Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-06-02
coNsERvING muam

The people Of the country are being urrpA 70 conAArva
.ne umoer supply. The advice Is timely and the occasion
10 pressing. Itsmay be well enough to note the fact, hox-
ever, that q good deal has already been done In the maa.
ter Of timber conservation. There has Seen enormous
waste in the past There il stu great waste. but the waste
Is being lessened, and q little timber is being made to
perform the service for which 4 much larger quantity was
required not many years ago.
Those who have lived long in the east are familiar
~'tn the massive construction Of the old wooden buildings
IN That section OF the country. Even 4 small cottage was
built OF heavy framed timbers and the timber used In the
construction Of large buildings. such as barns, were large
enough to support the weight OF railroad trains or almost
anything else that could be piled upon them. For ordn-
ay purposes this style Of construction has been practical
~ abandoned and wooden buildings are now constructed
on what is known as the balloon system. the plan which u
almost invariably used in frame structures in this part OF
the country. No heavy tirnbers are used. and the result
Is q very much lighter building and one Of equal strength
II the work is well done. There is a great saving in this
item.
Timber is saved in the making Of such things as lath.
Material which formerly went into the waste pile is now
sawed into lath. and in order to utilize short lengths which
would not make the old fo,r-foot lath, laths of SO inches
in length are very commonly used now. Again we have a
very important saving of material.
1t would be Interesting to sec an estimate OF the saw
ms OF material In the changed methods of box conetruc-
ton. The. old fashioned box was apt to be made Of inch
lumber. no matter how slight the purpose to which it was
to be put. The box of today used for the same purpose
may be made chiefly Of wood not much thicker than heavy
paper. The strawberry crate is an illustration of this style
OF construction. and it is interesting to note that by the
use OF simple scientific methods in building the thin, light
crate Of today is as strong and as useful for
the purpose to which it is put as was the old heavy crate,
which was both inconvenient TO handle and costly to ship.
When one considers the immense number Of these crates
and boxes Of all kinds in daily use and places their weight
against the weight Of the heavy box which would have
been used under the old system, it is apparent that there
must be a saving OF many millions Of feet Of lumber every
season.
Progress has been made in the protection Of forests
against fire. That protection is not perfect and never can
De perfect but such as 1t is, it is Increasing our available
timber supply and that increase will continue. The re-
forestAtfon Of old forest areas is being given careful con-
alteration from a scientific basis. There are millions of
acres of timber lands which are useful for nothing but the
production Of timber. Until the end of our timber supply
came into sight little attention was paid to these cut lover
areas. Fires were permitted to sweep over them without
hindrance and the new growth which sprang up voluu-
tarily was DESTROYED every few years. Fire protection
methods have protected this growth and it will not be
long before a very appreciable supply Of timber comes
from this source. IA
Taking the situation altogether from the standpoint
OF the wiser and more intelligent use Of lumber, the pro-
lection which is being given against the destruction Of the
standing supply, and the work under way for the promo
ton Of new growth, the timber outlook appears to be, on
the whole, quit. hopeful.