982 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



say so), as compared with oak 22 per cent, beech 19 per cent, willow 

 and poplar 18 per cent, birch, alder and ash 17 per cent, Scotch fir 

 and larch 16 per cent. An interesting table of heating values of char- 

 coals friom different woods is based on the time required to boil 

 water. Beech charcoal is quickest with 11 minutes, elm, sycamore 

 and holly take 13 minutes, hornbeam 14, hazel and thorn 15, ash and 

 chestnut 16, yew and Scotch elm 20, laburnum 27. 



The concluding chapter gives the fuelwood order effective October 

 1, 1919, which regulates the sale and consumption of wood fuel. This 

 order defines firewood as all waste tops and tops over two inches 

 diameter, and other timber unsuitable for sawn lumber or for pitwood, 

 and mill waste. All such wood must be put at the disposal of the 

 Board, of Trade. No one may sell firewood at retail without a license 

 from the local authority, nor may he sell outside of the district desig- 

 nated by them, nor more than two tons to any one consumer within 12 

 months, except in case of consumers who may be required by the local 

 authority to burn wood in lieu of the coal allotted to them. The local 

 authorities have power to order such substitution up to one-third of 

 the individual's fuel allotment, on the basis of two tons of wood for 

 one ton of coal. Such consumers have a priority right over all others 

 for the purchase of wood. A maximum price of 15 shillings per cord 

 for softwood and 20 shillings for hardwood is set for firewood stacked 

 along a road or at the mill. This price may be modified by the timber 

 controller. Local authorities may fix the maximum retail prices within 

 their districts, allowing for costs of working up and delivering the 

 wood, and may determine whether sales shall be made by volume or by 

 weight. No dealer may sell except by the prescribed method. Local 

 authorities may also require all retailers to make reports of all sales, 

 and to give such other information as is needed. All contracts for 

 purchase and sales of fuel wood except those with Government depart- 

 ments or with naval or military authorities, were abrogated effective 

 October 1. Provisions of the order do not apply to fuel used by an 

 owner or his servants, or wood given workmen as part of their wages, 

 or wood gleaned by persons for their own consumption, or wood used 

 for chemical purposes. W. N. S. 



Timber: Its Strength, Seasoning, and Grading. By H. S. Betts, 

 M.E., Forest Service. McGraw Hill Book Co. 1919. 234 pages, 

 illustrated. 



Although Mr. Betts' admirable book does not cover an entirely new 

 field by any means, it is, nevertheless, the most complete publication 



