Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-09-22
FOREST PRODUCT
LABORATORY IS
WOOD AUTHORITY
FOR THE WORLD
Fedora! Wood Experts De-
wise Ways to Meet Serious
HandiCapS to Business
Through Experiments.
HUNDREDS OF WOOD
QUESTIONS SOLVED
100 Specialists Employed al
Madison Laboratory Es-
tabIiShed 10 Years Ago to
Assist Wood Industry,

If peculiar looking piece of
wood were sent you from South
Africa would you know what is
was? Would you know who could
tell you? Or If you were a lum-
soning your lumber, would you
know who could tell you how to
get rid of your trouble? Or II you
were a manufacturer and your
shipping containers were giving
you trouble by breaking in ship
ment, would you know who could
tell you how to remedy this?
These and hundreds of other
, questions about wood are daily an
! swered by the forest products lab
y oratory, which is run by the United
! States forest service in co-opera-
ton with the University of Wiscon-
sin at Madison, Wis. The labora-
tory was established about 10 years
ago in order to find out more
about wood. From a small begin
ming it has shown steady growth
until now it employees about 100
specialists. These men are solv-
ing problems of vital interest to
the wood-using industries. Many
of them, because of their thor
ough studies of woods, have ac-
quired national regulations and
the laboratory as a whole Is now
considered the authority of the
world in all matters pertaining to
wood. Large users of wood are
constantly consulting the labora-
tory concerning their troubles and
problems. Even wood-users from
South America, Europe, Australia
and other parts of the world are
getting information from these
men,
The early work of the labora-
tory consisted largely of strength
tests of timbers of all kinds, ex-
periments with pulp and paper
making and kiln-drying of lumber.
With the expansion of the force,
the sphere of usefulness of the
laboratory was increased tremend-
ously. Studies of mechanical and
physical properties of wood were
undertaken as well as many con-
corning the products derived from
wood, such as sugars, alcohol and
various oils and acids. There
were pathological experiments and
many with wood presentations.
Recently a section of industrial
Investigations was added to the
laboratory list of research sections.
It's creation follows a long-felt
need for research along certain
lines; also the provision of funds
for this work in this years appro-
priation bill largely as a result of
the educational work and pressure
by the recently formed associa-
ton of wood-using industries.
Scope of Work.
The program of work for the |
present embraces briefly the fol-
lowing lines:
(1) Survey of the primary and |
secondary wood-using industries |
to determine the possibility of |
more complete utilization of by |
products, low-grade material, and |
wood waste produced in the log
ging and milling of timber and in |
the manufacture of fabricated |
wooden articles.
(2) Dimension stock study in
Guiding the Standardization of |
small dimension stock require
ments of all secondary wood-using |
Industries and determination of the |
most economical methods of con-
verting the standing tree into the
form of material required in these
industries.
go Standardization of nomen-
clature, sizes. grades, and specifi-
cations for lumber and crossties.
a. Wood waste exchange to
effect the utilization of raw ma
terial now disposed of as waste by
supplying medium through
which producers can locate mar
kets for woods, mill and factory
by-products and waste, and wood
consuming plants can locate ma
terial of this character such as
will meet their requirements.
60 General work, including
the broad field of encouraging the
wider use by the wood-using in
dustries Of the results of technical
research available at the labora-
tory.
Laboratory Experiments.
Some years ago a box-testing
machine was designed by the lab
oratory staff. In it, packing boxes
take the equivalent of thousand
mile railroad trip in a few hours.
The principles underlying proper
box and crate design, worked out
at the forest products laboratory,
have been applied with highly