Amador ledger., 1908-11-20
TO STUDY
TIMBER CONSERVATION.

| LINDEN IION.
The future development of the
lumber industry IN this country lies
in the direction of closer utilization
of forest products. Both forests and
practical lumbermen now agree on
this point.
just what can be done in this field
is we'll illustrated in the operations
at the mill of the Great Southern
Lumber Company, which has just re-
opened its plant at Bogalusa, Louisi-
ana. In response to the increased de-
mand for lumber after the recent
slump in business. This is perhaps
the largest sawmill in the United
States, il not in the. world, and is
capable Uf turning out the enormous
amount of 100000 feet of sawn lum-
Der board measure per day. A
reader can get fair idea of this
quantity of lumber when he is told
that its output is enough to build a
little town Of 40 houses, along with a
good sized church and school
house every day.
This company was quick to grasp
the significance of the rapid deple-
tion of timber resources. Last year
1t began cooperative investigation
IN wood utilization with the United
States forest service and arrange
ments have just been completed for a
renewal of the experiments. The
work Will be along practical lines
and will be aimed to secure a closer
utilization of the products of the
southern lumber mills and at the
same time produce a margin of profit
in excess of that obtained by the
methods which are new practiced.
The field for work along this line
is broad. 1t is we'll known that the
superior grades of lumb er are obtain
ed from old mature trees, Eprovided
they are not weakened by decay OF
other influences. In other words, a
thousand feet board measure of lum-
Der, sawed from tree two feet in
diameter. costs less and is worth
m ore than a thousand feet sawed
from a tree only eight inches in
diameter. Moreover, timber cut
from young trees usually contains
large, amount of sapwood. Ii ties.
poles, etc.. are cut from such
material. they will decay far more
rapidly than il cut from heartwood.
1t is not good business policy, how
ever, in great many cases to saw
the most valuable timber into COM
modities which are relatively low In
cost, such as ties and poles. 1t is
the intention therefore, OF the COM
pany to find out just what size and
classes of timber can he best utilized
tor the cheaper commodities when
given preservative treatment.
TO this end careful study will be
made to ascertain the amount and
value of the products sawed from
trees of different sizes and just how
each can be best utilized so as to Sc
cure greatest economy and profit.
For example. can tree eight inches
in diameter be best utilized for ties
or for flooring, and how will the
profits compare If treated with those
sold untreated? 1t seems reasonable
to suppose that the profits derived
from the sale of treated timber will
exceed those from untreated timber.
Moreover, the greater use of
chemically preserved wood will I'M
doubtedly result in that wood giving
a greater life in service. Hence, the
amount of timber cut annually in the
United States, simply to replace that
which has decayed, will be materially
decreased, and further conservation
of forest resources will result. Re-
cent estimates by the forest service
place this reduction at 10 per cent of
the total timber cut. The practical
benefits of these experiments and of
the investigations for the utilization
of sawmill waste are at once apparent.
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