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HARDWOOD RECORD 



same house, supposed to be the same quality and paid for at the 

 price, a variation of 40 per cent in, viscosity. 



The second means of testing, viz., the jelly strength, is used very 

 largely by the manufacturers in grading their product. The old 

 finger test is being used in many places at the present time. This 

 finger test is very inaccurate, and is conducted as follows : Samples 

 of the different glues as Tvell as standard glues are all made up 

 in the same per cent solution, and allowed to cool. They are then 

 compared with the standards by pressing on the jelly with the finger 

 to determine jellies having the same stiffness. Any glue having the 

 same stiffness as one of the standards, is equal to that standard 

 and priced according to the standard. 



A more accurate way to test the jelly strength of a glue is to make 

 them all up in the same per cent solution and allow them to come to 

 a standard temperature. Then actually weigh tlie pressure required 

 to force a plunger^hrough the jelly. In making this test, the tem- 

 perature is a very important factor, as one degree makes a difference 

 of two pounds in the jelly strength. The greater the pressure required 

 to force the plunger through the jelly, the better the grade of glue 

 and the greater will be the adhesive power. 



Referring to the standard glues as they are advertised on the 

 market, the best grade has a viscosity of 34.5 seconds, and a jelly 

 strength of 48 pounds, while the poorest grade has a viscosity of 6 

 seconds and a jelly strength of 7.2 pounds. From the consumer's 

 standpoint, he cannot be guided by either one of these tests alone; 

 he must take both, for in the case of viscosity foreign matter is apt 

 to be in the glue, which would make it appear to be very heavy in 

 body, but upon taking the jelly strength we find that it is low, 

 therefore the viscosity was not the true viscosity of the grade, but was 

 due to foreign matter. A glue must have for its viscosity the proper 

 jelly strength, and by making the two tests side by side, the true 

 value of a glue can be determined. 



Not only does this allow the consumer to take advantage of the 

 best values that are offered him, but he is in a position to compel 

 the glue manufacturer to deliver the same grade to him in every 

 shipment. Should any shipment arrive that is not up to the standard 

 he has the means of rejecting the shipment, and tlius avoid any 

 inferior glue getting into the work. 



By the use of these same tests, the heat damage done to the glue 

 as it is in use out in the plant can be determined, and where it is 

 large, means to stop that loss are effected. In places where thr 

 consumers have the equipment to make these tests, it is a fact worth 

 mentioning that with the very best of results as to quality of work, 

 the cost is around two dollars per thousand square feet, and in places 

 not equipped the cost is much higher, and in many places the quality 

 poorer. 



There" are several good reasons why this system is not in common 

 use by the consumers at the present time. The first is, that it is 

 not to the interests of the glue manufacturers to have the consumers 

 educated along these lines. Another is, that it has never been shown 

 to them from a practical standpoint. The work was always laborious. 

 and the results hard to get. By the present sj-stem all unnecessary 

 work has been eliminated and the results are absolutely accurate, 

 short and simple. 



One other advantage of tliis system is that when the glue salesman 

 comes to call on you, you can tell him the exact value of his article 

 instead of having to listen to him expound on the v;ihie of his glue. 

 You need spend no time with him, because you can pick the best 

 value for yourself. 



Leaving the laboratory and goiug into the plant, without a doubt 

 the greatest loss is in the heat damage. A twelve-cent glue will lose 

 in value at about the rate of one-half cent per pound per hour. This 

 fact is hard to see, for as the glue is going down in grade water is 

 being evaporated out of the solution. The two will offset each other 

 and the body of the liquid will remain about the same. But, never- 

 theless, the quality of a joint made by a twelve-cent glue after it has 

 been under the action of heat for ten hours, is no better than a 

 joint made from a fresh batch of glue of eight-cent value. There 

 are at present a great man}- paying a good price for glue and allow- 

 ing the heat damage to cause them to use a very poor adhesive. 



Equipment for making up a batch of glue in as short a time as 

 possible, not allowing it to stand around or soak, having the apparatus 

 so arranged that only a small amount of liquid glue is on hand at one 

 time, and last, but not least, having it so the place can be kept 

 clean and sweetj these arc a few of the things an expert must look 

 after for his clients. 



There are other materials used as adhesives, and no doubt vege- 

 table glue comes next to the animal glues. However, by shrewd 

 judgment in buying and using of materials a saving equal to that iu 

 the animal glue can be accomplished. 



In concluding, I wish to thank you for thp opportunity of speaking 

 here today. I only hope that you will be benefited by my remarks. 

 If you have, then this address has accomplished its purpose. 



Eucalyptus for Cordwood 



The government has just issued Forest Service circular 210 iu 

 which the proposition of growing eucalyptus for cordwood is dis- 

 cussed. . This is an attempt," and one of the first, to consider the 

 growing of eucalyptus on its merit. If it is good for anything, it is 

 good for cordwood, and a discussion along that line is refreshing. 

 Although it is not very good cordwood, it has some merit as fuel. 



The Forest Service, co-operating with the California State Board of 

 I'orestry, carefully measured a number of eucalyptus plantations in 

 that state, some of the best as well as some of average growth. 

 The object was to ascertain how much an acre will yield in a given 

 time, what the cost and expense are, and what the income will likely 

 be. Kon-irrigated land, such as is suitable for grain farming, may 

 be had in California at $30 an acre. It will cost additional $26.25 

 per acre to plant eucalyptus and care for it during ten years, by 

 which time it will be large enough to cut for cordwood. The total 

 cost up to that time is $56.25. It may be expected that the wood 

 will then be worth $160 per acre. That is a profit of $103.25 an 

 acre in ten years, when the crop is taken off, and a ten years' wait 

 for another crop wuU follow. 



These figures are based on averages of a number of plantations. 

 It is pointed out that no income except from cordwood need be ex- 

 pected, unless the trees are left to grow thirty or forty years to pro- 

 duce saw timber, and even then, a sale for any purpose except cord- 

 wood would be doubtful, because lumber from young eucalyptus trees 

 is not in demand. It shrinks and warps too much. The claim that 

 merchantable lumber can be sold from ten-year-old plantations is 

 emphatically denied. Nobody buys such lumber. The average 

 diameter of logs of that age is considerably under twelve inches 

 when green, and they shrink about fourteen per cent in drying. 



The fraudulent claims made by some of the euealyiJtus promoters, 

 who have land for sale, are exposed. Their offer of planted land at 

 $250 an acre is a good thing for them, but mighty poor business for 

 the investor. It does not require much arithmetic to show a loss 

 tor the man who pays $250 an acre for planted land, keeps it ten 

 years, and sells the crop for $160, which is $90 less than he paid. 

 The government report speaks directly to the jioint on this subject. 

 ' ' If the total amount paid out, ' ' it says, ' ' exceeds $160 per acre, 

 obviously there is a loss of capital, aside from the failure to secure 

 any interest upon it." 



The report attacks another preposterous claim made by some of 

 the California eucalyptus land promoters who represent that an acre 

 of eucalyptus will produce 100,000 board feet of lumber iu ten 

 years. It is shown that the best thirty-two-year-old plantation in 

 California scales only 57,820 board feet, by actual measurement. 

 ' ' It should be borne in mind, ' ' the report further says, ' ' that 

 nowhere in the history of the world has any such quantity of wood 

 as 100,000 board feet been produced per acre in ten years." 



It may pay to grow eucalyptus cordwood in California on cheap, 

 unirrigated land, but on good, irrigated land it will pay five or ten 

 fold more to grow fruit, or field crops, and even on unirrigated land 

 it will probably pay better to grow wheat and barley. There is 

 no evidence that the growing of this wood for lumber will pay any- 

 thing under any circumstances; and according to the report it will 

 not pay to grow cordwood excejit on a pretty large scale. 



