April 10, 1921 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



53 



Fuel Value of Wood 



In heating value, one pound of good coal may be taken as the cqaiira- 

 lent of two pounds of Beasoned wood, says the Bureau of Standards, 

 Department of Commerce. Allowing eighty solid cubic feet of wood to 

 an average cord and assuming the sticks to be well seasoned, a cord of 

 hickory or other heavy wood is equivalent in heat value to one ton of 

 coal. For lighter woods, as cedar, poplar, spruce and white pine, two 

 cords are equivalent to. one ton of coal. 



Equal weights of dry non-resinou.s woods give off practically the same 

 amount of heat In burning; that is, a ton of dry cottonwood will give 

 off as much heat on burning as a ton of white oak. Highly reslnons 

 woods, like some of the pines and flrs, have an appreciably greater heat- 

 ing value per ton, because a pound of resin glveB off twice as much heat 

 during combustion as a pound of wood. 



When buying wood by the cord, it must be remembered that different 

 ipecles vary greatly in weight per cubic foot, so that a cord of hickory 

 has considerably more fuel value than a cord of soft maple. A cord of 

 seasoned wood contains more wood than a cord of green wood, because 

 of the shrinkage which takes place in seasoning. 



The amount of moisture In firewood influences not only the vigor with 

 which It burns but the amount of heat actually given off. Therefore 

 to obtain a standard cord of wood of the greatest fuel value, thoroughly 

 dry wood of the heaviest kind, straight In growth, cut into short lengths 

 and with the largest diameters, should be selected. Ae a rule, the soft- 

 woods burn more readily than the hardwoods and the lighter woods bum 

 more readily than the heavier ones. 



In Nelson C. Brown's book, "Forest Products," the following com- 

 parisons of the fuel values of bituminous coai and certain woods are 

 shown, the woods being dry and sound : 



One cord of hickory, oak, beech, bird, hard maple, ash, elm, locust, 

 cherry, and longleaf pine is equivalent to one ton of coal. 



One and a half cords of shortleaf pine, western hemlock, red gum, 

 Douglas fir, sycamore, soft maple, equivalent to one ton of coal. 



Two cords of cedar, redwood, yellow poplar, catalpa, Norway pine, 

 cypress, basswood, spruce, white pine are equivalent to one ton of coal. 



Specializing in Alder Lumber 



Alder lumber is practically unknown in eastern markets, but it la one 

 of the best hardwoods of the Pacific Coast, though it is abundant in cer- 

 tain localities only. A sawmill at Issaquah, Wash., specializes in alder 

 and western soft maple. The alder is sold to broom handle factories, 

 furniture makers, manufacturers of brush backs, makers of wooden shoes, 

 toys, and of Ironing boards for home laundries. Two species of alder are 

 sawed into lumber, one white, the other red. The latter is most valuable 

 and most abundant. The wood Is red like cedar, but its texture suggests 

 yellow poplar. It is much esteemed on the Pacific coast, where hardwoods 

 are scarce. The popular length of alder lumber is eight feet. The tree 

 blooms In midwinter, the flowers being catkins the size of lead pencils, 

 and the trees are often covered with bloom and snow at the same time. 



Chestnut Must Be Cut to Beat Blight 



Stating that the chestnut blight which has invaded West Virginia will 

 destroy the chestnut trees of the State by 1935, G. F. Gravatt, of the 

 bureau of Plant Pathology, United States Department of Agriculture, urges 

 the lumbermen who own chestnut timber to cut It at once. Mr. Gravatt 

 spent some time in 1920 with experts from the West Virginia Experiment 

 Station in determining the extent of the blight in that State, and studied 

 the rate of spread of the trouble. The West Virginia Experiment Station 

 has carried on some investigations of the blight for a number of years, 

 and until 1914 took an active part in efforts to destroy any trees found 

 affected. Dr. J. N. Gidding, the State plant pathologist, estimates the 

 standing chestnut timber as not far from 5,000,000,000 feet. The blight 

 first made its appearance In the Eastern Panhandle, composed of Jefferson, 

 Berkeley and Morgan counties, and spread west and south. The malady 

 has also apparently extended from Pennsylvania Into Monongalia and 

 Marion counties, and from Virginia into Pocahontas and Greenbrier and 

 other counties. The disease, in fact, has been found In not less than 17 

 counties of the State. The future rate of spread has been estimated from 

 the past rate and the present known distribution in West Virginia. It Is 

 estimated that more than half of the State's chestnut trees will be affected 

 by 1930, and that by 1932 practically the entire State will have the blight. 



In Jefferson. Berkeley and Morgan counties most of the chestnut growth 

 is now dead or rapidly deteriorating, due primarily to sap rot and checking. 

 The sooner this stand can be utilized, the smaller the loss will be. In 

 Mineral. Hampshire and Hardy counties there are many stands which need 

 to be cut shortly if deterioration is to be forestalled. It should be realized, 

 however, that each particular stand is to be considered as a separate unit. 

 The owner of a stand of chestnut should begin cutting as soon as the 

 blight starts In the trees or even sooner, because while poles seasoned on 

 the stamp are as good as those cut green, the breakage In handling dead 

 trees and the large percentage which develop sap rot cause a considerable 

 loss. 



The owner of a stand of trees suitable primarily for extract wood can 

 continue to market his trees tor a number of years after they are dead, 

 although the loss of the bark and decay of sapwood causes a considerable 

 decrease in volume. The Increased menace of loss from fire both to the 



standing dead trees and to the green trees of other species in the stand 

 makes it advisable to utilize the dead trees quickly. 



Mr. Gravatt emphasizes the fact that in all cutting operations con- 

 sideration should be given to the desirability of decreasing the percent of 

 chestnut in the future stand. There is little possibility of any of the 

 chestnut sprouts from future cutting in West Virginia attaining sufficient 

 size to be utilized for poles and lumber, in his opinion. 



Ideas In Hard-wood Conservation 



John A. Wheeler, forest engineer, of Cambridge, Mass., has some illumi- 

 nating ideas on forest preservation that are of special interest to the 

 hardwood manufacturers, especially in these days when so much is said 

 and written about reforestation. He believes there should be more atten- 

 tion paid to the subject of wood saving, especially of hardwooS saving. 

 He says the usual custom is to take a few logs off a tree and to leave the 

 rest of the tree in the woods to rot. He declares emphatically that not 

 more than one halt of the tree Is actually taken to the mill or in any 

 way used in the bulk of the operations going on today. He says : 



"In most cases the manufacturer will say he cannot afford to take out 

 tops and the rough parts of the tree and yet people will purchase high 

 grade lumber and work it up into small pieces. I believe the price on low 

 grade lumber is not in proportion to the price on high grade. Make the 

 price on low grade so the operator can sell the half left to rot in the 

 woods at a price it will pay to take It out. 



"All articles made out of wood, especially small pieces, can be made 

 out of this low grade with little waste and thus use up a large amount 

 of timber now left in woods to rot and it would also be wise to cut a 

 lot of the poorer class of trees now left to blow down or decay, for poor 

 trees take up as much land as good ones. In this way our hardwoods, 

 which are fast disappearing, would be greatly conserved and no one 

 would have any great hardship worked upon them." 



Reduction of Woodworking Fire Hazards 



Classes tor business as well as insurance men, conducted by the Mil- 

 waukee (Wis.) Fire Insurance Club, to secure co-operation toward con- 

 servation, are to be followed up by bulletins suggesting "what things to 

 watch in manufacturing plants," to executives. 



At Monday evening's class meeting, March 7, the following digest of this 

 type was made for the lumbering and woodworking industries, containing 

 the things that both the fire underwriter and examiner and the executive 

 should give special attention to. 



Roy L. Nicholson, one of the oldest experts on conservation in Wisconsin 

 and Michigan, conducted the class. The digest follows : 



Logging — Slashings in time become quite a menace to the logging, lum- 

 hering and woodworking business. They accumulate from trimmings, cut- 

 tings, etc. They rot in time if allowed to lay where they fall and a fire 

 starting therein will run through like tinder. Logs are piled up, awaiting 

 shipment. When so piled up, is the time when the first call for fire insur- 

 ance usually comes. As the timberlands have been cut over more and 

 more, the chances tor fires have Increased and every spring during the 

 period between snow going off and vegetation springing up, we can expect 

 a certain number of fires. If the snowfall was light, we can be certain 

 of it. What causes these fires is often hard to ascertain ;. locomotive sparks 

 and campers are often responsible. A fire like this may easily become 

 a holocaust and the history of our country has many horrible examples. 

 For prevention and protection, one can only recommend seeing that the 

 ground around such logs is kept clean as possible of brush, slashings and 

 dry rot, and the installation of barrels of water, with two pails at each 

 barrel, would be a help under some circumstances. They are not valu- 

 able, however, it there are no people around to use them. 



Saw Mills — It can be anything from a one-story wood shack with a 

 boiler and circular saw to a big Iron and steel structure, with detached 

 boDer and power house. Most mills are of frame construction. Some of 

 the smaller mills are "dry log mills," sawing logs without soaking, and 

 these are naturally much poorer fire risks, the operation creating more 

 dust and there being generally drier conditions. One of the principal 

 hazards of the industry is dust and refuse. Wood dust allowed to 

 accumulate upon walls and timbers will carry fire like a train of gun- 

 powder, and is also subject to explosion hazards. 



One of the specifications of a standard saw mill, therefore, and of other 

 woodworking plants also. Is a coating of whitewash made on government 

 standards, or paint with fireproof paint. This coating deters fire and 

 shows up dust accumulation. The usual saw mill in those states Is of 

 frame construction and rigid, to prevent vibration. Lighting is generally 

 by electricity and heating by steam. Generally there Is a sawing room 

 on the second floor and a filing room on the third. There should be stand- 

 pipes on each floor of two or two and one-half-lneh diameter with hose 

 attached, in suflicient quantity to reach all parts. There should in 

 addition be either water barrels and pails or approved extinguishers. 

 From personal experience I am inclined to favor the water barrels and 

 pail. Where the uneducated mill hand, in case of fire, might forget how 

 to handle an extinguisher, he instinctively knows what to do with a 

 bucket. Smoking should be prohibited. Look for shingle or lath mill 

 in connection with saw mills, increasing the hazard. Refuse should be 

 burned tor fuel under the boilers. Refuse burners are provided that will 

 take the excess. The old pit is now luckily a thing of the past, the sparks 

 coming therefrom being a constant menace. Refuse burners should be of 

 iron and lined with brick preferably, located as far from the mill as possl- 



