The Forest Products Laboratories of Canada have carried on 

 investigations on Canadian forest products during the past year as 

 follows: — 



Mechanical Properties of Canadian Woods. 



An investigation of the strength of Canadian woods was determined 

 by tests on small clear specimens. This investigation is designed to 

 include tests of all strength factors (bending, hardness, shock resist- 

 ance, cleavage, compressive strength, shearing strength, etc.), of all 

 Canadian woods in such a manner that the species can be compared 

 directly with each other and with those of the United States which 

 are being tested under the same conditions by the United States 

 Forest Service. Tests on Douglas fir which extended over some two 

 years were completed last spring and a bulletin covering the results 

 of these tests is to be published shortly. Tests on black spruce, 

 "grey" spruce, white spiuce, white pine and red pine have been 

 completed as regards unseasoned material. 



Nova Scotia Mine Timbers. 



Strength tests were made in 1915 on a large number of mine 

 props and booms of species available in Nova Scotia. Duplicates 

 of these specimens have been seasoning since then in our yard and tests 

 on these dry specimens were commenced this spring; at the present 

 time about half of them have been tested. The species under exam- 

 ination are black spruce, red spruce, balsam fir, yellow birch, white 

 birch and Jack pine. 



Drying of Wood. 



This investigation has for its object the determination of the 

 fundamental laws governing the relations between wood and water, 

 hygroscopicity, shrinkage and expansion, etc. This is a very inter- 

 esting investigation since it deals with a series of functions of colloids 

 which have received very little investigation but which are of prime 

 importance in almost every phase of the use of wood. Some work 

 on this was done in 1915 but it had to be dropped in favour of certain 

 war work, but since then it has been possible to resume the experi- 

 ments though no results are expected for some time yet. 



Waste Sulphite Liquor. 



The problem of finding a use for waste sulphite liquor is one which 

 is ever before us but it has not been possible to do any experimental 



