The Mankato free press., 1923-07-06
PRODUCT IS USED
IN PLACE LUMBER
Successful Tests Made In
Artificial Substance
EOF GREAT VALUE
Possesses ManyQuaIities Avail.
able For Structural Pur-
poses, Claimed
Associated Press Dispatch ]

ASSOCIATED Press Dtspatch.l
Washington, D. c. July Sex
periments In the making Of "artif-
cial" humber are arousing increas-
ing interest among government Of
f1cials and leaders in the lumber
industry.
Although none of the product has
been marketed, officials of the Ma
tional Lumber Manufacturers as
made of a synthetic composition
produced by Minnesota lumber in
terests show it possesses many
Qualities making it available for
structural purposes.
The experiments are based on
somewhat the same principle as
that employed in the manufacture
Of paper from wood pulp. In the
process not only the trunks and
branches Of young trees, but the
leaves and smaller parts as well are
ground up and mixed with other
substances, virtually eliminating
capable of being moulded into sizes
and shapes Of almost any descrip-
ton needed IN building.
May ReVoIutionize Industry
Officials Of the Lumber Manufac-
turers association declare that II a
practical method of this sort can be
perfected, the result may be to re-
volutionize the entire lumber indus
try. Aside from utilizing the present
great waste in converting trees into
usable lumber, they say, It presents
assolution to the manufacturers
problem OF finding sufficient mater
ial in the country's rapidly diulu-
ishing timber resources.
From the time the standing tree
is' turned by the sawnill into planks
and boards and applied in construc-
tion, from 60 to 65 per cent has
been wasted. This includes stumps,
chips, bark and branches, plank and
log trimmings and a huge amount
Of sawdust. The new method wtn
use all of this.
Already S750.0OO have been spent
In experimental work in this direc-
ton by the Weyerhaeuser lumbei
interests in Minnesota. Their ex
periments are said to have been un-
dertaken largely because one Of the
chief obstacles encountered by lum-
Der manufacturers Is the competI-
ton of paper manufacturers, who
can use young trees unsuitable for
lumber purposes.
important In Lake States
This Is especially important in
the Lake States, where pulp mills
so compete with sawmills as to
make il practically certain that very
little saw timber will be grown
commercially under present condi-
tions. Timber owners find that in
from fifteen to twenty years they
can grow crops of spruce that will
be suitable for the pulp and paper
mills, whereas 1t would take from
fifty to one hundred years to grow
a crop that would meet the require
ments of the lumbermen.
According to the manufacturer 8
association tests have shown the
artificial lumber to have a satisfac-
tory tensile strength and to be cap
able of being sawed planed and
nailed, so that the product lacks
only the charm of the grain effects
of natural wood. Officials of the for
estry service, while declaring they
had not yet been assured the
strength of the artificial boards
equals that Of the natural ones, be-
lieve they would be useful for many
purposes. One of their strong points
It Is said at the forestry service, Is
their waterproof qualities and in
sulation against heat and cold.