24 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Opening of Forest Products 

 Laboratory 



COMMON TYPES OF SPANISH OAK LEAVES 



ANOTHER FORM SOMETIMES EXISTING 

 WITH ABOVE TYPES 



with this article is a typical forest specimen 

 of this species. The tree grew on the lands 

 of the Carrier Lumber & Manufacturing Com- 

 pany at Sardis, in northwestern Mississippi. 

 The stand in this section is of exceptionally 

 rapid growth, and the Spanish oak cut pos- 

 sesses the characteristic heavy, coarse grain. 

 The leaf specimens were also gathered on 

 this property. 



Aerial Logging in Mexico 



A noTel way of hringing Iog.s from the cutting 

 operations to the railroad has been introduced by 

 the Mexican Southern road in securing timber for 

 Its extension in Oaxaca, Mexico, from the steep 

 and rugged slopes of the adjacent mountains. 

 For this purpose an aerial tramway has been 

 erected and. instead of the ordinary ground 

 skidding, all the timber will be transported 

 through the air by means of a wire cable, and 

 will be taken directly from the cutting to where 

 it is to be loaded, with no further handling. 

 Severe tests have been made and it is reported 

 that so far the tramway has answered all 

 purposes. 



In co-operating with the University of Wis- 

 consin in erecting the experimental laboratory 

 in connection with that institution, the Forest 

 Service undoubtedly realized that it was enter- 

 ing a new era in American forestry and lum- 

 bering. This conception is emphatically sup- 

 ported by the result of the efforts of the two 

 iustitutions as embodied in the new Forest 

 Products Laboratory with its unparalleled 

 equipment and complete facilities for experi- 

 mental work in every line connected with 

 lumbering and with conservative methods of 

 manufacture and remanufaeture of our woods 

 product*'. 



The formal opening, which occurred on 

 Saturday, June 4, was marked by a notable 

 attendance and a still more notable enthusi- 

 asm on the part of all those present. The 

 registration list showed representatives from all 

 lines of manufacture connected in any way 

 with woods products, and from first to last 

 there was a complete lack of scepticism, and 

 everywhere was apparent a spirit of surprise 

 at the completeness of the establishment. The 

 government and the state of Wisconsin have 

 undoubtedly done all in their power towards 

 making possible a scientific study of economic 

 methods of wood manufacture, tending to- 

 wards a complete utilization of all products. 

 Every facility has been provided for every 

 emergency and it now remains for the lum- 

 bermen to make the most of these unexcelled 

 facilities and to be broad enough to accept 

 the scientific deductions recommended by the 

 forestry department in connection with their 

 own practical operations. There has always 

 been a tendency on the part of purely prac- 

 tical men, especially in the lumber business, 

 to scoff at anything theoretical and yet the 

 most intelligent representatives of the trade 

 are constantly realizing in a more forcible 

 manner the necessity for scientific and sys- 

 tematic methods of procedure in their busi- 

 ness. The authorities at the laboratory solicit 

 inquiries of all sorts and are ever ready to 

 experiment along any lines which will mark 

 an advance in present lumber methods and 

 utilization. 



The laboratory building is a large reinforced 

 concrete structure having two stories and a 

 basement. It is conveniently arranged inside 

 :ind the exterior is of artistic design, and 

 faced with brick. Neatness and system are 

 evident at every hand, from the arrangement 

 of the machine shop to the ofiice of the 

 director. It is divided into several depart- 

 ments. The first department in the tour of 

 inspection was smaller than the others and 

 purely theoretical. Here experiments are 

 made in wood physics. Next in the order of 

 inspection was the department of timber test- 

 ing, where demonstrations of a more practical 

 nature were being carried on. Here it might 

 be added every machine and every piece 

 of apparatus was in actual use, demonstrating 



to the visitors the purpose and possibilities of 

 each. Next to the timber-testing department 

 is the woodworking shop, where various types 

 of improved woodworking machinery are rep- 

 resented. This department has no direct con- 

 nection with actual experimental operations, 

 but here is accomplished the initial mechanical 

 operations. The other departments on the 

 ground floor are devoted to wood preserving, 

 where all modern methods of wood preserva- 

 tion are actually demonstrated ; to paper pulp, 

 w here a complete paper mill in miniature turns 

 out a continuous sheet of the finished product, 

 and to experimental work dealing with the 

 distillation of pure alcohol from wood 

 products. 



On going upstair.^ the first thing noticeable 

 is the neat and systematic arrangement of 

 the various offices. About half of the upper 

 floor is utilized in this way and at one end 

 is a complete experimental chemical labora- 

 tory, a fully equipped drafting-room, and a 

 darkroom for e.xhibiting photographic wood 

 sections. 



In the department of timber physics par- 

 ticular attention will be paid to experiments 

 determining the specific heat of wood with 

 a view to ascertaining the amount of heat 

 necessary to impregnate various varieties of 

 wood with certain forms of preservatives. 

 Benson's Ice Calorimeter, a well-known ap- 

 paratus found in all physical laboratories, is 

 the instrument employed in this connection. 

 Other apparatus is provided for making wood 

 sections, for determining the hygroscopicity 

 of wood from absolute dryness to saturation, 

 and for determining the effect of dead loads. 

 The last-named machine was designed espe- 

 cially for the laboratory and is an ingenious 

 aiTangement in which the piece to be tested is 

 subjected to a continuous strain by a series 

 of weights and levers for a certain period of 

 time. Results are recorded on a revolving 

 drum which makes one revolution in the period 

 specified, a pencil working over cross-section 

 paper, graphically illustrating the effects of 

 the strain. 



In the timber-testing laboratory are a 

 variety of interesting machines. Of particu- 

 lar interest is an apparatus for recording re- 

 sults of impact. This contrivance represents 

 a miniature pile driver scientifically con- 

 .•^tructed. The piece to be tested is placed 

 under the fifty-pound weight, each end resting 

 on a square piece of iron. The machine is 

 electrically operated, the weight being lifted 

 to a distance accurately regulated by a series 

 of stops. Upon being dropped the rebound 

 and vibration of the weight are recorded on 

 a drum by means of a pencil, there being a 

 fixed ratio between the length of this rebound 

 and the deflection of the material. One side 

 of the room is taken up by a series of smaller 

 machines used in testing small pieces for 

 bending, compression and shear. The prin- 



