Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-10-17

AA kAAS AoAAAS All
the young trees have not yet reached
understandable size. 1t is burning the
wealth Of the future. Three-fourths
of all c%ut-over forest lands would re-
forest themselves, If it were not for
fires. '
The fire hazard, too, Is the chief
deterrent to private owners Of cut
over lands to reforest them. Men
hesitate to look up a considerable in
vestment which is always subject to
destruction from an unpreventable
cause. A better control of fires would
undoubtedly result in an increase in
commercial 4reforestratson.
Yet%it is% a forward looking man
who will invest in a business the prof
Its Of which will accrue only to his
grandchildren. The slow growth Of
trees does not recommend forestry
as a business for an impatient man.
lScience. therefore, is coming to the
aid of those who would, like quicker
profits. It is doing this through what
Is known as Illuminated construction.
Laminated wood construction was
greatly developed during the war by
the forest products laboratory. In
plain language, It consists Of glueing
small pieces OF wood together to form
q large piece and then turning or 9TH
erwise working or using the large
piece as If IT. were a piece of clear
timber. Clues have been developed
that r practically as strong as the
wood itself, and they are nov prac-
tically waterproof and bacteria proof.
Already such objects as gunstocks,
airplane spropellors, axletrees, bowling
pins, and the like are being made of
Illuminated wood, and the development
is expected to produce beams, Orders,
and stringers that will be as strong
and durable as clear timber.
Using Iaminated Wood. 4.
The extension of the use of lamin-
ated wood will, have a profound effect
upon the lumber industry In more
ways than one. 1t will encourage the
commercial planting Of forests by en-
abling the use Of trees much smaller
than those now usually cut, n will
thus shorten the period Of rotation in
forest culture. Furthermore, by max.
ing salable small pieces of wood here
tofore held valueless, lamination will
extinguish the burning slab piles
which have been as! perpetual an adj
junct Of the modern sawmill as the
altar fire was in the ancient temple
of tVesta.
Lamination will have another ef-
feet. Heretofore the practice In the
woods has been to reject those sec
tons Of logs which by reason Of i'm
projections would not saw up into
clear timber The section rejected
might contain much disable wood, but
II it was not entirely sound 1t was left
add to the fire hazard. II the mill
can market small pieces Of wood, it
can cut up these hitherto discarded
logs and a v what good timber they
contain.
To the same. end the forest products
laboratory is urging chairmskers and
other users OF wood/in, small. pieces
to order their lumber cut to size at
the mills, abandoning their presen.
practice Of buying large pieces and
saving them up themselves. This
will further encourage the more com
Iplete utilization Of the logs cut in the
forest.
AZ to the use OF b~y-products. the
ramifications of the conformation cru
sade are almost endless. The Chicago
packing house has not Yet found q. use
for the pigs squeal, but the lumber
men have discovered they can use the
trees bark. Good, taxpayer can BE
made Of the. bark which acc.rues al
the wood pulp mills. Bark after the
tannin has been extracted scan also
be so used. Whsterwood at the We
neer factories makes excellent paper,
the scientists have discovered. News
papers can be de-inked and made up
into new paper.
Even sawdust, into which Ia per
cent OF all timber coming to the mill
is converted, has not escaped atten-
Ition. Il can be used as human food,
with 2 cow acting as intermediary
between the sawmiu and the diner,