The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1910-06-10
Artificial Lumber
It will Soon Be a
Necessity
BY S. F. AARON

Although many who are interested
in the lumber business profess to be-
lieve that the long-prophesied timber
famine is as far off as ever, informa-
ton to the contrary is altogether con-
elusive. Wood, as a material for gen.
eral construction, is soon to have It's
day. Those who know the facts have
set down figures that are convincing
enough in all conscience. The sup
ply is known, the growth increase Is
known, the use and destruction est.
mated, though information upon cut
ting is withheld or misstated, fires
devastate and insects and fungus dis
eases destroy beyond our knowledge.
Recently the writer made timber
survey for the owners of little back.
woods lot of forty thousand acres In
the Shenandoah Mountains of Vir
ginia, virgin bit of forest never
cut over. The conditions are much
the same as in the entire Appalachian
region. Two chains of mountains
traverse the tract lengthwise, and on
these fertile slopes chestnut, chest
nut oak, and white oak grow. In the
deep valleys the larger timber is to
be found-giant white pines, hem
locks, tulip poplars, ash, oak, and
chestnut But within the last ten
years the bark beetle has killed near
,ly all the white pine, rotting logs five
feet in diameter lie on the ground.
From the highest mountain-top the
great slopes of the widest valley on
the tract could be seen, over forty
square miles of tangled thickets, the
haunt OF bear and wildcat. 4
But what of the future supply OF
construction material? The metals
can not be relied on in general, not
even If aluminium should become as
cheap as wood ever was. There is
but one thing to look to, the making
of a substance that will be strong, as
light, as durable, and as cheap as
wood. And if it is all these, it may
also be deal better than wood, for
it need have no grain and will, there
fore. be equally strong in all direct
tons and comparatively free from
considerable shrinking, swelling, and.
cracking
Manufacturing Board
The product must be waterproof
and very desirably fire-proof. To be
inexpensive and plentiful, d cheaply
grown fiber must be the basic materi-
al, compacted in convenient sizes and
made as free from grit as possible.
SO that it may be dimensioned and
fooled into the thousands OF shapes
and sizes needed. The fbrous plants
and grasses from which papers are
made, as rice, esparto, wheat, south
FERN wire-grass, ETC., are worthy Of
consideration. There are the fibers
that can be cheaply and roughly ret.
ted from the hemps, domestic and
wild, and somewhat allied to these
are the milk4weeds and the dogbane
or Indian hemp.
!, 1t is pretty nearly obvious that
some cementing material must be the
means whereby the fbers are to be
held together. but here is the real
problem: 1t is. little trouble to make
an artificial board. Layers Of paper
pasted together are strong and rigid,
lind far stronger when glue is used.
1T can be made reasonably water
proof when shellac is employed as the
cement But the expense--it would
cost a hundred dollars to construct
a fifty-cent chicken-coop with such
material The basic material in wood
is cellulose, self-cementing under ma
lures skilled workmanship. The
nearest approach to its use is the
proprietary celluloid; cellulose dist
solved by a process that makes it
highly infiammable and allied to gun
cotton or nitro-cellulose.
Then there are the rubbers, the
latex in the sap of many trees, which
ARE wonderfully adhesive, water.
proof, and practically fire-proof, but
they oxidize rapidly and hence disin-
tegrate
And what a gcdsend such thing
as artificial lumber would be for the
preservation of the forests! The CUT
ting necessary in scientific forestry
would furnish all the veneers, panelsI
holdings, ETC., needed for decorative
purposes.
Imagine, then, piano case or 9th
.er piece of excellent cabinet worB
having a core made of compressed
fiber instead of the usual soft wood,
and with one or both sides veneered
with mahogany, walnut, or rosewood,
as desired, Imagine house that is
framed. weather-boarded, rooted,
fioored, and even ceiled with we'll
fitting pieces that do not shrink, swell,
nor split. and that are entirely fire.
proof, and within, the architraves,
bases, sash, balusters, stair-rail, and
steps of solid wood, while the doors,
mantels, wainscots, stair-risers, and
paneled ceilings are veneered.
AS certain as axes swing faster