The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1910-07-23

the state university in which government ex-
perts will attack the problems of these forest
products
The new building has just been formally
dedicated and the fine equipment Of machln-
cry and testing apparatus which is to make
1t the most complete laboratory of its kind in
the country is rapidly being installed. The
staff of some twenty government investigators
has already arrived and been established in
the suite of Offices in the new building and for
some months have been delivering lectures
before the students of forestry.
In the new laboratory the United States
forest service and the University of Wisconsin
will cooperate in the investigations which
will be made to solve problems confronting the
paper manufacturers, lumbermen, builders and
others who deal with the products of the
American forests. The building itself, which
cost some $4,000, and the site upon which it
stands, south of University avenue, between
Camp Randall and the Chicago, Milwaukee and
st. Paul railroad tracks, were furnished by the
university. The equipment was furnished by
the government at cost of about $4,000 and
the staff of Investigators is also maintained
by government appropriations. These men,
in addition to their laboratory work, will de-
liver lectures in the regular forestry course of
the university. The laboratories, too although
devoted chiefly to the government expert
ments, are open to the faculty and students
for advanced research along the lines of study
undertaken by the experts.
The laboratory, which faces north on Uni
versity avenue, is fine freproof building of
dark brown BRICK trimmed with white Bed
ford stone and rooted with red tiles with
180-foot frontage and depth Of so feet. I'M
mediately east of the building private spur
from the railroad carries the lumber into the
laboratory yards. A derrick is to be erected
north of the track fer unloading the big logs
and stumps for the experiments from the fat
cars. Immediately opposite, south of the track.
is to be installed small sawmill with a saw
which will cut timbers up to 20 feet in length.
Already logs of lolg-leaf, shortleaf and lob
Iolly yellow pine have been sent in to tho
laboratories by lumbermen and paper manu-
facturers at Kenwood, La, Hattiesburg, Miss,
Thornton, Ark, and spruce logs from the
Maine woods. number of fat pine stumps
for the turpentine, rosn and alcohol tests have
also been received.
Sheds for air drying the lumber line the
west side of the yard, which is to be graded
and covered with cinders. Immediately back
of the building is deep, cement-lined pit to
hold the creosote to be used in experiments
until it is pumped out into the laboratory
tanks.
The problem of making a satisfactory print
paper from materials other than spruce and
hemlock is one which will receive particular
attention, and for this purpose a complete
paper making plant has been made a part Of
the laboratory equipment Every process,
from the breaking of the wood into chips for
the first treatment by soda and sulphite solu-
tons to the final running of the sheets of
paper through the calendering rolls to pro-
duce finished surface, will be followed care
fully so that the results of substitution of