SIMPLE FOREST CONSERVATION 



215 



A BIG PULP BEATER AT THE FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY 



The 60-pound beater shown in the picture is typical of the beater installations used under 

 commercial conditions. Extensive experiments are continually under way to ascertain the 

 most conservative and practical means of manufacture, and science has already lent gener- 

 ous aid to conservation in the making of paper. 



problem of increased perma- 

 nent production is solved, re- 

 mains an open question. 



Improper painting is an- 

 other cause of economic loss 

 as great or greater than the 

 causes we have mentioned. In 

 very rare cases, paint injures 

 wood, as the shingles men- 

 tioned above. Neglect of 

 painting is the cause of the de- 

 terioration and waste of mil- 

 lions of dollars worth of 

 wood. For very temporary 

 work, paint may be superflu- 

 ous. It is rarely or never that 

 one cannot afford to paint. I 

 recall a story concerning some 

 buildings newly erected by a 

 small New England railroad. 

 A friend asked the local man- 

 ager: 



"Brown, why don't you 

 have those buildings paint- 

 ed?" 



"Can't afford it," was the 

 immediate reply. 



"But you know it would be 

 more economical," the friend 

 persisted. 



"Smith," said the manager, 

 "don't you know that this 

 road is so damn poor that it 

 can't afford to be econom- 

 ical?" 



If one can afford to be eco- 

 nomical, paint, made of white 

 lead and linseed oil, is a won- 

 derful preservative. It is an 

 economic crime to leave good 

 houses unpainted, or poorly 

 painted. If a frame building 

 is well cared for it will last 

 several hundred years, or lon- 

 ger, for all we know in this 

 country. Wood containing 

 10 per cent of moisture or less 

 will never rot. At any rate, it 

 will rot no sooner than stone 

 will crumble. Air dry wood 

 contains not over 15 per cent 

 of moisture, usually. The 

 dryer and hotter the weather 

 the dryer the wood. Thus, 

 dry weather is the time for 

 outside painting. A fairly 

 air proof and damp proof 

 layer of paint keeps the wood 

 from absorbing moisture from 



TREATING RAILROAD TIES AT THE FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY. 



About 140 million cross ties are used annually by the railroads in the United States. Of 

 these hardly 30% are given a preservative treatment, and a good preservative treatment 

 should at least double the life of the tie, as far as decay is concerned. One can readily 

 perceive the enormous annual saving which might be effected in this way. 



