The Opelousas courier., 1908-01-18
REDUCE WASTE
OF TREE

- AyHc lllS44 va AN
the Importance of praeticlng
loomy in the utilization OF
&.lh,ct more than the lumbermen
his country. Such has not al
IN been the case, but the rapid
.rletion of the forests during the
III decade and the consequent
Eavance in stumpage prices has
E,.da necessary the reduction OF
lsaste in order to insure the pros
I.,,tv Of the business. So far,
s;da from reducing waste in
Fao5s. practically all efforts
4ave been directed to better utili-
Bst;on Of the log of the tree
<s,n,lgh the introduction OF ma
Bbinery which works up the prod
Ela with less waste.
Enmbermen have for years been
h.,fecting their machinery so as to
|sdI1ee the waste in manufactur-
81 laos into lumber. The old-fash-
gasad. vertical, stif-back saws
<sbieh were operated by water
&sawar made a cut almost half an
$reb wide. Then came the circular
EaTs. which greatly increased the
Ened of saving, and reduced the
Bgsste IN kerr. These have now
psn supplanted by modern band
[sgs. which in some cases make a
81 Of not more than 1-8 of an
Rnsh vide, and revolves with great
Enepd. With the saw, all of the
Tier parts of mill machinery have
EhoVn marked improvement.
This condition has been brought
Rhout by the ever increasing de-
nand for greater economy and
ehsaper and quicker methods of
manufacture. Waste in lumber
~ has always been an important
|Unsideration, but has become far
more so of late on account OF the
yeyv rapid depletion of the forests.
Competition has also greatly IN
creased until it is only those lum-
sbernen who have kept pace with
Smodarn conditions that are able
Ito operate with success.
These changed conditions have
completely revolutionized the log
Rging methods of several of the
largest lumber companies in the
South. Instead of telling the tree
and saving it into logs in the
woods, they simply trim off the
branches, and haul in the whole
|nee. It is then thrown into a log
pond, picked up on endless chains,
and sawed into logs Of any desired
length. One concern in the
South with which the Forest Ser
|nce has been cooperating has
built a separate mill for this pur-
lose. The savings in the actual
|nerchantable contents and cost
BIZ manufacture are considerable,
knd more than pay for the initial
Ind upkeep costs of the mill.
Another feature Of the business
which is just beginning to be ap-
preciated is the manufacture OF
khe logs Of different sizes into def
Unite products. Thus, where for
bnerly boards were sawed from logs
fany diameter, many lumbermen
hre now beginning to use only the
logs for this purpose. The
smaller logs are sawed iutO those
commodities which require little
handling and cost of manufacture,
|gach as posts, poles, railroad ties,
Railroad companies want heart
|l0ngleaf pine for their cross-ties,
in the past have had little
in getting them. Now,
many lumbermen alb
a0lutely refuse to furnish them,
but take the logs of this quality
and saw them into more valuable
of lumber. Heart longleaf
pine ties are likely therefore, to go
out of use, and their place be taken
By the ties sawed from small trees
and surfaced on two sides only.
Such ties are admirably adapted
70 preservative treatment, because
are entirely surrounded by
sapWood, and this readily absorbs
Neservatives. Moreover, a tie cut
nom q small tree, when treated
With q preservative, is far more
durable than an untreated tie cut
heartwood, and although its
initial cost is somewhat greater, its
inal cost is considerably less.
Manufacture of logs of certain sizes
INTO definite products is therefore