26 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



spicuous features, with others of a more minute character, can be 

 readily observed in a transverse section and will enable the expert 

 to recoj,'nize true greenheart as distinct from every other kind of 

 wood which may be offered as such. 



A very close resemblance to the true greenheart is the wood of a 

 British Guiana tree which is called washiba, and which is probably 

 a species of Tecoma, a tree entirely unrelated to greenheart. Washiba 

 wood resembles greenheart more completely than any other wood in 

 South America. It can be easily recognized, however, by the fact 

 that the pith rays of washiba are arranged in horizontal lines as 

 seen on a smooth tangential surface. This wood is now being im- 

 ported into the United States under the patented name of bethabara, 

 and is used extensively in the manufacture of fishing rods. 



Another wood that is occasionally recommended to take the place 



of greenheart in marine construction is the bulletwood {Mimusops 

 globosa), which is produced by one of the largest trees in South 

 America. It is particularly abundant in Dutch Guiana, but is also 

 very plentiful in Berbice, British Guiana. Bulletwood is very hard 

 and heavy and possesses many properties which render greenheart 

 fo valuable. It cannot be recommended for piling and marine con- 

 struction, because it is not proof against sea worms, and great care 

 shouUI be exercised not to include logs of this species when green- 

 heart is specified. True bulletwood is one of the easiest woods to 

 be recognized by means of a hand lens. On a smooth transverse 

 surface can be seen numerous fine, short lines of small pores arranged 

 in radial rows, and still more numerous, though less conspicuous, are 

 the concentric lines of soft tissue which run at right angles to the 

 indistinct pith rays. 



'vty^waMMJa stigw^i^ramtttyiaiTO^)^^ 



Graves Analyzes ISfational Issue 



Henry S. Graves, forester of the United States, returned to Wash- 

 ington recently from field work which took him to the Pacific coast 

 states, and to Arizona and New Mexico. While in the West he was 

 in direct touch with many of the lumbermen in connection with the 

 study of the lumber industry recently inaugurated by the Forest 

 Service of the Popartment of Agriculture and by the Bureau of For- 

 eign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce. 



In speaking of his trip, Mr. Graves pointed out that his view of 

 the present lumber situation, which is admittedly bad from the stand- 

 point of business, is primarily from the angle of the consequences 

 to the general public. ' ' I recognize very clearly, ' ' says Mr. Graves, 

 "that when a great industry, second in importance in the country, 

 and the one which empolys the largest number of men, reaches a 

 condition of depression, the whole country suffers a loss. A part of 

 this public loss can be definitely measured in dollars and cents. 

 Another part of it cannot be so expressed, for it concerns the prob- 

 lem of actual existence of hundreds of thousands of individuals who 

 are dependent for a livelihood directly or indirectly on this industry. 



' ' Not only does the public lose through the consequences of an 

 industrial depression, but there is a very definite loss from the stand- 

 point of conservation of our lumber supply. Every operator must 

 appreciate this when he is forced to waste large quantities of material 

 because he cannot market it; yet the conditions are such that he 

 must continue to operate to meet financial or moral obligation. In 

 other words, he must keep up interest charges on his investment, 

 or maintain his working organization to prevent suffering in the 

 community which he had built up and which is dependent upon 

 him. It is elementary that, when a business is not prosperous, it will 

 be difficult to work out plans which must go hand in hand with such 

 prosperity. To make forest resources go as far as possible with a 

 minimum of waste, to continue and renew these resources, and to 

 build up and make permanent the industries depending upon them, 

 require that the business must be carried on at a profit. I have 

 found that there are still many who do not appreciate this inter- 

 relation and interdependence of conservation and industry. 



Problems of the Lumber Industry 

 "As I see the problem, it has three general divisions: 

 "First, there are inherent problems in the handling of a natural 

 resource under conditions resulting from private ownership, such as 

 those leading to over-production, destructive competition, and forced 

 timber cutting. 



"Second, problems due to defects in the way the lumber business 

 is handled, such as imprudent bonding, over-investment, and inade- 

 quate knowledge of costs and methods of distribution. 



"Third, those problems which arise from a failure of the public 

 and of the industry to get together in a spirit of co-operation, and in 

 general a failure to recognize their mutual interests in attaining 

 an end essential to the welfare of the industry and of the people 

 as a whole. 



The Government's Inqtjiry 



' ' In this connection, I wish to point out particularly that the pres- 

 ent inquiry by the government is not undertaken with any inquisi- 

 torial attitude, but in a constructive spirit to find out and to bring 

 forward for the benefit of the public and of the industry just what 

 are the present conditions and the causes of the depression. 



' ' The three points to be covered are : First, the economic prob- 

 lems from the point of view of the producer; second, the distribution, 

 with a view to finding out ways to benefit both the producer and 

 the consumer; and third, the extension of foreign trade. The bring- 

 ing of these facts together cannot be otherwise than helpful to the 

 industry, because the presentation of the whole field as a result of 

 such study by an impartial public agency should result in a better 

 relationship than now exists between the industry and the public." 



Local Problems 



On being asked whether he had investigated specific problems on 

 the national forests, Mr. Graves stated that among the important 

 special questions which he had studied were the development of plans 

 for the handling of the Olympic national monument in Washington 

 and the Grand Canyon of Arizona. In general the principal aim of 

 the field trip was to study how the forests may be made to serve the 

 local public in the building up of their communities and industries. 

 Cooperation in this field is already far advanced as is evidenced 

 by the local support which is being given to the Forest Service in 

 its work of fire protection and forest administration. 



On being asked about the bad fire situation this year, Mr. Graves 

 stated that in portions of the Northwest the seasonal conditions were 

 just as bad as in 1910. ' ' The only difference from 1910 lies in the 

 fact that during the year just closed the Forest Service mastered 

 the fire situation and kept the damage down to an insignficant amount. 

 The organization was put to its greatest test and stood up under that 

 test. It was definitely demonstrated this year that it is possible to 

 protect the western forests from fire even in the worst years. In 

 1910 the Forest Service was unable to cope with the situation with- 

 out large loss, primarily because the forests were not equipped with 

 trails, telephones, and other improvements. While an enormous amount 

 of work along this line remains to be done, nevertheless with the 

 improvements already complete and the more experienced and efficient 

 organization, the serious season just closed was passed after a hard 

 fight with small damage to the public. Instances occurred outside of 

 the national forests on private lands where the protective organization 

 of the owners broke down and enormous damage resulted; in one 

 or two instances the efforts of individual states were not successful, 

 duo to lack of effective organization. All these facts demonstrated 

 the necessity for the closest co-operation between all agencies inter- 

 ested in timberlands and the need of full public support in order to 

 provide for effective machinery to prevent forest fires. Altogether 

 greater progress was made in the matter of handling fires during the 

 current season than during any previous year." 



