Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-04-18

w AStIINSIoN, ID. u. ANIL 1T.-Onc
OF the unexpected little shortages that
developed under the enormous demands
for war material OF the last three years
was lack OF wood for stocks.
You cannot make IL good rife stock out
OF amy kind of wood: thero arc only a
Few woods that will do. and tho worry
pest of all Is American walnut.
There was not enough seasoned
American walnut to meet the demand.
a rifle only lasts a month on tie war
trent. and the modern rifle has the
STOCK running the full length OF the
barrel. Thcrc9 was IL great cry from
ai The rifle factories for walnut.
ou' very little seasoned. What was
Heeued was a man who could devise Il
process for seasoning walnut In Il
ie" days or weeks. instead OF waiting
ON nature TO do it in long months. THE
man was found IN the United States
Forest Service
lie was loaned to the biggest rifle
manufacturer in the country. and he
WORKED out process of kiln drying
"Si'ut that produced as fine a wood
as any that could be seasoned. This
man ~ said TO know more about wood
In the world
This is only an incident. a detail OF
one branch OF the munition problem.
out u Is an important detail. ana :,
significant incident. 1t points to IRE
pareaness IN the Forest Service, ard
me Forest SerTicc has important work
10 90 In war. Our forest resources
VIII be great asset to ourselves and
our allies in this emergency.
rake the matter OF so-called "naya |
stores" for instance. Naval stores is
Germ thai covers the pine products
when are needed In naval worl-tar.
pitch. turDentine and rosin These
products are essential to every navy
In 1893 the American Congress appro
priated 100000 to buy up n timber
reserve in the South for purposes Of
naval construction. The ti,nbcr hourh.
was i've oak. which was then the riost
valuable material for shin .bujlGinr
In 1915. Henry S. Graves, CHIEF For
ester of the United States. remarked
that :he Congress would have done
better 10 locate It's timber reserves in
the yellow pine forests instead Of tn.
live oak. since the naval stores yield
ed by yellow pine have become OF far
greater Importance In the navy than
timber itself
To-day the Southern pine forests fur
nisa 90 per cent OF the naval stores
used in the world. With infinite labor
the French government has built IN
smaller industry OF the same sort
ON the barren sand dunes Of Southern
France. To-day such Land with ma :
iure trees on 1t sells for $50 an acre
in France.
Since the French have had to plan
and labor for the resources that nature
gave TO America gratis. they have de-
He!oped the most efficient methods pos
sible for utilizing what they have built
up. The Forest Service laboratories
have studied the French methods and
arc introducing into our own South a
system OF tapping the trees for tur-
pentine which VIII increase the total
yield OF tree four-fold.
Another interesting thing I'm con-
nection with the naval stores industry
in war time is the use OF rosin in
bhrapne1. The space between the bull
lots In shraDncl she'll is filled with
rosin. The powder used In such shells
is also II wood product--black powder.
made from charcoal. In spite OF the
universal use OF smokcless powder.
black powder is stu used for the cX
plosive charge in shrapnel. No great
explosive force is nceucd for the pur
pose. and tho cloud Of smoke given off
by black powder In just what the gun
ncrs need TO mark tho bursting point
OF their shells 70 correct their range.
The Forest Service is one OF tho
most important divisions OF the De-
partmcnt OF Agriculture. Numberlcss
wood products are needed in modern
warfare. and the Forest Products lab
oratory Is in a position TO work out
the hest methods for producing and
testing them. as we'll as TO furnish the
government with the necessary inspcc-
tors to pass on the materials offered.
On the other hand the actual forest