The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-11-07
TO UTILIZE WASTE LUMBER.

WASHINGTON, ID. G., Nov. 4, 1907.
Less than 80 per cent. of the average
tree as it stands in the woods comes
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 fail
and decay. The seriousness of this
on lumbermen and the users of lumber
until forests began to fail and prices
! reached a point where building opera
tons 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
halt and made it necessary to put the
whole tlee to its best use.
! The Forest Service early realized the
need of turning to account what was
thrown away, and it began investiga-
lions with that end in view. Because
of lack of facilities in Washington,
laboratories 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 Sheffield
Scientific School of Yale University.
Experimental and analytical work was
carried on, such as the Analysing of
preserved timbers, the determination
of the quantity of tanning material
4, and cellulose in various woods and
bark, experiments to discover the guam
tity of material leached out by allowing
logs to stand in water for varying peri
DDS, and studies to establish standa rds
and values of commercial creosotes.
| Work progressed even with limited
force, and shortly a laboratory was es-
/ tablished in Boston to investigate The
value for pulp purposes of various
I abundant woods, and to save the valu-
| able spruce and poplar forests for lum-
Der. The results of this work were
most encouraging. A number OF wood
/ fbres were shown to be valuable raw
material for paper. Some of these
were, so far as color, strength and vari-
Gus other qualities are concerned, Bet
ter for certain purposes than spruce.
! L
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 demon
strates the relative value of turpentine
obtained from the pine tree by various
methods, but also shows that it is pos
sible by steam distillation processes to
obtain from refuse southern pine a
grade of turpentine equal for all prac
tical purposes to gum spirits, which is
the product obtained by scarifying the
/ trunks of living trees. Circulars set
! ting forth the results in detail are now
in preparation by the Forest Service.
The Investigations of the government
to discover uses for waste material
were from the first carried on under
something of 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 Washing
ton. A building suited to the special
requirements 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 effects the timber supply.