26 



THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



Staiuiag. 



Third Staining.— One of the most important 

 Droblems toi- both the pine and the hardwood 

 manufacturer is how to prevent staining m lum- 

 ber Recent investigations made by the Bureau 

 of Plant Industry, lia^e shown that this stam- 

 ina is due to one or more species of fungus 

 which bv growing in the wood discolor the 

 same The life history of this fungus has been 

 studied and we are engaged in testing various 

 simple methods for preventing the same at a 

 very low cost. Before the end of this coming 

 summer. I hope to be able to describe some of 

 these methods more In detail. In some of the 

 tubes which I am passing around, you will see 

 some of these fungi growing on sticks of pine 

 wood, artifically inoculated. A further Hue of 

 investigation deals with the susceptibilit.v of tim- 

 bers to various decay producing fungi In other 

 words, determinations are being made to hnd 

 how long it is safe to pile sapwood and what 

 the best forms of piling are. These tests are 

 being made with beech and gum at the present 

 time I am passing around two tie sections, one 

 of beech and one of gum which have been piled 

 for about six months, showing the ^eat extent 

 to which these timbers are destroyed by fungi. 

 We are very certain that by proper piling, this 

 decay may be almost wholly stopped. 

 Preservation. 

 Fourth. Preservation.— Many kinds of n-cjod. 

 particularly the so-called inferior woods, have 

 a very short length of lite when exposed to the 

 air oJ ground, which has often been the cause 

 for selling them at very low prices, /ft ith the 

 knowledgl which we have today of the general 

 proTositfon of wood preservation. I have no hesi_. 

 ration in saving that almost any of the mfeilor 

 hardwoods Van be rendered .P^jX^'"^"'''- ,,-3;j«^ 

 proof, for longer or shorter periods and that the 

 non resistance to decay need no longer be iv- 

 garded as a poor feature. There is much to be 

 learned as to the details of wood preservation 

 for instance the extent to which various kinds 

 of wood will absorb chemicals of different charac- 

 ter whetTier those woods will be changed in 

 quality after the treating operation: what the 

 extent of penetration of various chemicals is, 

 what the cost is for various woods. 



During the past summer we have lieen con- 

 ducting tests as to the influence of preliminary 

 steaming on wood Hber, but we have so far test- 

 ed only loblolly pine: however, the resnilts ob- 

 tained ' from this timber will probably apply to 

 hard woods to an even greater extent. It was 

 found that steaming of wood decreases Us 

 strength very materially. The longer the wood 

 was steamed the weaker it became, so for i i- 

 stance it was found that steaming wood for ten 

 hours with .30 pounds of steam decreased its 

 strength apprnxiinately 2.5 per cent. The same 

 was true of short periods of steaming and wit 

 steam at higher pressure. In view of the fa. t 

 that oaks and other hard woods are more sus- 

 ceptible to heat than pines, it is probable that 

 very much shorter periods of steamlni: will in- 

 iur4 oak fiber. It was found .""•""•'■","";>' ' '» 

 'the inlectiou of creosote into pme wood did not 

 decrease the strength of wood any more than the 

 iniection of water of n similar amount wouhl. 



'in other words, the creosoted wood is prac- 

 tically as strong as the green wood, roncern- 

 ing tiie penetration of salts, we determined con- 

 clusively that timbers like beech and elm. which 

 hitherto had been very little used for suc^h mu- 

 poses as ties, absorlied solutions of zinc i;lilo- 

 ride perfertlv. penetrating to the heart. When 

 It is found possible to economically treat womis 

 which decay rapidlv. a market for other pur- 

 poses than ties will he opened up for those 

 woods. This will at the same time serve to re- 

 strict the use of woods like white oak for higiiei 

 grade purposes, a condition which would be very 

 desirable because the utilization of white <iak In 

 the form of a tie is almost criminal at this day. 

 when quarter sawed white oak is worth as nuiih 

 as .1:70. , , , 



The butt treatment of rapidly decaying wooi's 

 like sycamore, willow, maple, etc.. for fence 

 post purposes, will form a large step in the 

 economlciil utilization of similar trees and tops. 

 particularly as we have found It nossible to so 

 treat the biilt of a fence post with creosote for 

 about nve cents as to give it !."> to 2" years 

 life 



l' cannot here enter Into a discussion of 

 numerous other problems vital to the preserving 

 anest'nn. such as snecificatlons of creosote, meili- 

 ods of analysis of chemicals, methods for de- 

 termining penetration, insnection. etc .\ll ol 

 these are Important nuestlons for the proper 

 use of hard woods which are being pushed vlgor- 

 oualy. , , , 



I would emphasize that the preservation of 

 wood Is a matter within the reach of everyone — 

 In other words it Is not necessary to put up a 

 $200.(1(10 iireserving plant : every user of wood 

 can build an anparatus to treat hoards and 

 other forms of lumber with mercuric chloride. 

 the cost of the treatment being about 4V, cents 

 per cubic foot, or he can put up (Uie or more 



plants for preserving processes which require 

 a very small preliminary outlay. 



Use of By-Products. 



Fifth, Use of By-Products. — The hard wood in- 

 dustries, more than any other of the lumber in- 

 dustries are coming to consider the possibility 

 of the utilization of by-products for a long 

 time. Every one has been conscious that a large 

 waste is going on In lumhering operations. We 

 hear much about leaving tops in the woods, and 

 many an effort is being made to stop this waste. 

 In niany parts of the hard wood countries, manu- 

 facturing establishments are going up for the 

 purpose of manufacturing acetic acid, wood alco- 

 hol and charcoal out of the tops, branches and 

 slabs. There are a number of such establish- 

 ments in actual operation in the hard wood dis- 

 tricts of Michigan. Pennsylvania and New York, 

 and efforts of this character deserve all the en- 

 couragement they can get for they will serve 

 to instill a spirit of economy in lumbering opera- 

 tions, which up to date, while it may not have 

 been necessary or expedient, is nevertheless very 

 desirable. Tlie Bureau of Forestry is carrying 

 on extensive investigations into this question. 

 We have begun by examining the various by- 

 product plants to determine the quantities of 

 by-products which can be manufactured from 

 various species of wood. These investigations 

 will be followed by suggestions looking toward 

 ii greater realization out of the raw material. 

 I hope then to be able to answer such ipiestions 

 as the following, which are coming in daily to 

 us. how much alcohol will a cord of beech wood 

 make? What can we do with our wood tar? 

 Will black oak or catalpa make more charcoal? 

 etc. The attention of all hardwood manufac- 

 turers should be directed toward this phase of 

 economical work, and while it may not always 

 be possible to carry out by-product industries, 

 they nevertheless should receive careful consid- 

 eration. 



1 cannot close this paper without a brief ref- 

 erence to the question of grading and Inspection, 

 although I realize in so doing a tender spot Is 

 touched, which may at any time give rise to an 

 explosion. Interest in Inspection and grading, 

 which is making Itself felt on the pari of hard- 

 wood manufacturers, as Is evidenced in com- 

 munications, conventions, and articles in the 

 trade Journals, is one which has a rational 

 foundation, and which should be stimulated until 

 something delinite Is arrived at. While it Is 

 nut niv purpose to irlve expression to any decid- 

 ed views for or agalnSt the adoptiiui of national 

 standard rules. I nevertheless would like to 

 point out some considerations In this connection. 

 1 have a feeling that the making of grades and 

 inspection rules is first and foremost a matter of 

 trade and trade laws. In other words grades 

 should be elastic so as to adapt themselves to 

 the changed conditions of supply and demand. 

 That everyone Is anxious to see a standard set 

 of grades "and methods of Inspection established. 

 1 doubt not. The demand comes as strong from 

 the timber consumer as from the manufacturer. 

 Keeling that such a demand is universal, the 

 .\raerican Society for Testing Materials, which 

 Is a branch of the Inteniatlonnl organization 

 .if the same name, organized for the purpose of 

 <liscusslng and estalillslilnc standard speciflca- 

 lions for structural nialerlal of all kinds, has re- 

 cently appointed a coinmlltee for the purpose of 

 discu's-slni; the iiuestion of lumber speclHcatlons. 

 Lumber maniifaiturers. architects, engineers, 

 foresters and otiiers uuallfied to discuss such an 

 iniiiortaiit (piestlon will compose this commit- 

 tee. It invites suggestiims from lumber manu- 

 facturers as to the desirability of establishing 

 rational standards, both for grading and inspec- 

 tion. The committee will probably seek to de- 

 termine, not so much what shall constitute a 

 soecihc grade or grailes. but what points shall 

 be considered in making grades. I i-annot help 

 feeling that the relation between the consumer 

 and the producer have changed positions with 

 respect to the lumber supply question. In other 

 words, while formerly it was a (piestion of ilie 

 corsumer specifying certain irrades and materials 

 which be wanted. dei>endlng upon the producer 

 III furnish whatever he might demand, today the 

 lonsunier Is very largely in a position of taking 

 what the manufacturer can furnish. I am very 

 imicb ill symnnthy with the communication print- 

 ed during the summer by a Michigan manu- 

 facturer and the comments made by one of the 

 trade journals, concerning the same, which says: 

 "As a matter of fact, lumber Is not made as the 

 consumers want it. excejit in shape. Consumers 

 have to take what lumber tbev can get. even In 

 respect to periods of growth. It consumers 

 could dictate as to the kinds and qualities of 

 Inmlier lliev would like lo use. they would great- 

 h impriive on nature iiself. Tbev would have 

 ihelr oak a little softer, their maple all white, 

 their birch all ciirley. their poplar devoid of 

 bla-k knots, their elm white and soft, etc." 



While I said above thai I do not propose to 

 Indorse either one side or the other. I fear that 

 my leaning Is toward the side of having the 

 producer make the erades. and make grades 

 which shall be standard, bearing in mind, of 



course, the demands current at any particular 

 time. Investigations as to actual qualities will, 

 I firmly believe, do mux:h toward making possi- 

 ble the universal system of grading for reasons 

 specified above. 



With the enormously Increasing demand being 

 yearly made on the hardwood supplies of this 

 country, a careful study of these factors which 

 lead to a more economical utilization of these 

 supplies becomes a daily more vital duty for 

 each manufacturer. Think of the amount of 

 timber which is yearly being removed from the 

 States of Kentucky and Tennessee, two of the 

 great hardwood states in this country. I was 

 recently informed in Chicago, that one firm was 

 making' approximately lO.OiXi.OOO ties of various 

 kinds of oaks, which taken conservatively means 

 cutting off 225.000 acres of hardwood annu- 

 ally. "Figures, such as these, should lead every 

 manufacturer to a close study of the possibility 

 of reforestation of their land. The study of 

 ways and means whereby lumbering should be 

 carried out so as to yield a future supply, should 

 lead men to study those elements of economical 

 handling, for only in that way will the hardwood 

 business be maintained on the high plane which 

 it enjoys at the present day. I am confident 

 that the future will see a more economical uti- 

 lization of the material in the log. more refined 

 marketing, and more economical utilization by 

 the use of standard grades. In other words, the 

 iiusiness will be conducted on a broader basis of 

 economy, and a greater regard for actual quali- 

 ties. 



Dr. Von Schrenk illustrated liis lecture 

 yvith numerous pliotographic enlargements, 

 thrown on a curtain, the details of which 

 will be described in a subsequent issue of 

 The Hardwood Record. 



Oa motion of S. Lieberman, a vote of 

 thanks was extended to Dr, Von Schrent 

 for his very able and highly instructive 

 paper. 



John W Love of Nashville was intro- 

 duced by the president and read a paper 

 on hardwood producing centers, an abstract 

 only of which follows, as the specific range 

 of hardwood timber growth recited in Mr. 

 Love's address is fully covered in an edi- 

 torial ill tliis issue of The TT.\rd\vood Record. 

 Hardwood Producing Centers. 

 I feel my utter Inability to do Justice to so 

 important "a sublect as "The Hardwood I»ro- 

 iludng Centers of the V. S.." but 1 hope to be 

 able brlcllv to call the attention of this body of 

 liractlcal I'lianufacturers to a few pertinent facts 

 tliat inav. in a mi>asure at least, open our eyes 

 to a painful truth, viz.. the rapidly decreasing 

 area of hardwood timber in the United States, 

 and when we consider how very little is being 

 done to conserve our forest growths how the 

 forests are being cleared from lioo)) poles to 

 giant oaks and that to supply the one Item of 

 iross ties that are used in this country alone, 

 about 4 iKMi.ddO.OdO feet of timber is required 

 (clearing about 200,000 acres of woodland annu- 

 allvi, and a large proportion of these ties are 

 cut from thrifty voung tre(>s. we must conclude 

 that a matter so weighty as t" give us pause. 

 The one hopeful sign In the future is the hope 

 that practical forestry methods may be en- 

 forced liv the government, as they are In Eu- 

 rope, especially in France, where, quoting from 

 an address delivered by the French Ambassador 

 before our recent American Forestry Congress, 

 the owner of mountain lands is recpiired to re- 

 forest them when denuded, and upon failure on 

 I- is part to do so. the government pays him a 

 fair price for his lands and replants the trees. 

 The Ambassador also suggested that their ef- 

 forts to reclaim the deserts of their colonial 

 possessions bv planting trees were proving very 

 successful. The Arab ciuiipiest of North Africa 

 destriived the forests and buried 1liat country 

 under a shroud of sand: an old chronicler re- 

 calling former times of prosperity writes "But 

 In those days one could walk from Tripoli to 

 Tunis in the shade." 



I believe that, taken collectively, the average 

 lumberman and apourtenances, such as stave 

 men, tie men, ax handle men, hoop pole fel- 

 lows, etc.. are v.-orse, when It comes to destroy- 

 ing a forest, tlian any horde of Arabs that ever 

 swept the deserts of .\frlca. 



But to get down to the present day— the 

 oractical proposition of hardwood producing 

 centers let us first consider that the combined 

 lumber business of the country measured In capi- 

 tal Invested, value of product and number of 

 men employed, stood first among American In- 

 dustries uiitll. with the gradual diminution of 



