The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-17
Saving the Wood Supply
Conservation Principles Applied to Saving Industry from
Destruction and Lumber for People.

protection services on the part of pri-
vate owners of timber land
OF the more than $4,000 forest fires
annually, lightning starts about one
fifth of them and human carelessness
the rest. The tobacco smoker is the
chief offender. A strong effort is be,
ing made to induce tobacco manufac-
turers to print fire warnings on all
packages of cigars, cigarets and pipe
tobacco.
The chief damage wrought by forest
fires is rot in the virgin timber but IL
the cut-over lands in which the young
trees have not yet reached merchant
able size. 1t is burning the wealth o.
the future. Three-fourths of all cut
over forest lands would reforest them
selves, if it were not for fires.
The fire hazard, too, is the chief de-
terrent to private owners of cut-over
lands to reforest them. Men hesitate
to lock up a considerable investment
which is always subject to destruct-
ion from an unpreventable cause. A
better control of fires would undoubt-
eddy result in an increase in COM
mercial reforestation.
Yet it is a forward looking man who
will invest in business the profits of
which will accrue only to his grandchil-
dren. The slow growth of trees does not
recommend forestry as a business for
an impatient man. Science, therefore,
is coming to the aid of those who
| would like quicker profits. 1t is doing
this through what is known as lami-
mated construction.
Illuminated wood construction was
greatly developed during the war by
the forest products laboratory. Ia
plain language, it consists of glueins
/ small pieces of wood together to form
a large piece and then turning or other
wise working or using the large piece
/ as If 1t were a piece of clear timber
Clues have been developed that are
/ practically as strong as the wood T.
1 self, and they are now practically wat
/ erproof and bacteria proof. Already
such objects as gunstocks, airplane
/ projectors, aXeltrees, bowling pins, ana
/ the like are being made of Illuminated
wood, and the development is expected
] to produce beams, girders, and string
! ers that will be as strong and durable
I as clear timber
Using Illuminated Wood
For Building.
The extension of the use of lami-
mated wood will have a profound eff
feet upon the lumber industry in mora
ways than one. 1t will encourage the
i commercial planting of forests by en-
abling the use of trees much smaller
than those now usually cut, and 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 ad
junct of the modern sawmill as the al
ter fire was in the ancient temple OF
Vesta
! Elimination viii have another eff
feet. Heretofore the practice in the
woods has been to reject those sec
! tons of logs which by reason of i'm
Il perfection would not saw into cleaJ
\. timber. The section rejected might
contain much usuable wood but if il
Il was not entirely sound it was left on
the floor of the forest to rot and add
to the fire hazard. If the mill can mar.
ket small pieces of wood, it can cut
up these hitherto discarded logs and
/ save what good timber they contain
To the same end the forest products
laboratory is urging chairmakers and
other users of wood in small pieces
] to order their lumber cut to size al
:. the mills, abandoning their present
/, practice of buying large pieces and
saving them up themselves. This wit
i further encourage the more complete
utilization of the logs cut in the for
) est.
As to the use by-producs, the
ramifications of the conservation cru
SADIE are almost endless. The Chicago
|. packing house has not yet found ust
! for the pigs squeal, but the lumber
Il men have discovered they can use tn:
! trees bark. Good taxpayer can bs
!. made of the bark which accrues at tbs
wood pulp mills. Bark after the tan
min has been extracted can also be
used. Waste wood at the veneer fac
: tories makes excellent paper. tn
J scientists have discovered. Newspap