HARDWOOD RECORD 



of timljcr, aii^l oii iiiiiiiy forests the futiie yield is resei\ eil for siub 

 neeils. Small «|ierators are preferred and encouraged as far as they 

 are able and equipiied to eiit and market the stnnipaye, the large 

 sales being restricted to inaccessible areas which siii;iil uiierators 

 can not exploit. 



Problems concerning the most etfective utilization of national 

 forest timber are being studied. Such are the reduction of waste 

 through closer manufacture and the production of distillates or 

 other byiirodncts, the extracting of naval stores as an accessory 

 to lumbering, tlie use of inferior lumber species for the manufac- 

 ture of paper, and the promotion of new or more valuable uses for 

 particular species through preservative treatment. Ou'^ of the 

 most significaint of the recent developments in national forest sales 

 is the demand for various western species for the manufacture of 

 pulp an<l paper. The forest products laboratory has demonstrated, 

 through experimental runs of pulp and paper and tests of news 

 print in actual use, that many western conifers are well adapted 

 lo the manufacture of news print and other standard grades of 

 l)aper. These are particularly the red fir of California, the Kngel- 

 mann spruce and lodgepole ])ine of the Bocky Mountains and 

 northwestern states, and the Sitka spruce and western ln'nilo.k of 

 the northern Pacific coast and Alaskan forests. 



Exceedingly valuable and practical results have also been 

 obtained through demonstration of the desirability of telephone 

 poles cut from the lodgepole pine and treated with preservatives 

 at the butt. The supply of western red cedar, hitherto the stand- 

 ard pole timber of the West, has become greatly diminished. In 

 consequence, market prices are high, particularly iu the Kocky 

 Mountain region, where the cost of long freight hauls must: be 

 added to the first cost of the timber. Tt has been shown that 

 lodgei)ole pine poles are stronger than cedar poles of the same 



dimensions and, with preservative treatnu'ut, more duraide. 



The increasing volume of timber sales carries with it increasing 

 costs to estimate the timber, to transact the sale, and to supervise 

 the cutting operations. 



During the year timber cruising was extended over 3,8(57,627 

 acres of national forests. This work involves an estimate of the | 

 .standing timber, the most jjracticable methods of exploitation, the 

 extent and character of young growth, and other matters which 

 aft'oct manageuK'nt. A total of 17,512,342 acres of national forest 

 land, or about one eighth of the timber area of the country, has now 

 been cruised. 



This cruising must be done before tind>er sales are made, to 

 settle questions of title, to determine what cutting is advisable, 

 and to fix the price. In fact, the expansion of the timber sale 

 business depends upon the ability of the Forest Service to estimate 

 and appraise the areas in demand. Timber estimates are the first 

 step not only in making sales, upon which the forest revenues 

 mainly depend, but also in the preparation of working plans for 

 the systematic development and use of all forest resources. This 

 phase of national forest administration is increasing in importance 

 as use of the forests increases. Systematic plans are now becoming 

 urgent on forests like the Coeur d'Alenc and Kaniksu, in the white 

 pine belt of northern Idaho, where the demand for national forest 

 stumpage is exceptionally keen; the Whitman in eastern Oregon, 

 which is supplying a large local lumber industry up to approxi- 

 mately its maximum capacity; the Ueerlodge in Montana, which is- 

 drawn upgn heavily for local mining timbers; and the Black Jlills 

 and Harney iu South Dakota, whose cut is rapidly increasing and 

 will soon approach the maximum amount that these areas can 

 produce. Working plans for such forests are being developed and 

 ]ierfected as rapidly as practicable with present funds. 



■ K'^TOgjimaiiij^iOTi^iOW^th>iiai'a^^^ 



No two woods are alike, and for that matter no two specimens 

 from the same log are identical. There are certain properties that 

 characterize every wood, but in any case they are subject to 

 considerable variation. Oak is a hard, heavy, and strong wood, 

 but some pieces, even of the same species of oak, are much harder, 

 heavier, and stronger than others. With hickory are associated 

 the properties of great strength, toughness, and resilience, but 

 some pieces are comparatively weak and brash and ill suited for 

 the exacting demands for which good hickory is peculiarly adapted. 

 Many woods have reputations for great durability, 3'et specimens 

 of them are constantly failing to live up to their reputed qualities. 



It is evident, then, that woods should be chosen with due regard 

 to the uses to which they are to be put. Woods best for some 

 purposes are not adapted to others and the greatest economy of 

 material will result when materials are employed for the particular 

 uses for which thej' are suited. In grading rules in common use, 

 timbers and boards are sorted into classes according to defects. 

 This is good as far as it goes, though difference of opinion may 

 arise as to what is actually a defect. . 



The use of wood must be taken into consideration in defining 

 defects. For instance, sapwood is di.scriminaited against in some 

 cases while in others the presence of heart is objectionable. Knots 

 are almost universally considered defects, yet in some instances the 

 presence of sound knots may not only do no harm but actually 

 help. For instance, knots have little if any appreciable effect on 

 the stiffness and compression of wood, may increase a beam's 

 resistance to longitudinal shear, and may produce pleasing decora- 

 tive effects in panels and furniture. 



If strength is the prime consideration iu the choice of wood 

 material, it is not sufficient that the timber be free from visible 

 defects. Given two equally sound and dry pieces of the same 

 dimensions, of the same species, and possibly from the same log, 

 one of them may jirove a third stronger than the other. This 



is due to the fact that wood is not a homogeneous material like 

 metal or concrete, but an intricate structure produced by growth. 

 Variation in the soil in which the trees grow, in the available 

 amounts of food, light, and growing space, as well as the vitality 

 and age of the trees will be reflected in the kind and quality of 

 wood produced. It is well known, for example, that swamp-grown 

 timber differs from upland timber; forest-grown timber from' 

 second-growth; slow growth from rapid growth. So many factors 

 enter into the production of wood that generalizations are likely to 

 be misleading. 



Thousands of careful laboratory experiments have been made to 

 determine the strength and other properties of woods. These are 

 very valuable, indeed, and there is need for much more work along 

 this line. The results of such tests, however, prove the great 

 variability of woods even where selected specimens of the same 

 species are used. From such data average figures for strength, 

 elasticity and stiffness are obtained for use by architects and 

 builders in designing and construction. Yet the average wood, like 

 the average man, is not commonly met with. In making practical 

 use of such data the figures must either be low enough to include 

 the weakest pieces to be used, or what amounts to the same thing 

 — a factor of safety must be employed which will allow for the 

 variation in the material. The logical outcome is that if only the 

 best quality of wood is employed the structure will be stronger 

 than necessary, and a waste of good material will result. 



As previously stated the grading rules for different species and 

 classes of timber are based entirely upon the number and character 

 of defects in the material. The results of exhaustive tests clearly 

 demonstrate that such rules are for the most part not eft"ective in 

 classifying structural timbers according to their strength. The 

 formulation of rules that will accomplish this result is beset with 

 difficulties. One is the lack of suflScient data as the basis for such 

 rules, though this is in a fair way to be overcome. Another is 



