708 A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 



it is much less than the overcut due to decay, but since it is in material 

 that can be derived only from saw timber, it is a considerable element 

 in forest depletion. 



Most loss from sap stain occurs in saw logs that are delayed in 

 getting to the mill, and in lumber during the first few days after 

 seasoning. Log stain has proven very difficult to avoid when con- 

 ditions prevent prompt milling. Surface spraying treatments have 

 proven experimentally successful for protection during the ordinary 

 log-banking season in the South, and are about to be tried on a large 

 scale. For lumber that has not been stained in the log, kiln-drying 

 is an excellent preventive, but is in use only in the higher grades and 

 at the larger mills. A promising recent development obtained by the 

 Department with the cooperation and financial assistance of southern 

 lumbermen is the discovery of inexpensive antiseptic dips more 

 efficient than any previously known, effective on hardwoods as well 

 as on pine, and practicable for use by small as well as large mills. 

 These are already in extensive use, but further experiments are needed 

 to firmly establish the procedure. With perfection of the details of 

 the treatment, and adequate educational work among the small 

 operators, both on the antiseptic treatment and the general handling 

 practices that decrease stain hazard, it is believed that the financial 

 loss and excessive drain due to sap slain will be very materially 

 decreased. Foreign customers are particularly insistent on wood that 

 is free from stain, and exports of southern lumber have already been 

 favorably affected as a result of the improved appearance of the 

 treated wood. 



LOSS FROM DECAY 



The principal loss in wood volume due to decay of forest products 

 is in logs banked in the woods or at the sawmill, lumber and sawn 

 timbers in seasoning or storage piles or in exposed construction, fuel 

 wood and pulpwood in storage, and ties, fence posts, and mine timbers 

 in storage and use. The proportion of lumber and fuel wood lost by 

 decay is not high, but because of the very large volume of these items, 

 they supply an important part of the total decay loss. The losses in 

 ties, posts, and mine timber are large because of the moist conditions 

 under which they are used. Poles and piling are also used under 

 conditions that favor decay, but because of the relatively small 

 volume of use for these purposes their effect on the total loss is much 

 less. Decay losses necessitate the cutting of additional timber for 

 replacement purposes. It is estimated that the overcut necessary to 

 replace decay losses in all classes of forest products amounts to more 

 than 10 percent of the total cut. For, products derived from saw 

 timber, the estimated overcut required for decay replacements is 

 approximately 9 percent of the saw timber cut, which is a smaller 

 figure but more significant not only because of the greater value of 

 saw timber but because of the slow rate at wluch losses of saw timber 

 are replaced by growth. On the basis of 1925-29 production, the 

 decay replacement estimate for saw timber is found to equal half of 

 the estimated current growth for this class of material. 



The consequences of decay to both producer and consumer of wood 

 and wood products are out of proportion to the value of the material 

 destroyed. Production costs are increased by storage and transit 

 losses. The higher costs hamper the lumberman in competition with 



