Evening star., 1924-11-07
IN TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

| tion to the annual lumber production
! because it takes place In the lumber
already in use. In the case of railroad
ties, the annual needs of new ties
amounts to about 40 million, but the
number already upon tracks and there
decaying, exceed 1,150 million. The
annual cut Of timber for new build
the lumber already in buildings and
subject to decay is $50 billion board
, feet, so that it is necessary, accord
| ing to the Bureau Of Plant Industry,
to use Is per cent Of the annual out
put of building lumber simply to
| make up for decay.
The same authority reports that SO
per cent Of the annual supply OF rail-
road ties goes to cover decay; so per
! cent Of fencing lumber, so per cent
| of telegraph poles, IS per cent Of
| piling and 10 per cent of pulp wood
| all this Is the annual tax caused by
decay. In. the case Of pulp wood the
wastage comss in the piles Of supplies
lying in the yards Of pulp mills. Bet
ter handling and the general appli-
cation Of preservatives would elimi-
nate two-thirds ef the decay.
\ X
There Is wastage, too, in the use of
pieces and small timber would answer
the same purpose. 1t is in that that
lies great economies to the mills
making "ready-cut houses" since
they use up the scraps. Similarly.
furniture factories may utilize email
pieces for chairs and table legs and
other parts Of furniture, where now
they waste the small scraps and cut
the parts out of large dimensions.
I,A Ii nP hoS
supposed to be necessary to mix a
certain amount of spruce and hem
lock with the cheaper aspen to pro-
duce a strong paper. The booklet
| which contains tho program of the
conference is printed upon a very
superior paper made in Cloquet
Mimi, exclusively OF aspen. or, As it
is popuiArly known, "popple." Thus
a very important saving OF spruce
tical economy-timber indispensable
in building OF bridges and other
structures
Aside from the prevention Of waste
in the mills and from decay, 1t is
possible to econ omize greatly by bet
ter architecture and engineering In
the construction OF wooden bridges
and buildings. In former times. when
there appeared no limit to timber, no
i attention was given to accurate
knowledge of strains and resistance
| Of timbers, and In many cases from
! three to four times as much wood
| was used as was really needed.
X 4 + X
Out Of this first conference on the
proper utilization OF forest products
| will come propositions for standardi-
1ation Of practices both in forestry
| and in manufactures and extension OF
| educational agents for the purpose of
informing the public - to the best
| practices in such linea The research
work to study the Wastage and the
means for meeting or eliminating it
will be urged. This is quite aside
from tho old e6ort0 to encourage re-
| forestation and is even more i'm
| mediateiy practicable and beneficial,
| for, while q newly planted forest will
serve the needs of generations 100
years ahead. the lumber economies
will serve present needs. A perma-
nent advisory board will be estab-
lished to consider utilization Of for
est products.
Europe long ago ceased to use lum-
Der as we are still doing and substi-
| tuted stone buildings. concrete and
! metal Europe's hre losses are known
to Be much less than ours, but, in
addition to the saving of fre loss,
there 10 An equal saving In the decay
| OF lumber and the loss through In
] sects attacking lumber u houses and
other stFuetur1A
Copyright lssG ~ Ps.i '. ossii,&,