The Wrangell sentinel., 1925-03-05

which there were many pieces of timber 42 inches wide and four inches thick
 Last season the Wrangell mill made shipment of vertical grain stock to be used in the construction of the famous board walk at Atlan- tic City.
 Five years ago Colonel W. B. Greeley. Chief of the United States Forest Service. spent a month in Alaska inspecting the timber re- sources of the Territory. Upon his return to the States he was inter- viewed at Seattle by the Post Intelligencer. He said in part
 Aside from enormous quan- titles of good pulpwood the Ter ritory of Alaska probably con- tains the largest quantity of clear high grade spruce to be found in the United States.
 During the war this spruce passed every test for airplane construction, and it is now being shipped to the Eastern States in increasing quantities for car and factory stock and high grade finish.
 During the war W. G. weigle, who was then one of the Forest Supervisors for Alaska, wrote an illuminative article on spruce for the Alaska Pioneer. Some excerpts from Mir Weigle's article follow
 The rapid increase in the de- velopment and use of airplanes in connection with the World War now in progress has created demand for the strongest, lightest and toughest wood in the world to be used in their construction. By innumerable tests at the various laboratories of the several governments of many kinds of wood found all over the world, and by actual use in airplane construction, it has been found that Sitka spruce (picea sitkensis) possesses these combined qualities in the high est degree.
 There are large quantities of spruce suitable for airplane lum- Der all along the Pacific Coast from Southern Oregon to Kodiak, Alaska, on the north, there be- ing many splendid trees from five to seven feet in diameter, 175 feet tall, and from 75 to 100 feet to the first limb growing in the rigorous northern climate within@the shadow of the great glaciers jutting out of the great Mt. St. Elias range north of the Gulf of Alaska.
 Practically every mill in Southeastern Alaska is saving all lumber that is suitable for air plane construction and numer- ous shipments have alreay been made with splendid results, as the Alaska spruce stands high est in regard to the qualities of strength and toughness. which are very important qualities.
 Many spruce trees are being cut at the present time on the West Coast of Prince of Wales Island and adjacent islands which range from six to eight feet in diamater above the swell butts and are from 150 to 200 feet tall. One tree just scaled contained 24,000 feet of mer- chantable lumber
 There is much fine spruce on the National Forest Reserves of Alaska that has never been cruised. The Forest Service reports that on Long Island (Alaska) there are from 20 to 30 million feet of spruce. the logs being from four to eight feet in diameter and from 80 to 100 feet from the ground to the first limb. And yet MT. Rankin says that 1t is not practical to use the Scribner scale where the trees are as small as they are in Alaska.
 In view of the foregoing facts the Sentinel hopes that the next time Representative Rankin comes to Alaska on a junketing trip he will visit the Wrangell sawmill and inspect some of the finest lumber in the world manufactured from what he calls low scrubby timber
 
 Huge Shipment of Furs