402 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



which do not require laboratory work, 

 those which can be solved by coop- 

 erative studies with the manufacturers, 

 or which can be worked out by statis- 

 tical study. The question is sometimes 

 asked why this office is located in Chi- 

 cago. The answer is in a sense an ex- 

 planation of the nature of its work. 

 Chicago is not only central, but it con- 

 tains every industry that is concerned 

 with forest products. When any in- 

 formation is needed in regard to the 

 results and requirements of any in- 

 dustry, Mr. Sackett can get into com- 

 munication with representatives of that 

 industry without delay. Seventeen of 

 the great wood-industry organizations 

 have secretaries or managers in Chi- 

 cago. Chicago is the greatest lumber 

 and wood-manufacturing center in the 

 country. These are a few of the most 

 cogent among many reasons for the es- 

 tablishment of this office here. 



The nature of the work of this office 

 is suggested by some of the projects at 

 present on the program. A report has 

 already been made on the vexed ques- 

 tion of odd lengths. This shows that 

 in the yellow pine district of the south 

 one and twenty-one one-hundredths per 

 cent of the products of the planing mill 

 are wasted annually because of the non- 

 manufacture of odd lengths. This en- 

 tails a loss of about $600,000. The re- 

 port urges the manufacture of odd 

 lengths with some concession to the 

 buyer. 



Samples of red cedar, alligator juni- 

 per, western juniper, redwood, incense 

 cedar, western red cedar. Port Orford 

 cedar, and Alaska cypress from the na- 

 tional forests of the Rocky Mountains 

 and mountain cedar from a private for- 

 est in Texas have been furnished to 

 four of the largest pencil manufacturers 

 of the east, and they will give them a 

 thorough trying out for pencil manu- 

 facture. A report is about due on this 

 work. In a similar way, several west- 

 ern woods are being sampled for the 

 manufacture of shuttles. With the as- 

 sistance of manufacturers of butter and 

 tobacco boxes, a test is being made of 



short lengths of cypress for these pur- 

 poses, and of incense cedar for to- 

 bacco boxes. 



At the request of the National Hick- 

 ory Association, a study of better meth- 

 ods of utilizing hickory will soon be 

 begun and is expected to occupy about 

 four months. 



Studies are being made of markets 

 and market reports; and statistics of 

 consumption have been gathered in co- 

 operation with Massachusetts, North 

 Carolina, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and 

 Maryland. The service alone has gath- 

 ered the statistics for Illinois. These 

 reports are of great value. "They show 

 what part of the total demand, and of 

 the demand for each species, is met by 

 forests and woodlots in the state, and 

 what part is supplied from without. 

 The kinds of wood demanded by the 

 various industries are shown, together 

 with the amount of each species used, 

 the prices paid at the factory, and into 

 what product each wood is manufac- 

 tured. With this information before 

 them, the woodlot owners who are look- 

 ing to the future can determine what 

 kinds of timber promise best returns and 

 can give preference to those kinds. 

 Those who have timber or lumber to 

 sell can form an intelligent opinion as 

 to where the best market can be found 

 for what they have to ofifer. On the 

 other hand, the manufacturer who is in 

 the market for woods of certain kinds, 

 will have the means to determine 

 whether he can bus' near home or 

 whether he must look beyond the state ; 

 and a study of average prices paid by 

 others will show whether or not he has 

 been buving on an equal footing with 

 others."' 



The Massachusetts report is printed, 

 bv that state, and those for Wisconsin, 

 North Carolina, and Maryland are in 

 type. These studies will he continued 

 the coming season in Louisiana, Michi- 

 gan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. 



The office also gathers statistics of 

 cost and prices, giving data not here- 

 tofore available in any form. 



The office has taken up the question 

 of fiber and wood boxes. While be- 



