TIMBER FOR 



timber will assure the erection of buildings embodying strength, 

 symmetry, fire-resisting qualties and permanence to an extent 

 which will reflect credit on both the material, the designers 

 and the builders, and be looked upon favorably by insurance 

 companies and the compilers of building ordinances. The 

 service proposed goes farther than dissemination of informa- 

 tion, because back of the whole movement is Association effort 

 which aims to furnish structural timber which is standard as 

 to size and quality, classified definitely by grading rules, and 

 in the case of some of the more important species, trademarked 

 as a guarantee of grade and quality. 



Engineering Timber is one of the most essential and widely 

 Data used materials of construction. Modern engi- 



neering practice and the highest development 

 of architectural skill find use for structural timber of many 

 kinds in a wide variety of structures. While many other 

 excellent building materials have come into use for purposes 

 to which they are particularly adapted, timber retains the 

 inherent advantage of economy, permanence, strength and 

 safety. Knowledge of the material, coupled with its wise use, 

 underlie the attainment of these service requirements with any 

 building material. Since timber for many purposes is the most 

 adaptable and the most available of any material, it is impor- 

 tant that its possibilities and advantages, as well as its limita- 

 tions, in standard construction, should be more generally 

 known. 



Frank recognition is given to the fact that engineering and 

 scientific study has not been as fully developed with structural 

 timber as with some other materials, nor have the available facts 

 as to the strength and other physical characteristics of woods 

 been given as wide application in construction work as the im- 

 portance of the material justifies. The comparative absence of 

 these engineering data is, however, a condition of the past 

 rather than the present. The United States Forest Products 

 Laboratory, some of the railroad testing departments, and a 



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