i;ditoriai. comment 733 



years to come. Sawed wood is now being produced at the rate of 

 500,000 standards per annum. It is also stated that there are good 

 resources of softwood and enormous quantities of ash, elm, beech, 

 chestnut, etc. 



Soapwee;d Perks Up 



A peculiar situation has arisen in the Southwest in connection with 

 the use of soapweed (Yucca data), once a despised member of the 

 family of range plants. Experiments by the U. S. Forest Service have 

 proved the value of yucca as an emergency forage plant, and machines 

 have been developed which cut and slice it before it is fed to the cattle. 

 During the past year, when there was acute shortage of feed in south- 

 ern New Mexico and western Texas, thousands of cattle were saved 

 from starvation by sliced soapweed. A large cordage and sacking con- 

 cern in St. Louis, however, has begun to cut this plant on the open 

 ranges, with the object of utilizing the leafy, palm-like tops for the 

 manufacture of rope and bagging. The heavy stalks, containing the 

 best part of the food, are left to lie on the ground and go to waste. 

 Reports have it that the concern is clearing off the land at the rate of 

 six or seven hundred acres a day. Since indications are that it will 

 take anywhere from six to ten years to reproduce another crop of soap- 

 weed mature enough for profitable cutting, the stockmen in the South- 

 west regard the operations of the St. Louis concern with a good deal 

 of apprehension. All of which goes to show that soapweed is at last 

 coming into its own. 



New Limbs for Old 



At the request of the Surgeon General's Office, the V. S. Forest 

 Service has made a study of the artificial limb industry. The Surgeon 

 General estimates that for each 1,000,000 men on tiie firing line there 

 will be needed 1,000 artificial limbs each month. It is i)lanncd to pro- 

 \ i(U' the injured with temporary limbs as .soon as possiljle. and to fit 

 Ihcni with permanent ones upon their return to this country. Indus- 

 trial Investigations is conducting experiments looking to the perfection 

 of a type of temporary limb. Willow is the principal wood used for 

 artificial limbs, and the raw material is usually air seasoned from two 

 to five years. While there is no scarcity of willow at present, the quan- 

 tity of air-seasoned wood available is very limited. Through the labo- 

 ratory and co-operative manufacturing establishments experiments in 

 kiln-drving green willow bolts are well under way. 



