26 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



part but a purely business proposition and 

 one which there is absolutely no excuse for 

 ignoring. 



After an enjoyable luncheon in one of the 

 dormitories the formal opening exercises were 

 conducted in the auditorium of that building. 

 The exercises were opened by ex-Governor 

 Hoard of Wisconsin who introduced Governor 

 Davidson who evinced a thorough knowledge 

 of the past and present of the lumber busi- 

 ness in Wisconsin and heartily welcomed on 

 behalf of his state the establishment of the 

 laboratory in connection with the university. 

 Governor Davidson expressed himself as sure 

 that the work done would be of lasting benefit 

 to every section of the country. He dwelt 

 upon the waste in manufacture and remanu- 

 facture of lumber and emphasized the fact 

 that waste in remanufacturing is probably 

 greater than in any other department, stating 

 that the first duty is to minimize that as 

 much as possible. He went into detail rela- 

 tive to the timber resources and possibilities 

 of his state. 



The chairman next introduced Henry S. 

 Graves, chief forester of the United States, 

 who spoke effectively as follows: 



Address by Forester Graves 



The United States is now facing the problem 

 o£ forest conservation, which must be solved b.v 

 every country some time during its history. The 

 original American forests were unexcelled any- 

 where in the world. Not only did they cover a 

 vast area, but (hev were characterized by trees 

 of "reat age and size and by an unusual variety 

 of valuable species. Heretofore we have drawn 

 chiefly upon the original supply of timber, and 

 the bulk of lumber used in this country today is 

 still from trees over 150 years of age. In spite 

 of the rapid rate of cutting and the destruction 

 of forests bv Are, ample supplies have been made 

 available by the opening of new regions through 

 the extension of railroads and through the de- 

 velopment of logging engineering. The process, 

 however, cannot be continued indefinitely. Al- 

 ready the end of the virgin supply of timber is 

 clearly iu siffht. and all thoughtful men who are 

 familiar with the conditions appreciate that there 

 is before us a problem which very profoundly 

 affects the welfare of the country. 



The problem of forest conservation must be 

 worked out from two standpoints — first, by secu!-- 

 in" the greatest possible economy in the utiliza- 

 tion of forest products, and, second, by producing 

 new supplies through forest growth. 



At present there is a great loss in the utiliza- 

 tion of forest products, and the production of 

 new supplies is entirely inadequate to meet the 

 requirements of the people in the future. Within 

 recent years great progress has been made in the 

 protection of forests from fire. The loss from 

 that source has been greatly reduced, although 

 there is still an enormous amount of destruction 

 of young growth by lire, and in some sections 

 fire has almost entirely prevented forest repro- 



duction. One of the most important aims of the 

 forestry movement has been to bring about not 

 only the protection of standing timber from fire 

 and other agencies, but also the replacement of 

 forests as they are cut, and the establishment of 

 new stands of timber on denuded lands. 



Forestry, however, does not stop with the 

 growth of trees. It concerns itself equally with 

 the disposal and utilization of the products. The 

 two branches of forestry — forest utilization and 

 forest production, are inseparably related. The 

 market for products is one of the factors most 

 controlling the selection of species to be grown 

 and the methods of handling woodlands for forest 

 growth. The study of forest products is, there- 

 fore, one of the most important lines o£ work of 

 the Forest Service. 



The fundamental purposes of the work of the 

 Service in ' products are, first, to bring into use 

 the greatest possible amount of the products of the 

 forest with the least possible waste, and, second, 

 to place these products to their best use. In 

 other words, the Service aims to aid in making 

 the material which can be obtained from the 

 lorest meet in the highest degree the real require- 

 ments of the people. This broad principle is the 

 foundation of the work which will be done at and 

 in connection with this laboratory. 



In its work in products the Forest Service 

 keeps in view two objects, first, direct aid to the 

 various wood-using industries, and, second, forest 

 conservation in its broadest sense. 



The interest, cooperation and support given to 

 the Service by practical men engaged in different 

 industries is proof of the appreciation of the 

 work in products which has been done and is 

 projected. 



The science of forestry in this country is at its 

 very beginning. While the American species of 

 trees are well known botanically, the study of 

 their life history, their behavior in the forest, 

 and their possibilities of production, has only 

 recently made much progress. It is equally true 

 that our knowledge of the products of the various 

 species is still very inadequate. 



The first necessity is to determine the funda- 

 mental properties of the various woods. This 

 information is essential as a foundation for the 

 study of the suitability of the different species 

 for specific uses. At the present time there are 

 manv species which are little used or not used 

 at ail. because of ignorance of their properties cr 

 prejudice against them. Many of the common 

 commercial species are for the same reason con- 

 fined to only a few of the possible uses. It is the 

 aim of the Forest Service to show the possibili- 

 ties of all the species and to demonstrate the uses 

 to which each is best adapted. 



The demonstrations at the laboratory today 

 have Illustrated many of the special lines of 

 work and the methods of conducting the investi- 

 gations. You have seen the methods of studying 

 the fundamental physical, mechanical and chem 

 leal properties of wood. 



A further aim of the work at the laboratory Is 

 to study the methods of handling wood products 

 so as best to adapt them to certain purposes. 

 Studies will be carried on at the laboratory to 

 show the behavior of the various woods under 

 different conditions. One of the important prol>- 

 lems is to determine the influence of different 

 conditions of moisture on the strength, durability 

 and other characteristics of wood. This work 

 will form the foundation for the investigation of 

 the best methods of seasoning wood in order to 

 bring the products into the market in the most 

 suitable condition for their various uses. 



The next problem is the study of how to treat 

 wood products so as to improve their natural 

 qualities. One of the most important lines of 

 work at the laboratory will be the study of the 

 treatment of wood to prolong its lite. There is 

 required in the first place a thorough study of 



the various preservatives. Then follows the In- 

 vestigation of the methods of treating the differ- 

 ent species with reference to their peculiar spe- 

 cific characteristics. 



There are a multitude of problems of wood 

 utilization, but among the most imiJortant are 

 the investigations of the possibilities of the 

 dilferent species for the manufacture of paper, 

 and the study of the by-products which can be 

 obtained by various processes. The laboratory is 

 especially equipped to make these investigations. 



I have given special emphasis to the funda- 

 mental and scientific character of the work to 

 be done at the laboratory. Every investigation, 

 bowever, is directed to the solution of some prac 

 tical problem. Many experiments are conducted 

 at the laboratory on a commercial scale, or com- 

 mercial tests are made in cooperation with pri- 

 vate concerns. In many cases the work at the 

 laboratory is supplemented by extensive field ex- 

 periments. Through cooperation with private 

 companies and trade associations, investigations- 

 will not only be brought into tbe most practical 

 lines, but the results will be given an immediate 

 application. 



The Branch of Forest Products has been estab- 

 lished at Madison. The laboratory is the center 

 of its works. It concerns itself, however, with 

 the whole field of forest utilization. There are 

 special branches of its work in the various dis- 

 tricts of the national forests of the West, and 

 there are two subsidiary laboratories, one in the 

 state of Washington and one in Colorado. It is 

 the design to bring the work into the closest rela- 

 tion with the wood-using industries. The deter- 

 mination of the fundamental facts and principles 

 of wood utilization is the first step. To secure 

 the practical application of those principles re- 

 quiras the assistance and cooperation of all those 

 interested in them in a practical way. 



There has been a most gratifying cooperation 

 with the Forest Service by the different railroads, 

 lumber companies, paper companies, woodworking 

 concerns and trade associations. I wish to take 

 this occasion to express the appreciation of the 

 Forest Service for this cooperation and assist- 

 ance. 



From the standpoint of conservation, the work 

 of the government in forest products is of great 

 importance. When one examines the losses in 

 the utilization of wood products, one finds that 

 these begin in the woods. Many species are not 

 cut at all ; often the trees left uncut deteriorate 

 rapidly, or are blown over, or are injured in log- 

 ging ; frequently long tops containing a large 

 amount of low-grade lumber are left in the 

 woods : and many logs only partially defective 

 remain on the ground. The cause of this seem- 

 ing waste is the condition of the market. The 

 lumberman seeks to take out only what he can 

 dispose of at a profit. It is to his own interest 

 to take out of the woods just as much as he can 

 possibly utilize, because every increase in amount 

 of marketable material removed reduces the cost 

 of production and increases profits. The amount 

 of waste in the woods is therefore definitely 

 governed by market conditions. In exactly the 

 same way it is the condition of the market which 

 causes a great loss in the manufacture of lumber. 

 Close utilization follows good markets. 



It is the market also which most powerfully 

 influences the problem of forest production. The 

 better the market, the greater is the value of the 

 timber : an improved market means a corre- 

 spondingly increased inducement to protect the 

 forests from fire : there is an increased value of 

 immature and young growth ; and a correspond- 

 ingly greater justification for investments in 

 holding and protecting cut-over lands for the 

 production of new stands of timber. 



The work of the Forest Service in products 

 will have a direct influence, in the long run. on 

 market conditions. The development of new uses 



THE MINIATURE PAPER MILL. 



THE TIMBER TREATING APPARATUS. 



