Arizona republican., 1908-09-17
HE WASIE OF LUMBER
 UNDER CONSIDERATION
An Inquiry Into the Uses to Which SawdUst Can Be Put.

Washington, Sept. 1L-(Special Cor respondence of The Republican.)- Five hundred manufacturers of ex- plosives, pulp wood and similar pro- ducts, have been asked by the National Conservation commission for informa- tion as to all possible uses of sawdust From this Is will be seen the commits sion is going into fine details in its inventory of the natural resources of the country. Seven thousand lumber .men have been asked for their opinion as to the waste of lumber In saw mills and more than two thousand lumber dealers and cooperage, veneer. furni- ture, box, vehicle mad implement man. ufacturers have been asked to point out striking features of waste in their respective lines. Yet all this is only one part of the great scheme of hunt ing down waste which the commission is following in making it's inventory It is going after the little wastes here and there, which, added together. and put into dollars and cents, make an astonishing total.
 For instance, take the making of veneer. At first blush it may not seem worthy of consideration with the manufacture ofother products men, toned. Yet, the scarcity of the more attractive finishing woods in the last few years has led to the annual pro- duction. of over 1,1OO.OOO,OOO square feet of veneer This. of course, has been made possible only by the intro duction of new veneer making machin- cry.
 The use of veneer is generally re- garded as eXemplifying the scarcity of the finer woods and typifying the complete utilization of various kinds of woods, yet, from one of the sched- ules of the National Conservation commission it is evident that the com mission expects to discover great waste even in veneer manufacture.
 Though the word veneer carries many meanings, from a glaze applied to pottery to the polish" of a man of the world, it is most commonly em- plOyed as the name for the thin slices of wood now extensively used in the manufacture of all sorts of articles of use, such as wood plates. baskets and the exterior finish of furniture and wood work. The manufacture of veneer in the last few years has advanced by leaps and bounds.
 The best veneer is sawed but great deal is sliced and still more is rotary cut" By the last named process logs of the desired wood are steamed until they are soft and then fixed in lathe like machine. in which they are turned against a wood knife. As the log TO- tates against the knife. veneer of the desired thickness is peeled off in a continuous slice, as if you should pare an apple. going deeper and deeper at each complete turn. until nothing is left but the cone. The center of the log left after the veneer is cut is also called a core"
 The woods principally used for mak- ing veneer are red gum. maple and yellow poplar which together yield more than half of the total product. Red gum is largely used for baskets and maple for furniture. More valu- able than these, however, are white oak and walnut veneer. Beech, which can be cut thin, is used very largely for wooden plates. A number of other kinds of woods are used.
 A good deal of waste occurs in the manufacture of veneer. It is always a problem, for instance. what use to make of the cores left by the rotary process. In many cases these are used for pulp wood, pillars, or panel head ings. and they are largely used also for fuel. excelsior, crates, boxes and baskets.
 In the schedule of inquiries which the National Conservation commission through the forest service, is sending 1 out, several questions are aimed to se- cure information as to the amount of waste in veneer manufacture and the possibilities of finding ways tC ! utilize it.