The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1907-12-20
TO PREVENT TIMBER WASTE
BY Our WaStefm Methods in the Past
Only Half the Tree Was Used

Less tnan oU per cent. OF the aver
age tree as it stands in the wood come:
into the market in the form OF mer-
charitable products, according to the
statistics of government experts. The
remainder is allowed to go to waste.
Some trees supposed to be of little
value have been habitually neglected
altogether and left in the woods to fall
and decay.
The seriousness Of this waste ques-
ton made little impression on lumber
men and the users of lumber until for
ests began to fail and prices reached a
point where building operations were
handicapped. Lumbermen have too
often gone into the richest forests Of
the country and merely skinned the
cream" taking only choice parts of
the trees and wasting the remainder.
Scarcity has now called a halt, and
made it necessary to put the whole tree
to its best use.
The Forest Service early realized the
need Of turning to account what was
thrown away, and it began investiga-
tons with that end in view. Because
of lack of facilities in Washington, la
boratories were established in other
cities, the location of which seemed to
be most advantageous for the particu-
lar study concerned The first of these
was at New Haven, Connecticut, in
the old chemical laboratory of the Shelf
field Scientific School of Yale univer-
sity. Experimental and analytical work
was carried on, such as the Analysing
of preserved timbers, the determine
ton of the quantity of tanning mate
rial and cellulose in various woods and
and banks, experiments to discover the
quantity of material leached out by al
lowing logs to stand in water for vary
ing periods, and studies to establish
standards and values of commercial
creosotes.
Work progressed, even with limit
ed force, and shortly a laboratory was
established in Boston to investigate the
value for pulp purposes OF various
abundant woods, and to save the valu-
able spruce and popular forests for
lumber. The results of this work were
most encouraging. A number of
wood ibres were shown to be valuable
raw material for paper. Some of these
were, so far as color, strength, and va
rious other qualities are concerned,
better for certain purposes than spruce.
The wood distillation industry was
also given careful study with most sat-
isfactory results. An expert made an
extended tour of investigation through
the South, and furnished an exhaustive
report on the condition Of the industry
of that section. Later experimental
studies resulted in a method of chemi-
cal examination which not only dem
onstrates the relative value of turpen-
tine obtained from the pine tree by va
rious methods, but also shows that 1t is
possible by steam distillation processes
to obtain from refuse Southern pine
grade of turpentine kequal for all
practical purposes to gum spirits, which
is the product obtained by scarifying
the trunks of living trees. Circulars
setting forth the results in detail are
now in preparation by the Forest Ser
vice.
The Investigations of the govern
ment to discover uses for waste material
were from the first carried on under
something of a disadvantage because
of laboratories being in different cities.
Consolidation of forces and close CO.
operation were almost impossible. This
was remedied last July by the transfer
of headquarters to Washington. A
building suited to the special require
ments of the work was erected, in
which the apparatus previously used
elsewhere has been installed. Here
the field OF inquiry will be extended to
cover additional phases OF the waste
problem as it affects the timber supply
A Chosen One