The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1918-01-25
Use Wood, Less Coal, in Stringency.

Are you a coal burner when you
might .be..a wood burner? Have you a
woodland that isn't working? What
can the town. man and the suburban
dweller do about the coal stringenc VI
Much would be accomplished toward
meeting the present situation arising
from the unparalleled demand for coal
and from the great burden on the Ma
tons railroads, it is believed, 1t not
only the farmers who have woodlands
but city and suburban real estate own
ers possessing more or less wooded
tracts of land would draw on these
areas for part, at least, of their. fuel
supply. In the neighborhood of small
cities as well as larger ones there are
many woodlots from which much fuel
wood could be obtained without en-
croachment on the needed shade trees
and without detracting from the beauty
of the landscape. In fact, proper thin
ming in many cases will help the devel
opment of desirable trees.
| As an instance of how coal can be
saved by the burning of wood, the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture has cited figures for II northern
and eastern States with rural popu,
lation of about 10000, 900 which, it is
| estimated, uses annually about 1S,O0O,-
900 tons of coal. 1t is figured that the
substitution of wood for one fourth OF
the coal burned by farmers and for one
tenth of the coal burned in villages
would result IN saving of nearly g.
900, 600 tons, or between $4,000 and TO-
900 carloads. t.,
1t is where team hauled wood can be
used instead of railroad hauled coal
that the change of fuel should be made.
While it is not expected that the sub
stitution of wood for coal could be com
plete, It is true that for heating many
kinds of buildings wood is the more
convenient and ordinarily the cheaper
fuel
This is practically true in buildings
for which heat is required only occa-
sionally, but then is wanted in large |
volume at short notice.
Furnaces are built especially for
burning wood in three or four-foot
lengths. If stove CRATE is too coarse
for wood a sheet-iron cover over a
good part of the surface will make it
suitable, or few bricks can be used.
Wood CRATES are sold in two pieces
which can be inserted through the fire
door and placed on top of the regular
CRATE.
In heating value one standard cord
of well-seasoned hickory, oak, beech,
birch, hard maple. ash. elm, locust or
cherry is approximately equal to one
ton e, 600 pounds) of anthracite coal.
OF soft maple a cord and half is re-
quired to equal one ton of coal, and of
cedar, poplar or Eastwood, two cords.
One cord of mixed wood, well seasoned
equals in heating value at least one ton
of average grade bituminous coal.
The most common method of making
cord wood is to cut the trees into four
foot lengths with an axe and split the
larger pieces. The pieces are then
piled in standard cord, which is eight
feet long, four feet high and four feet
wide. The contents are 1923 cubic feet,
of which 20 per cent is wood and 80 per
cent air.
To have the best heating value as
well as to reduce the cost of hauling.
wood should be thoroughly seasoned,
which means drying it from six to
eight months when piled so as to get
good circulation of air. However SO
per cent of the moisture may be re-
moved in three months.
Because of the unusual demand for
cord wood it is believed that the pres
ent time offers unparalleled opportunity
not only for farmers to improve their
woodlands by cutting out the poorer
trees and selling them, but for private
and public owners of wooded tracts to
clear their lands at profit. Communi-
ties which feel they are threatened
with serious fuel shortage will do
well to take measures to stimulate the
cutting of wood. Such action may be
viewed as part of Americas coopera-
ton in the national endeavor to feed
and sustain Americas army and allies.