738 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



residential and farm) and for railroad 

 and mine operation will be influenced 

 by the increased volume of construc- 

 tion necessitated by a larger popula- 

 tion and the increased use of substitute 

 materials and preservative treatment 

 to prolong the service life of wood. 

 Potential annual requirements 50 years 

 hence for these uses have been esti- 

 mated at 12.5 billion board feet, as 

 compared with 14.0 billion feet in the 

 period 1950-55. 



FABRICATED PRODUCTS include thou- 

 sands of different articles made of 

 wood, many of them requiring lumber 

 of the choicest species and highest 

 qualities. 



Furniture is the most common prod- 

 uct in the group. Others are handles, 

 musical instruments, caskets, vehicles, 

 tanks, vats, boats, toys, sporting goods, 

 military truck bodies, boats and ships, 

 life rafts and floats, pontons, firearms, 

 and aircraft. It is in fabricated wood 

 products that foreign woods, such as 

 balsa, teak, and mahogany, are in great 

 demand for special purposes. 



The domestic species used range 

 from soft paper birch (for turning) 

 to tough-textured white ash and hick- 

 ory (for tool handles) and the fancy 

 figured furniture made from black 

 walnut, birdseye maple, and figured 

 redgum. Some woods are preferred be- 

 cause of their physical properties, 

 others because of pleasing appearance. 

 The supply of some of the most highly 

 prized woods, such as Port-Orford- 

 cedar for battery separators, and high- 

 quality hard maple, yellow birch, and 

 white oak for furniture, is growing 

 short. In certain articles, substitute 

 materials, including metals, plastics, 

 and plywood, find increasing use. 



Consumer demand for the less-es- 

 sential fabricated products bears a di- 

 rect relationship to disposable income. 

 In other cases, like caskets, matches, 

 and pencils, the demand remains com- 

 paratively constant. The consumption 

 of such products as pattern stock, tex- 

 tile machinery parts, and laundry ap- 

 pliances by industry rises or falls 



with the general level of industrial 

 production. 



Past surveys of fabricated products 

 showed the following total quantities 

 of lumber consumed ( not including car 

 lumber, hardwood flooring, and mill- 

 work) in million board feet: 



1912 5,319 



1928 4, 319 



1940 2, 771 



For the period 1950-55, under the 

 assumed high level of employment and 

 output, it is estimated that potential 

 annual requirements for fabricated 

 wood products will be 5 billion feet. 



FOR SHIPPING PURPOSES we use all 

 kinds of wooden boxes and crates made 

 from lumber; lumber is used as dun- 

 nage and blocking, pallets, skids, reels, 

 grain doors, cleats in plywood or ve- 

 neer boxes and crates, and other con- 

 tainers or equipment used in shipping 

 or in handling and stowing goods for 

 shipment. 



Before the Second World War, con- 

 sumption of shipping lumber reached 

 a high point of 6.5 billion board feet 

 in 1923 and 1927, with an average of 

 4.9 billion for 1920-40. During the war 

 it rose to 15.5 billion. 



The importance of an adequate 

 supply of lumber for shipping the 

 products of our farms and factories 

 can scarcely be exaggerated. The in- 

 creasing use of paperboard has made 

 little change in the demand for lumber 

 in the heavier types of containers 

 needed for shipping machinery, air- 

 craft parts, electrical equipment, and 

 so forth, and lumber is also still the 

 preferred material for shipping fresh 

 fruits and vegetables. Of course, shifts 

 have been made from wooden boxes 

 to fiber cartons for many commodities, 

 but from the standpoint of the timber 

 resource this merely results in a re- 

 duced demand for lumber and an in- 

 creased demand for paperboard both 

 made from trees. 



On the basis of a continuing high 

 level of production and increased for- 

 eign trade, potential requirements for 

 shipping lumber in 1950-55 have been 



