AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN NEW Hy\MPSHIRE 31 



The Supply of Low Grade Wood for Plastics 



The major objectives of this project are to determine the amount 

 and location of low grade wood and timber, and of manufactured mill 

 waste, av^ailable for conversion into plastics. Accordingly, sample plots 

 of one-tenth acre were laid out in nearby forest types, and measurements 

 were made to determine amounts of waste in proportion to merchantable 

 material by means of formulae for finding the cubic volume of trees. 

 Measurements \\'ere taken down to a minimum of five inches for saw logs 

 and to 2.5 inches for cordwood. 



In coniferous stands, waste varied from 9 per cent to 72 per cent and 

 averaged 30 per cent. Hardwoods have very little waste, about 10 per 

 cent, when using cordwood as a basis of measurement. 



Boards and slabs from logs of various sizes were weighed and re- 

 corded. Weight of the sawdust was computed from the number and size 

 of the cuts. When sawing round-edged and square-edged boards for 

 maximum production from each log, lumber constitutes two-thirds of the 

 weight of the log, and slabs and sawdust make up about one-third. These 

 proportions vary only slightly with the size of the log. 



Several white pine trees of each diameter class were felled and cut in- 

 to lengths that could be weighed on small scales. Practical log lengths 

 \\^ere carefully determined and recorded as logs. The larger limbs and 

 the top from five inches to two inches in diameter were recorded as cord- 

 wood. The remainder, including small limbs and leaves, were recorded 

 as waste. 



Curves were drawn for logs, cordwood and waste volume for trees 

 of all diameter classes from three inches to 1 2 inches in diameter at breast 

 height. Volume tables have been constructed from these curves. 



Volume and weight ratios of green and dry wood were determined 

 by moisture content and volumetric studies, and the results by green 

 weight were changed to volumes in cubic feet, board feet, and pounds of 

 dry weight. Stem counts were then made on several white pine stands 

 and a table was made up to show normal full stocking. The volume table 

 was applied to this stock table and the result is a normal yield table for 

 second-growth white pine, showing merchantable volume in board feet, 

 cordwood in cords, and waste in tons per acre. A similar table has been 

 constructed for hardwoods, show ing merchantable volume in cords per 

 acre and waste volume in pounds of dry weight. 



It is found that waste varies from 25 to 42 tons per acre, dry weight, 

 in stands from 6 to 12 inches in diameter, when sawlogs are the basis of 

 utilization, but only 19 to 32 tons per acre if cordwood is used as a basis 

 of utilization. This waste averages approximately 35 per cent on a cord- 

 wood basis and 47 per cent on a sawlog basis. 



L. C. Swain, W. A. Johnson 



FRUIT PRODUCTION 



Composition of Fruit Spurs as Related to Fruit Bud Formation 



Since one of the collaborators has left the Experiment Station, it has 

 not been possible to prepare a complete report for this project. It is felt, 



