Questions and Answers 



23 



sales are made to small producers of 

 fuel wood, pulpwood, posts, sawlogs, 

 or other forest products. Sales under 

 $500 in value may be made to indi- 

 viduals or companies by local forest 

 officers without advertisement if com- 

 petition for the timber is lacking. Sales 

 in excess of $500 are advertised and 

 sold to the highest acceptable bidder. 

 In no case is national forest timber sold 

 at less than its appraised market value. 

 It must be paid for in advance of cut- 

 ting; permits or contracts make ade- 

 quate provision for protection and 

 preservation of the soil, water, and re- 

 maining stand of timber. 



Can national forest timber be ob- 

 tained free of cost? 



Free use of timber may be granted 

 to bona fide settlers, miners, rural resi- 

 dents, and prospectors for firewood, 

 fencing, building, other domestic pur- 

 poses, mining, and prospecting. Usu- 

 ally not more than $20 worth of timber 

 is granted to any one person a year. 

 Transients may take dead timber for 

 their campfires and for similar uses 

 without written permits. 



Why cannot foresters increase tim- 

 ber production through the use of hy- 

 brids as farmers have increased corn 

 production? 



They can, but it takes time. Trees 

 cannot be grown in a single season like 

 corn. Promising hybrids of pine and 

 hybrids of poplar are being tested. 



What is the age of the virgin fir 

 timber now being harvested in the 

 Pacific Northwest? 



The individual trees are 300 to 500 

 years old. 



How long does it take to grow a 

 marketable crop of sawlog timber? 



In the South, 30 to 40 years (pine) ; 

 Lake States and Northeast, 60 to 70 

 years (pine), 100 years (spruce), 100 

 to 120 years (hardwoods) ; west coast, 

 100 years (fir and hemlock) ; Rocky 

 Mountain area, 150 to 180 years (west- 

 ern pine) . 



How many man-days of labor does 

 it normally take to convert 1,000 board 

 feet of standing timber to 1,000 board 

 feet of lumber? 



Two to three. 



What causes rot in trees? 



Rot or decay, sometimes termed dote 

 or peckiness, is caused by the action 

 on the wood by fungi, low forms of 

 life related to the mushrooms. The 

 fungus threads penetrate the wood and 

 break it down. 



How many uses of wood are there? 



Somebody once counted 4,500 uses, 

 but he did not guarantee that his tabu- 

 lation was complete. 



Why should houses be built of dry 

 lumber? 



Because wet lumber, and the season- 

 ing of wood in place, result in unequal 

 shrinkage, which causes plaster cracks, 

 distortion of door and window open- 

 ings, and uneven floors. Shrinkage also 

 may cause air leakage around chimney 

 and window openings. In floorings, it 

 may cause unsightly cracks between the 

 floor boards and may cause creaking 

 floors. 



How long can wood houses last? 



Many American homes, which date 

 from Colonial times, are still in excel- 

 lent condition. Mount Vernon is one 

 of them. 



Does paint preserve wood? 



No; paint does not preserve wood 

 from deterioration due to decay. Paint 

 prevents the weathering of wood; its 

 main value is for decoration. 



Should wet or green lumber be 

 painted? 



No. Paint does not adhere well to 

 wet wood and is likely to peel off. 



Why does wood remain the leading 

 material for houses? 



Wood is economical to use and easy 

 to shape and work. It is excellent in- 

 sulation material and it will give long 



