1370 A NATIONAL PLAN FOE AMERICAN FORESTRY 



to a large sum annually. The unrecognized losses undoubtedly are 

 still greater. Refinements in treating technic resulting from research 

 and the development of milder but effective treating schedules can 

 eventually reduce these losses to an insignificant amount. These 

 same improvements can also decrease the very appreciable losses that 

 result from inadequate or ineffective treatments and can lengthen the 

 average life obtainable from treated timber. 



Adequately treated timber is not readily available to the average 

 small consumer. The undesirably high cost of thoroughly treated 

 timber and the lack of adequate distribution machinery have limited 

 its use principally to consumers who can purchase in large quantities. 

 Greatly expanded markets await the developments that will overcome 

 this obstacle. 



A special need for research is in the development of effective but 

 inexpensive decay-resistant and insect-proofing treatments of lumber 

 for dwellings and general building construction. The preservatives 

 must be substantially odorless and colorless, satisfactorily paintable, 

 cheap, permanent, simple in application, and harmless to man. The 

 definite progress that has been made in this direction must be greatly 

 extended. Public demand is already insistent. 



Proper design and construction can eliminate much of the decay 

 and insect attack in dwellings that is now costing home owners large 

 sums of money. Investigations have already shown that contact of 

 wood with the ground must be avoided, adequate ventilation pro- 

 vided around all wood near the ground, and all practical precautions 

 taken to keep the wood dry. While the application of present 

 methods of control will aid materially, a survey of existing conditions 

 followed by an evaluation of the factors affecting decay and insect 

 damage is badly needed to indicate the most efficient methods of 

 eliminating building losses that are all too prevalent at present. 



PAINTING AND MOISTUREPROOFING 



The painting of houses and other woodwork constitutes an expen- 

 sive item of maintenance that must be reduced. It is often the factor 

 that determines the choice of other building materials in preference 

 to wood. The Forest Products Laboratory has shown why the paint- 

 ing problem is more serious with some woods than with others. The 

 general remedy, however, is not yet at hand, because our most 

 abundant construction woods are the ones hardest to keep painted. 

 It seems necessary to find paint vehicles more permanent than any 

 now known. In the whole storehouse of nature and modern science 

 some combination of pigment and vehicle must be possible that will 

 cling to wood like part of its own substance and furnish the artisan 

 with a material he has never dared hope for. If such a combination 

 is possible it remains for chemical research to find it. 



There is a constant demand for moistureproof coatings for wood. 

 No simple costing process has yet been found that is more than about 

 75 percent effective in preventing moisture changes, and this degree 

 of effectiveness gradually decreases upon continued use or exposure. 

 Highly effective and durable coatings would find extensive use and 

 would greatly improve the performance of wood in such products as 

 boats, airplanes, furniture, and a wide variety of factory products. 



