06 The Forest Products Laboratory 



after construction, due to the attack of the marine borers. The lab- 

 oratory has done some work on this problem cooperating with a 

 committee of business men on the West Coast, but the problem of 

 finding a more effective treatment to protect piling against these bor- 

 ers is one calling for urgent consideration, both from timber-conserva- 

 tion and property-maintenance standpoints. 



Because of the gradual depletion of eastern woods, railroads in 

 the East and Middle West are being forced more and more to use the 

 far western species for ties and structural purposes. Many of these 

 woods are of the so-called inferior species, and they must be given 

 preservative treatment in order to render effective service. A num- 

 ber of them, however, take treatment with difficulty, and the present 

 investigations of the laboratory are inadequate to recommend treating 

 processes which are wholly satisfactor}'. The laboratory plans to 

 continue its work on these species, but its organization and finances are 

 inadequate to attack it on the scale its importance justifies. 



During the war the laboratory was called upon by the Army 

 and Navy to conduct a series of researches involving the development 

 and use of water-resistant glues. The results of this work have 

 found wide application for peacetime uses, including the manufacture 

 of plywood, laminated articles, airplane construction, etc. The de- 

 velopment of most effective glues in relation to the service which 

 wooden products should give, is, however, still in its infancy, and it 

 is difficult to predict what economic savings may result from intensive 

 research in this field. 



Laminated wood is becoming increasingly practical, and develop- 

 ments in its manufacture hold out promise of great improvement in 

 wood utilization practice. They may even have a profound effect on 

 the future methods of forestry in making it unnecessary to raise trees 

 of large size. Even under conditions existing today, the development 

 of laminated construction will open a market for the profitable use of 

 millions of feet of small material now wasted. The single discovery 

 of a process of making a durable water-proof glue which will withstand 

 outside climatical conditions will open a great field for laminated 

 products. 



