June 25, 1917 



Lumber Yard Sanitation 



In civilized society it is considered a crime to permit preventable 

 diseases to go unchecked. There are quarantines, disinfections, 

 sterilization, and isolation camps for the purpose of preventing the 

 spread of disease and efEecting its cure. 



A bulletin, bearing the number 510 and published by the govern- 

 ment bureau of plant industry, outlines a system for securing 

 greater sanitation for lumber yards; that is, a method of preventing 

 great loss of lumber by decay. It is to be accomplished by quaran- 

 tining against decaying wood and shutting it out of yards; disin- 

 fecting the premises which contain the germs of decay; sterilizing 

 the lumber to prevent its becoming a field for the culture of decay 

 organisms; and isolation areas in which to set apart material too 

 badly decayed to be worth saving. This, in short, is the plan pro- 

 posed in the bulletin which is the work of C. J. Humphrey, pathol- 

 ogist in the Bureau of Plant Industry. The bulletin's title is: 

 "Timber Storage Conditions in the Eastern and Southern States 

 with Eeference to Decay Problems." 



The loss of lumber by decay in yards is great, and while noti 

 wholly preventable, it might be reduced to a low point by proper 

 means of sanitation. The author of the bulletin inspected many'' 

 lumber yards in the eastern and southern portions of the country 

 and noted carefully the conditions which are unfavorable to a 

 healthy condition of the lumber. The principal of these follow: 



Many of the yards are located in damp situations. 



Crops of weeds are permitted to grow about the premises, conducing to 

 dampness and poor ventilation. 



Quantities of decaying wood are scattered about the ground, supplying 

 culture beds for germs of decay. 



The foundations of the lumber stacks are of unsound wood, thereby com- 

 municating decay to the superimposed material. 



Unsound sticks are employed in piling lumber, and do the same harm as 

 unsound foundations. 



Frequently lumber is left too long unplled, and decay gains access to it 

 and afterwards it is hard to check. 



Foundations are not high enough above the ground, and circulation of 

 air beneath the piles is hindered, thereby hastening the process of decay. 



Most or all of these conditions may exist in a single yard, or 

 only one or two of them may be present, but the presence of a 

 single one may have serious results in promoting decay of good 

 lumber. Much more attention is paid to lumber yard sanitation 

 than formerly. Usually the large yards are kept in excellent con- 

 dition. 



Decay prospers only on deca.v. The germs which produce decay 

 originate in rotting wood, and the wind scatters them far and 

 wide and in countless numbers. They .fall on sound lumber and 

 infect it, if conditions of dampness are favorable. Good ventila- 

 tion quickly dries the surface of wood, and germs falling there fail 

 to grow. That emphasizes the importance of having air circulating 

 all around and all through pile? of lumber. Even though the germs 

 of decay are present, they can do no harm to wood if the surface 

 is kept dry, or if it dries quickly after being wet. 



The necessity of keeping a lumberyard clean of all decaying 

 wood is evident. By doing so, the danger of loss by rotting ofl 

 lumber is greatly lessened. It should be constantly borne in mind 

 that a pound of rotting wood often has it in its power to contami- 

 nate a carload of clean lumber. It is not sufficient to remove the 

 decaying trash simph' beyond the borders of the yard. The wind 

 will carry the germs back into the yard. All trash should be 

 burned, or at least be transported far beyond the premises. 



Sometimes a yard is covered with a thick layer of sawdust, under 

 the mistaken notion that by this means a dry yard is provided for 

 the lumber. Such a yard is almost certain to become a swarming 

 ground for decay germs and of course the lumber piled there cannot 

 escape. 



The ground on which lumber is piled should be clean and clear 

 of all decaying matter. It should have the best ventilation possible, 

 over, under, between, and through the piles. 



It wiU contribute to the good conditions of a yard if the founda- 

 tions are of wood which has been given preservative treatment to 



hinder decay. Some progressive lumbermen provide concrete foun- 

 dations, and these, of course, are proof against decay and can do no 

 injury to lumber which comes in contact with them. 



Stirring Meeting of Open Price Members 



Members of the open competition plan of the Hardwood Manufac- 

 ,turers' Association, in session at Memphis, Saturday, June 9, refuted 

 the claim that lumber interests are trying to hold up the government 

 on its lumber requirements by voluntarily agreeing to furnish the 

 white oak timber needed for the framework of 100 wooden ships to be 

 constructed by^ the federal shipping board at cost, if not at less than 

 actual cost. 



Memphis members led in the movement by volunteering to pro 

 rate 20 per cent of this quantity of timbers among themselves, and 

 members from outside poiuts were quick to follow with pledges for the 

 remaining 80 per cent. 



W. E. DeLaney, Lexington, Ky., who is on the sub-committee on 

 lumber of the committee on raw material. Council of National De- 

 fense, delivered a patriotic appeal to the lumbermen to forget profits 

 in the present hour of need of the government and to supply the latter 

 with whatever raw material it needed in its preparation for the defense 

 of the country and for participation in the European war at cost. He 

 contrasted the position of business men witli that of the young men 

 who are going to the front, and intimated that the sacrifice of profits 

 on the part of the former was necessarily small as compared with 

 that of the latter, who are risking their lives and who are going into 

 battle in the prime of their manhood and on the threshold of their 

 business or professional careers. 



He followed by giving the specifications, and the lumbermen re- 

 sponded with enthusiasm and with promptness. It was pointed out 

 that only sturdy timbers could be used and that it would be necessary 

 to select the trees from which these are to be made, thus necessitating 

 long and expensive haiils. It was likewise emphasized that special 

 machinery would have to be installed to make these timbers. It was 

 stUl further poiutf^ out that the supplying of these timbers might 

 result in actual loa.. But the lumbermen were determined and they 

 showed their wUUingness to take the chance. 



The Memphis lumbermen who agreed to divide twenty per cent of 

 the order among their firms follow: H. B. Weiss, George C. Brown & 

 Co.; Ralph May, May Brothers; J. F. McSweyn, the Memphis Band 

 Mill Company; C. L. Wheeler, J. W. Wheeler & Co.; M. B. Cooper, 

 the Three States Lumber Company; and E. L. Jurden of Penrod, 

 Jurden & McCowen, Inc. These gentlemen wUl hold subsequent meet- 

 ings at which this order wlil be parceled out and at which it will be 

 decided what special machinery is needed and where. 



There was considerable discussion of the condition of the market. 

 Particular emphasis was laid on the value of both stock and sales 

 reports and it was urged that the lumbermen make their reports to 

 the secretary of the association promptly in order that all who are 

 working under this open competition plan may have the latest and 

 most complete data on which to base their transactions. 



President B. B. Burns of Huntington, W. Va. ; F. K. Gadd, assistant 

 to the president, and M. W. Stark, St. Albans, W. Va., chairman of 

 the open competition plan, were among the prominent members of 

 the association present at the Memphis meeting. 



Inspecting juachine knives when they come from the maker 

 should be strictly attended to. A good straight-edge for this work 

 is one of thu necessities. Take a knife on the ends of the fingers 

 with one hand, and the straight-edge in the other. Try it length- 

 wise first and see if it fits evenly all the way, especially where the 

 steel is laid on, and then back at the slots. If any crooked places 

 are found, they should be corrected before using. Now lay the 

 straight-edge crosswise and note whether it is a little crowning or 

 not. A knife should be perfectly straight lengthwise, and, if any- 

 thing, a little concave on the cutting side. » 



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