848 EXPERIMENT STATION BECORD. 



Consideration is briefly given to the present forest area, volnme, and annual 

 growth, and some apiiroximate estimates are made as to the length of time our 

 timber supply will last at the present rate of cutting. The total annual use of 

 wood is estimated by different authorities from 100 billion to 150 billion ft., 

 and the total forest area of the United States from 500 million to 700 million 

 acres. The annual consumption of wood is estimated at probably three times 

 the annual growth. 



Production of veneer in 1906 {U. S. Dept. Agr., Forest Serv. Circ. 133, 

 pp_ 6'). — This circular contains statistical datii collected and compiled by the 

 Bureau of the Census in conjunction with the Forest Service, and shows the 

 production of veneer by 315 mills during 1900. A total of 329,180,000 bd. ft, 

 log scale, of timber was converted into ai)proxiniately 2,008,094,000 sq. ft. 

 of veneer. 



Tabulated data are given showing the quantity and value of material used 

 and the quantity of veneer produced in 190G by States and by species. The 

 highest average value per thousand feet of wood used was $67.76 for walnut. 

 White oak ranked second, valued at $31.67 per thousand feet, and red oak 

 third, valued at $26.01. The largest amount of veneer was cut from red gvun, 

 followed l)y yellow pine, white oak, maple. Cottonwood, yellow poi»lar, and a 

 large number of other species. 



The Powell method of conserving- wood with sugar (Bainnntrrifilirnl-iiiKlr, 

 12 (lUOl), Xu. 11, 1)1). .i(ifi-.ilO). — A description is given of the methods employed 

 by the Powell Wood-Process Syndicate in preserving wood with a common 

 sugar solution. In this process no mechanical pressure of any kind is used, the 

 wood being placed in a vessel of cold water to which is added a sugar solution 

 of a certain strength. The mixture is then gradually heated to the boiling point 

 of the sugar solution, at which temperature it is maintained for a considerable 

 length of time, depending upon the size and nature of the wood being treated, 

 as well as to a large extent upon the judgment of the operator. 



After sufficient time has elapsed to drive the air and moisture out of the 

 wood, the solution is allowed to cool gradually. During this cooling process 

 the wood becomes saturated with the sugar solution, which is said to unite so 

 thoroughly with the wood fiber that subsequent inspection of a section of the 

 wood with a microscope fails to detect sugar either in the form of crystals 

 or drops. 



Among the advantages offered for this i)rocess, which is said to be effective 

 in preventing dry rot, are the simplicity and small cost as well as the rapidity 

 with which the impregnation can be conducted. Moreover, the treatment of 

 green or freshly felled woods by this method is said to have proved very satis- 

 factory. With woods that have been air-dried before treatment and are more 

 or less checked or cracked the sugar solution acts as a cement. It is also said 

 to act as a filler in the case of the more costly woods, such as mahogany, with- 

 out injuring the surface in anyway, and to render inferior grades of such 

 woods practically as satisfactory as the better qualities. 



In cooking woods in the sugar solution the coloring matter of the wood is 

 said to color the solution without, however, making the treated wood any lighter 

 in color by the process. On the contrary, it is stated that woods treated in this 

 manner assume a darker color as in the case of wood which is submitted for 

 a long time to the action of the air. In the preservation of light colored and 

 white woods, however, a fresh solution is used at each operation, the colored 

 solution afterwards being used for preserving wood in which the color i)lays 

 no important part. 



Paving blocks thus treated were experimented with in London upon the 

 streets and are said to have proved satisfactory. The wood remains indifferent 



