The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-11-14
PRODUCTS Of
THE FOREST To
BE UTILIZED
United States Forest Service
is Endeavoring to Educate
the Timber Owners Up to
a Point Where the Forests
Will Be Preserved.

The future development of the lu-n-
Der Industry in this country lies in
the direction of a closer utilization
of forest products Both foresters and
practical lumbermen now agree on
this point
Just what can be done in this field
is well illustrated in the operations
at the mill of the Great Southern
Lumber company, which has just re-
opened its plant at Bogalusa, La,
in response to the increased demand
for lumber after the recent slump in
business This is perhaps the larS-
est sawmill in the United States, if
not in the world, and is capable OF
turning out the enormous amount of
100000 feet of sawn lumber board
measure, per day. A reader can get
a fair idea of this quantity of lum-
Der when he is told that its output is
enough to build little town of 40,
houses, along with good sized church
and ScOhol house every day.
This company was quick to grasp
the significance of the rapid depletion
of timber resources. Last year it be-
gan a cooperative investigation in
wood utilization with the United
States Forest service and arrange
ments have just ben completed for
renewal of the experiments. The
work will be along practical lines and
Will be aimed to secure a closer utili-
cation 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 metAods
which are now practiced.
The field for work along this line
is broad 1t is well known that the
superior grades of lumber are obtain
ed from old mature trees, provided
they are not weakened by decay or
other influences. In other words. a
thousand feet board measure of lun-
Der, sawed from a tree two feet in
diameter, costs less and is worth
more than a thousand feet sawed
from d tree only eight inches in di
ameter. Moreover, timber cut from
young trees usually contains a large
amount Of sapwood. If ties. poles.
etc, are cut from such material, they
will decay far more rapidly than if
cut from heartwoOd. 1t is not good
business policy, however, In a great
many cases, to saw the most valuable
timber into commodities which are
relatively low in cost, such as ties
and poles. 1t is the intention, there
fore, of the company, to find out just
what size and classes of timber can
be best utilized for the cheaper com
U1OUillNS WnSH given d pISSSI NdLlNS
treatment.
To this end a careful study will be
made to ascertain the amount and
value of the products sawed from
trees of different sizes and value OF
the products sawed from trees of diff
ferent sizes and just how each can be
best utilized so as to secure greatest
economy and profit. For example,
can a tree eight inches in diameter
be best utilized for ties 0" for floor
ing, and how will the profits COM
pare if treated with those sold I'M
treated? 1t seems reasonable to sup
pose that the profits derived from the
sale of treated timber VIII exceed
those from untreated timber.
Moreover, the greater use OF chem
ically preserved wood viii undoubt-
eddy result in that wood giving
greater life in service. Hence, the
amount of timber cut annually in the
United States. simply to replace that
which is decayed. will be materially
decreased, and a 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.