of one or two Of the best construc-
ton woods, and II II should become popu-
lar the drain upon these woods would
be seriously increased. The Forest Service
wisnes to ascertain II there are not among
the various cheaper and more abundant
species some which can by proper treat
ment he substituted for the more valuable
f This study viii involve three principal
lines Of inquiry. The experience OF cities
which have wood pavements will be COM
pared. Laboratory tests will be made OF
various woods. Finally. the supply and
location Of promising substitutes Will De
The coopersge industry Is one OF the
most important branches OF forest utili-
zation. According to the twelfth census
the annual value OF the staves. hoops
and heads made by the mills hs, Is over ;bon ;bo
500 600 barrels, kegs, tubs and similar
articles are manufactured daily In the
United States.
Until a very recent date the woods chiefly
used for oooperaae were the siow-growing
hardwoots such az oak, elm, maple, ASH.
beech and birch. but within the last few
years cottonwood, poplar and latterly gum
have been substituted to some extent,
owing TO the diminishing supply OF the
species first exploited.
rial ia felt strongly by the manufacturer,
who finds II yearly moro difficut to obtain
rood stock Two factors have contributed
TO bring abont this condition first, the In
crease in the cooperage manuiacfure.
which has developed enornoos,y IN me pas.
waStef,il methods employed in cutting,
which have left the forests In deporahle
condition and often wasted more material
than was rsed. Cutting for cooperage
purposes Is far moro wasteful than Is Or
The Forest Service in taking up this
question aims to make it's investigations
OF practical value to the cooreraRe industry
and jts operators. 1t Is planned to bring
together information reRs rting the supply
OF raw material. and the best methods ~
man,,fa cture and the VI ELECTS, of wastetul
methods on the forest and possible remedies
PARTICULAR attention will also he given to
a study Of the properties OF woods, with
the view Of recomnen ding substitufea
which are more abundant than the species
now used for cooperaPe.
IN the United Stntes for ps cking bcxes end
baskets can not be given In exactNPures.
hut n ia nuoh greater than is generally
in,a zine The State Of MICHIGAN alone
has forty-eight box making establishments,
With an snnual product valued at s2272o2l.
other States have vet larger output,
There In hardly business IN tne whole
affected by Q serious shortage In hacking
box msterial. The growing scarcity and
conseo,,ent high price Of most OF the
woods now used In this industry make neoes-
sary q search for other suitable woods
end for means OF regulating their supply.
met and reasonable. profit be insured
10 the ma nufactur without overta king the
The study made by the Forest Service
will include the questions OF supply and
demand as regards woods now used. the
introduction Of other woods as possible
substitutes for the scarcer species, the
Demands OF the trade, the physical and
mechanical properties required In box
and basket woods, and the methods OF
manufa acturing them.
Artificial Eyebrows In Demand.
r.o,, tbc Cbicono TribunC