The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1916-10-25
LITTLE KNOWN FOREST
PRODUCTS WIDELY USED
GunpOwder. Silk and DiSinfectantS
Are Among Wide Range OF Pro-
duets OF Wood.
NEW DISCOVERIES BEING MADE.

| Washington, Oct 24.-In addition to
| the ordinary uses of wood with which
we are familiar, mankind is dependent
upon the forest for a variety of pro-
! ducts whose appearance does not in
dicate their origin, say members of the
| Forest Service. Numerous as these
| products are, and as extensive as is
their use at the present time, science
| is constantly learning new cOnstitu-
ents which enter into the makeup of
wood and is finding new uses to which
| these constituents and those already
known can be put Powder for muni-
ton or blasting, disinfectants for pro-
| lection against contagious diseases,
and artificial silk for clothing are
among the products obtained in whole
| or in part from wood.
| Charcoal, as everyone knows, is
essential for the manufacture of
black powder All of the acetone
uso as a solvent in making nitro
cellulose powders is derived from
acetic acid, a product of hardwood
distillition. Great Britain, it is said
is dependent upon the United States
for acetOne uses in making cordite
Black walnut is a standard for gun
stocks, and has been so much in de-
mand for the past two years that our
supply of this valuable wood has been
considerable reduced and other woods
notable birch, are being substituted
From Europe comes the complaint
that there is a shortage of willow for
making wooden legs.
Pure wood alcohol is the only sub
stance which can be converted COM
mercially into formaldehyde, which is
| universally used for disinfection
against such contagious diseases as
smallpox, scarlet fever, and tubercu-
| losis. The experts at the Forest
Products Laboratory have conducted
extensive experiments on the produc-
ton of grain or ethyl alchOl from
wood and have been successful in
experimental work in raising the
yield and lowering the cost of propuc-
ton. If this process can be put on
commercial basis, the foresters say
Of tons of coniferous sawdust and
other material which is now wasted
every year to a profitable use
By converting cellulose, one of the
elements of wood, into a gelatinous
material, known as viscose, a wide
| field is opened up for the utilization
of wood waste, and a new line of pro-
ducts, varying all the way from sau-
sage castings TO tapestry, is added to
the already lengthy list. Many of the
so-called silk" socks, neckties and
| fancy braids now on the market con-
tain artificial silk made from wood
About nine-tenths of all the paper
Besides the detailed Investigations of
the methods of making newsprint
paper, and of the production of paper
from woods hitherto unused for that
purpose, which have been conducted
kraft paper, which compares favor
ably with the best on the market, has
been produced eXperimentally at the
Forest Products Laboratory from
lOngleaf-pine mill-waste. This kraft
paper is brown in color and is very
much stronger than ordinary papers.
1t is used for variety of purposes,
and, cut into strips, is spun or twist
ed into thread which is then woven
into onion and coffee bags, mating,
suitcases and wall covering, similar to
burlap, and furniture closely resem-
bling that made from reeds, as we'll as
other articles of common use
Within the last year the Forest
Products Laboratory has, by cooper
ating with manufacturers, succeeded in
getting dye made from mill waste of
Usage orange put on the market as
substitute for fustic, which we import
from Jamaica and Tehuantepec.
These are only few examples of
the various lines of work carried on at
the Forest Products Laboratory, say
the men in charge Other activities
iranging all the way from the study
Of decay in wood to that of the re-
sistance of wood to fire, are in pro-
gress, and new discoveries are con-
| stantly being made. Incidentally, the
| Forest Products Laboratory, at Madi-
son, Wisconsin, was the first of it's
kind in the world and is probably
still the best equipped. With the
possible exception of Germany, no
other country has done as much as the
| United States Systematically to in
yestigate the possibilities of its forest
resources.