rORIiST RKSKARCH Ax\D THlC WAR 267 



sible substitutes, such as I'ort Orford cedar, Douglas fir, eastern white 

 pine, Norway pine, western white pine, yellow poplar, western hemlock, 

 silver, noble, white, and lowland firs, and even sugar pine, cypress, red- 

 wood, and western yellow pine. This work was far in advance of the 

 situation as developed at the time the armistice was signed, but the 

 Navy was using intensively the data secured for eastern spruce. 



Judged by the extent of the drain upon our forests, the requirements 

 of the wooden shipbuilding program greatly exceeded those of airplane 

 production. Fortunately, so far as supply was concerned, demands 

 centered in regions of our largest timber production. The use of wood 

 in ships is so old that the art of shipbuilding was almost lost and it was 

 practically necessary to create a new industry. The work of the Forest 

 Service consisted here of a rather exhaustive study of the specifications 

 which should be followed in the selection of timber, in the specifications 

 of the preservatives which should be used to prevent its decay, to a 

 slight extent of the selection of substitutes, such as the best species to 

 use for the standard locust treenail, and to a slight extent of timber 

 supply where again locust was the critical point. 



The vehicle wood problem centered largely on the investigative side 

 in the successful application of scientific methods of kiln-drying. Ex- 

 cessive demands soon exhausted the supply of air-dried stock and made 

 it necessary to depend on something far more expeditious than air- 

 seasoning of from one to three years. This can be cut to 90 days in 

 the kilns. The use of improper methods resulted in enormous losses 

 ranging from 10 to 100 per cent — losses which involved not only the 

 timber itself, but disrupted the work of large organizations dependent 

 upon the output of the kilns for the production of vehicles. The proper 

 application of scientific methods, on the other hand, in three large plants 

 mider close observation resulted in negligible losses. The question of 

 bending, particularly important in the case of heavy stock required for 

 large artillery wheels, has already been touched upon. The work was 

 well under way, but would soon have been made unnecessary for that 

 specific application through a change in the motive power of artillery 

 and hence the design of gun carriages. 



Possibly the most important service we were able to render in con- 

 nection with small arms was to stimulate the production of black walnut 

 for gunstocks. The black-walnut region was covered in the greatest 

 detail in co-operation with other forestry agencies and with such other 

 organizations as the Boy Scouts. New sources of supply were indi- 

 cated. New producers were located. The processes of manufacturing 



