tliori.unlii "11 rtiKiigoa in tli.' 



■tuilv of • •:li«itiou of WOOlI. 



It »•urk^ iroiii the fnroiit im 



thp oriuin il -■»!■•■ ■i Mipiilv. to tlu- uiti 

 iiinto cuimuiiior of the proiliicts. Altb«u|;;li 

 this (livision of tlic Kori-st Servicp hn.H bcfn 

 active for several yean, the general |>u)> 

 lie is not mo well arqiininteil with tlio muk 

 as it abould be. 



The Forest Service is very broad in its 

 scope. Existing forest oreas are cruisoil, 

 protected, and improvinl. Lumber oporii- 

 tious within those areas are regulated and 

 supervised. Improvements in the way of 

 roads, trails, bridges, and telephones arc 

 carried on constantly and in many states. 

 Immense numbers of cattle, horses, sheep, 

 iinil goats find pasturage on tbo govern- 

 incut forests among the western mountains, 

 where, without regulation, the ranges would 

 soon be ruined through abuse. Streamflow 

 is, in a measure, controlled by protection 

 of the steep slopes, and there is better sup- 

 ply of water for irrigation and other purposes, 

 much additional are carried on in direct relation with 



IIX(jT().\, 



ernnient's own forests; but the study of utilization goes outside 

 of national forests and government timber areas, and comes in 

 direct contact with the people in their factories, shops, mills, and 

 even in their homes. It is concerned with putting wood to its best 

 uses after it has been grown. 



The division of the Forest Service which has this work in hand 

 is called "Industrial Investigations." The term is broad enough 

 to include many things, but narrow enough to cxchulo ukto tlicd- 

 retical experimentation. It strikes straight for practical results all 

 the time. 



The division is in charge of O. T. Swan, a technically trained 

 timber engineer, ami the head office is in Washington, I). C; but 

 most of the work is done in the field. It is not chiefly office work, 

 because it depends on direct contact with users of wood in all its 

 forms and in all parts of the United States. It is intended to be 

 a sort of clearing house for information concerning the uses of 

 wood; gathering from those who know and furnishing to those who 

 wish to know. 



St.\te Wood-Using Keports 



From time to time during two or three years past reports have 

 been appearing, state by state, giving statistics of the various 

 uses of wood in different states. Lumbermen and manufacturers 

 of commodities wholly or chiefly of wood have become familiar 

 with this series of state reports. The latest to be published were 

 those of Ohio, South Carolina, and New York. More than thirty 

 states have been completed, and the series, when finished, will 

 include all the states. 



The general public probably does not appreciate the amount of 

 labor required, and the painstaking care necessary to compile such 

 a report. A man who is thoroughly seasoned for the work takes 

 charge of a state; has a list of all wood-users in the state, as far 

 as possible, and he then begins personal work among them, visit- 

 ing scores or hundreds of them for the purpose of talking with 

 the proprietors in their shops, factories, and mills. There is no 

 long-range work about it. The man who does it is expected to see 

 with his own eyes and hear with his own oars the actual work in 

 wood which he describes in his report. In a city like Chicago or 

 Boston he spends weeks going from shop to shop, from factory to 

 factory, talking with proprietors, foremen, and even workmen 

 about the uses of the various woods. He must explore manufac- 

 turing districts, walk miles across lumber yards, water fronts, 



—26— 



ri'iii'h hhopH in liiftN, anil be willing to go 

 anywhere that information is to be had. 

 The work ih no Icxs arduoun in villagen and 

 in rural dixtrictH, for the means of travel 

 nre often inndeijuatc, and the "export" 

 who is not ready to walk five miles acroM 

 loiintry in rain or nnotv to expedite his 

 wiirk IK nut the man who produces results 

 ill studying the utilization of wood. 



The state reportn which havo been so 

 fiivorably received by users of wood in all 

 IKirts of the United States were worked out 

 slowly and laboriously by men who were 

 "ill the field" months at a stretch in direct 

 .•iiid personal contact with owners an«f oper- 

 ators of shops and factories that used wood 

 as raw material. 



The information acquired in that manner 

 is to be made the basis of a series of sup- 

 pUMiiental investigations of great interest 

 and importance, which are now under way. 

 Kach of the well-defined wood-using industries 

 is taken up separately, and is considered for 

 the whole United States. For example, nil the statistics of box fac- 

 tories in the United States are brought together in a single rei>ort. 

 It is a complete review of that industry, giving the amount of wooil 

 used annually, and the quantity of each kind, with tlie cost of each 

 per thousand feet, and numerous other matters concerning tlio 

 manufacture of boxes in the United States. Furniture-making will 

 be taken up in the same manner, and the finished report will show 

 the kinds and quantities of wood demanded by this great industry, 

 the cost of each, and the total cost, and data of various kinds never 

 yet jiublished. 



Thus, one by one, according to the announced working plan, 

 will the wood-using industries be studied, until the whole field has 

 been covered from ocean to ocean. 



Another series of investigations is also under way. It takes up 

 wood by wood, such as white pine, oak, gum, chestnut, etc., and 

 gives the whole quantity of each used in the country; the quantity 

 of each wood demanded by separate industries, the cost and other 

 matters. It is understood that the first of this series of reports, 

 that covering chestnut, is about ready for publication. 



These investigations, like the others, are carried on in factory 

 and forest. Following are some of the specific lines which the men 

 in the field are pursuing: 



lias there been .iny rrcent Iniproiomcnt In machinery, mctliods of 

 manufacture, seasoning of raw material and general equipment, kilns, etc. 

 Is It possihlc for the wood-users to specify the standard forms to be 

 supplied by the mill men? 



What Improvement has recently taken place In cuttlnE of timber, log- 

 ging, milling, utilization of waste, cNtcnslon of markets and care of 

 forests? 



What species arc now left In the forests, being considered unmer- 

 chantable? 



What new species have been brought Into commercial use and what 

 qualities especially recommend them for their uses? 

 What new uses of wood have been developed? 

 What woods are coming Into general use for Imitation of lilgh-gradc 



What arc the various now processes for Imitating wood? 



In veneered products, what woods arc preferred for cores, and why? 



What new substitution for wood Is going on? 



What Is the cmallest dimension that can be economically utilized by 

 each industry? 



What utilization experiments arc being carried on by the manufacturers? 



What Is the estimated per cent of waste In each kind of factory and 

 In what forms Is this waste? Per cent of each form? 



Arc many mills operated under the "convict labor" contract syst^'? 

 If so, state the effect on annual production of lumber and market con- 

 ditions. 



