May 25, 1917 



^ Ship and Cantonment Requirements 



As might well be expected, the softwood forests will occupy the most 

 prominent place in supplying timbers and lumber for immediate war 

 needs. But the aggregate of hardwoods going into government uses, 

 primarily the construction of wooden ships and troop cantonments 

 will be an immense and an immediate outlet for mill supplies. The 

 two needs must be considered separately. 



In tlie construction of wooden housings for the new armies the 

 primary purpose was to select species most easily and cheaply avail- 

 able. Hence in aU the divisional regions except the east central states 

 softwoods have the call. In fact war department plans do not men- 

 tion hardwoods in any instance. The lumber committee, however, 

 suggested No. 3 square edge hardwood strips in five instances to take 

 the place of coniferous woods for flooring. The use of hardwood in 

 that way was suggested for New England, New York and Pennsyl- 

 vania, Atlantic coast (Pennsylvania to Georgia), Gulf States, and 

 Great Lakes region. 



The War Department plan gives the following list of hardwoods 

 available for cantonments in tlie east central states: 



12.212.934 total. -r - - n 



The committee of practical lumbermen cooperating with the gov- 

 ernment suggests the following hardwoods to replace some of those 

 listed by the War Department, this referring only to east central 

 states : 



1. To replace Nos. 30 and 31, above, without sheathing — No. 1 Com. yellow pop- 



13/16x4 or 6 — D&M Siding lar flooring; No. 1 



2. To replace Nos. 30 and 31 above, with sheathing- 



13/16 X random SIS Sheathing 



widths and 



lengths 

 13/16x4 or 6— D&SI Siding 



8- to 20- 



Com. -vyormy chestnut 

 No. 3 Com. yellow pop- 

 lar or Cottonwood : 

 sound wormy chestnut 



No. 1 or 2 Com. yellow 

 poplar flooring: No. 1 

 Com. wormy chestnut 



3. To replace No. 33 above — No. 3 Com. yellow pop- 



13/16 X random SIS Floor lining lar or cotton wood: No. 



widths and 2 wormy chestnut 



lengths 

 13/16x21/3 to G S4S or Flooring No. 2 Com. oak or No. 1 



— random D&^I Com. black gum or 



lengths chestnut flooring; C- 



grade tupelo flooring: 

 factor.y flooring of 

 beech, birch, or maple: 

 or No. 3 Com. square 

 edge strips of oak, 

 black gum. tupelo, 

 beech, birch, or maple 



4. For interior finish — No. 1 or 2 Com, yellow 



13/16x4 to 10 — SIS or Ceiling poplar flooring; No. 1 



^- to 20' 2S T&G Com. wormy chestnut 



Hardwood strips to include oak, black gum, tupelo. beech, birch and maple. 



The above total of 12,212,934 feet of lumber shows the amount 

 required in constructing the standard camp for 25,000 infantrymen. 

 The lumber is all interchangeable as to species and grades in the dif- 

 ferent sections. 



Shipbuilding 



In the shipbuilding end the hardwoods needed are limited to those 

 species whose peculiar qualities make them better fitted than any other 

 woods. The specifications include wood needed for one ship, the total 

 in each case for tlie standard ship being 1,381,792 feet. The speci- 

 fications so far published include construction only on the Gulf and 

 Atlantic coast. In purchasing the stuff will be bought only in com- 

 plete units of one standard ship. 



In explaining the specifications the committee says : 

 Material mu.st I)e sawed large enough to surface down to net dimensions 

 given. 



Purchase and inspection of lumber will be b.v the government or under 

 government supervision — inspection at the mill. 



The following are the hardwood items which will enter into the 

 construction of each ship : 



Size, Length 

 Item I*cs. inches feet B. M. Kind 



Stern post 4 14x24 40 4,480 VF. oak, net, se- 



lect struct., S4S 



Rudder post -. 1 16x18 40 960 do. S4S 



Horn timbers 2 12x16 20 640 do. S2S 



Shaft log 4 14x14 18 1,176 do. S4S 



Flitch timber frames.. 300 12x24 5 45,000 crooked w. oak, 



wde. & up & up S2S 



Rudder stock 1 18x18 30 810 W. oak heart, 



bighest grade 

 S4S 



Keel shoe 10 3x16 28 980 W. oak, net, 



sound 

 Forecastle & poop deck 



chock rails 10 6x8 20-30 720 W. oak, net, 



180 lin. sound 



Deadwood knees 2 16" thick-3" & 6" arms 



Already many private parties are either well launched in wooden 

 ship construction or are making ready to start in the near future. 

 It may reasonably be expected that the wooden ships constructed out- 

 side of the standard vessels of government construction will take about 

 the same proportion of hardwoods. In addition the construction of 

 steel vessels is in no way diminishing on accoimt of the renewed use 

 of wood. In fact it is being speeded up as energetically as is work 

 on the new type. Large quantities of wood are used here also. Then 

 there are the various types of war vessels and the myriads of small 

 craft that are taking shape all over the country. In- the latter case 

 the quantity of hardwood increases in reverse proportion to the size 

 of the boat. 



Illustrating the immense part lumber will play in the war game, 

 nothing could be more graphic than a recent statement by Charles II. 

 Worcester to the people of the Michigan towns of Chassell and On- 

 tonagon, where he operates mUls. Mr. Worcester is a member of the 

 lumber advisory committee of the National Council of Defense. 



He said that barracks will require more lumber than fifty mills 

 like that at Ontonagon can make; wooden ships will take the pro- 

 duction of one hundred such plants, boxes for food and ammunition 

 of a further one hundred, to say nothing of crating and boxes for 

 shipping the hundred and one other necessary things and the lumber 

 used in those articles. 



—21b— 



