NOTliS ' 481 



The use of wood fuel by factories reached its greatest development in 

 New England, because this section was practically shut otY for a time 

 from all sup])lies of bituminous coal, which is the factory fuel. There- 

 fore it was a f|uestion of shutting down entirely or using this substitute 

 fuel which was at hand. Complete information is not available as to 

 the quantity of wood used by the factories or how extensive its use 

 was throughout New England, but it is known that a great many fac- 

 tories manufacturing various kinds of products were forced to use 

 wood to keep in operation. One dealer reported that he had shipped 

 5.500 cords of wood to the factories in eastern Massachusetts. One 

 of the factories, which normally used 50 tons of soft coal a day, used 

 for a month in mid winter a minimum of 15 tons of coal and 50 cords 

 of wood daily, and reached the conclusion that for steam production 

 one cord of green wood is equal to seven-tenths of a ton of soft coal. 

 The wood cost about $10 a cord f. o. b. the shipping point and the 

 freight was about $1, with a dollar charged for piling in the yard and 

 another dollar for carrying it into the factory. Stoking is considerably 

 more expensive than with coal and one-third more boiler capacity is 

 required when wood is used for fuel. 



Such use of wood fuel will come about only through necessity, as it 

 costs as industrial fuel at least three times as much as soft coal, al- 

 though this increased cost is a small item compared to the overhead 

 expenses and loss due to shutting down. The real reason therefore 

 for using wood fuel is to keep the factories running. 



This points to the fact that in wood fuel the country has a reserve 

 or substitute fuel which can be drawn upon in emergency not only to 

 supply domestic consumption, but to keep the factories running, al- 

 though it may not be so efficient in the latter case as coal. Instead of 

 waiting for emergency conditions to arrive, it would be well for both 

 domestic and industrial users of fuel to plan on reserves in case the 

 main reliance — coal — is not forthcoming. 



Growth oi" Yoisc. Stands in .\'()KTiii;k.\ Idaiki 



The remarkable high current growth of Douglas lir <>u the Pacific 

 coast, recorded in a reCvrnl number of the Joiknal. is almost e(|ualled 

 by western white pine at the Priest River h"xperiment Station in north- 

 ern Idaho. ( )ne plot of these which was established in kjij. and re- 

 measured in 1916, showed a current annual growth of 1,095 lx)ard feet 

 per acre per amuini. Tliis plot had i..^5() trees per acre, of which S<) 

 per cent were white pine. 5 per cent western larch, and (^ per cent 



