12 PRELIMINARY STUDY OF 



of waste connected with small mills owing to rough methods, wide 

 saw kerf, lack of alignment in the machinery, and unskillful saw- 

 yers. However, they are at a great advantage in being able to move 

 at small cost from one wood lot to another, thus saving the expense 

 of hauling the logs. Where timber is so far from the railroad that 

 only select logs could bear the cost of hauling in that form, a porta- 

 ble mill can move in and saw the inferior timber into lumber which 

 can obviously be hauled to market at a much lower cost than in the 

 log. Furthermore, the small mills can dispose of a certain amount 

 of inferior lumber locally that could not be sold in the general mar- 

 ket. This kind of lumbering will in time entirely supersede the 

 larger operations. Some of the big sawmills claim a supply suffi- 

 cient to keep them running for thirty or forty years, but these are 

 very few in number. 



Map 1 shows the approximate number of sawmills in each county 

 and the location of the large mills for the year 1909. This map 

 indicates very plainly the widespread character of the industry. 



The amount of timber sawed in 1909 is shown by species in Table 

 1.* The woods classified as "-all other " are chiefly buckeye, dog- 

 wood, and persimmon. 



Waste in the manufacture of lumber is likely to occur both in the 

 woods and in the sawmill. Very often timber is wasted in the 

 woods by leaving high stumps, by cutting logs into such lengths as 

 to leave merchantable timber in the tops, and by leaving trees un- 

 cut which ought to be removed. It would sometimes be possible to 

 secure closer utilization by working the tops into ties, slack staves, 

 or other small products for which there may be a market. Of 

 course, in the more inaccessible districts where most of the large 

 operations are carried on, it is usually impossible to handle any- 

 thing but saw logs at a profit. 



There is also great possibility for waste at the mill because of 

 unskillful sawing, or lack of means for using slabs. Lath mills are 

 often run in connection with the larger sawmills, thus utilizing ma- 

 terial which would otherwise be wasted. The small mills are at a 

 disadvantage in this respect, since they cannot afford to install the 

 necessary machinery for making such by-products. Mills located 

 in cities can usually dispose of scraps for kindling wood. A great 

 deal of timber would be saved if boards were cut in odd as well as 

 in even lengths. 



* Compiled by the Bureau of the Census in cooperation with the Department of 

 Agriculture, Forest Service. 



