498 AUXILIARY FOREST INDUSTRIES. 



[It is best to begin by defining the different kinds of boards 

 according to the English market : 



Boards 7 inches broad are battens 



9 deals 



11 planks. Tr.] 



When the logs are sawn into boards, there is a wastage of 

 30 to 50 % in wood free from sapwood, so that one hundred 

 cubic feet of sawn material comes from 166 cubic feet of 

 timber in the round, or 100 cubic feet of round timber yields 

 60 cubic feet of planking ; in planks of the best quality, the 

 outturn is only 30 to 40 %. The wastage is least in beams and 

 large squared pieces, more for planks and most of all for 

 battens free from sapwood and pith. 



In assorting sawn timber the most important points are : 

 soundness, dimensions, knottiness, coarseness and fineness 

 of sawing, squareness of section; whether the boards are 

 of the same breadth at either end or are slightly conical, also 

 whether the bole or the top of the tree has been sawn. 

 Besides these, the nature of the timber, quality of grain, 

 straight or torse fibre, colour and finish must be considered. 

 The parts of the bole between the pith and sapwood yield 

 the best boards, while the central board is the worst, and 

 contains usually a number of small hard knots. Of knots, 

 loose ones reduce quality greatly, while sound firm knots 

 are less injurious. The length of boards depends on local 

 custom, but their value increases always with their breadth. 



As regards the storing of boards from freshly-felled steins 

 they should be left lying one on another for a short time after 

 the sawing in order to prevent warping ; then they should be 

 stacked vertically for a few days against a horizontal bar with 

 supports. This allows much sap to run out. They should 

 then be placed in rectangular stacks, raised from the ground 

 on supports, each board being separated from its neighbours 

 by a small piece of wood, so as to allow complete aeration. 

 Oak planks should not be placed one on the other as they \\viv 

 in the log, but on their edges and apart. Only after a few 

 months should they be stacked, as they were in the log, with 

 pieces of wood between adjoining planks. In large stacks a 



