CONFERENCE ON HOME-GROWN TIMBER. 5 I 



that if home timber is properly graded, classified, and taken 

 care of, there is no purpose for which it cannot be used." 



Sir John Stirling-Maxwell. — "Will anyone deal with the subject 

 raised by Mr Mackenzie whether the building specifications 

 should remain as they are, and become applicable to home 

 timber?" 



Mr Black. — "There is no doubt that the Scots timber 

 merchants could cut to these specifications, but they might 

 have the material left on their hands, unless the specifications 

 include home timber. 



" If you are going to make home-grown timber compare with 

 imported timber, you must first of all cut it at the right time 

 and cut it to the proper sizes. Let your merchants sell your 

 home-grown timber side by side with the foreign timber. There 

 is no reason why the home-grown timber should not be used 

 equally and alongside of the best foreign timber, especially 

 European timber. We cannot compete with the finest of the 

 American forests." 



Mr J. T. Smith said :—" With reference to Mr M'Laren's 

 statement in the House of Commons about Scots pine, Mr 

 M'Laren did not say whether his experience referred to 

 seasoned pit-wood or unseasoned. I have got here some figures, 

 a table of results obtained by the North of England Mining 

 Association some months ago, from which they could prove 

 that Scots pine grown in Scotland was increased 40 per cent, 

 in strength after four months' seasoning, and they also proved 

 that home-grown timber seasoned is stronger than foreign 

 timber by 13-6 per cent." 



Mr Watson said : — " It might interest the meeting to know 

 that, working for the Ministry of Munitions, my firm were able 

 to convert green into seasoned timber within ten days. A 

 drying kiln was put up capable of working about 50 standards 

 per week. The timber was sent by the Timber Supply Depart- 

 ment and put through this kiln, and within ten days it was 

 manufactured into shell cases and powder cases." 



Mr Jones, sen. — "I am just going to give you a little of the 

 experience I have had, and experience is worth a good deal of 

 theory. It is perhaps about fifty-five or sixty years ago that 

 I commenced building property. I commenced then with very 

 little knowledge of the building trade. I somehow thought 

 that timber grown in this country was equal to anything in 



