Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-03-05
TO STOP DECEPTION IN WOOD
Bureau of Identification Established by
the Government.

Bureau of Identification Established by
the Government.
1t is doubtful If any of the labora-
tories maintained by the government
for scientific research are more unique
In character and yet bear promise of
more important results than one which
has recently been established In Wash
ington by the United States forest serv-
ice for investigating the structure of
commercially important woods, says a
bulletin of the forest service. Laymen
will not understand the significance of
the proposed Investigations carried on
in this laboratory so quickly as archi-
tects, builders and other wood users
who In these days of growing scarcity
Of the more valuable woods are seri-
ously perplexed In identifying substi-
tutes. Mistakes of this kind In identi-
fcation have in several instances meant
the loss Of thousands of dollars and
many embarrassing lawsuits.
Nearly any user of lumber can recog-
nize and name offhand all the usual
trees of the forest when he sees them
growing. and not much difficulty Is
encountered in identifying the COM
mon kind of lumber In mill yard, be-
cause he knows the few trees from
| which the yard lumber comes. But
eommon kinds are growing scarce, and
woods not often cut heretofore are ap-
pearing In the markets. The most ex-
perienced men are sometimes puzzled
when they try to Identify them, and
ell
more trouble. Is a certain wood gum
or elm? Is another cucumber, linn or
poplar? Is q stick sugar maple or red
maple? Doubts may arise whether a
piece is hemlock or spruce or whether
| it is lodgepole pine or fir or whether a
shingle is cypress or cedar. A dealer
may buy red oak and suspect that he
! is getting something else. There are
thirty or more important species of
! oak. The best lumber dealer might not
know which is which in the lumber
| pile, or If he knows he might not know
how to prove 1t.
Many of these woods look alike, even
to the trained eye of the mill man or
the builder, and yet they are widely
different in value for certain purposes,
and it is of the greatest Importance to
be able to distinguish them quickly
and certainly. Again, new wood
may come to mans notice for the
first time, and it may be necessary for
him to decide what it is and what it is
worth.
The government has been helping in
dividual lumber users for some time,
but the facilities have not been near
so complete as they are now. 1t is to
meet such needs and answer such
questions that the forest service has es-
tablished the laboratory and placed it
In charge of a trained dendrooglst.
Architects, lumbermen, manufacturers
and makers of woodward are already
sending In samples of wood for iden-
tifcation and asking If there are not
some structural characters by means
! of which such woods may be con-
veniently separated for relative species
having greater or less value for some
specific purpose.
The laboratory VIII investigate in a
practical way. The structure of the
woods, sections lengthwise and cross
wise, will be studied so rs to separate
+, by structure alone the various species
of genus. Analytical keys to the
trees of each group will be worked
out These will be based on the ar
rangement and character of the pores
discernible to the naked eye or by a
hand lens. The results will be pub
lished from time to time, with good IL
lustrations, and placed at the disposal
! of lumber users.