Lumber Uses 



By Warren B. Bullock 



THE national movement among the colleges to teach 

 the proper uses of lumber as part of the educa- 

 tional correspondence courses for the instruction 

 of men in the business has been one of the fastest- 

 spreading educational movements of the day. Started 

 last fall by the University of Wisconsin, the course 

 adopted there has been copied or is in preparation at 

 nearly a score of universities. In each the basic idea of 

 the course is that if lumber is properly used, there will 

 be less waste of good material and the life of the nation's 

 forests will thus be prolonged. 



Harvard, however, has announced the installation of 

 a more extended course, along the same lines, but a full 

 school course instead of merely a correspondence course, 

 excellent as those courses are proving to the man already 

 in the business. The Harvard course is a two-years' 

 course granting the degree of Master in Business Ad- 

 ministration, and those taking the course in the depart- 

 ment of forestry are given the degree of Master of 

 Forestry. 



The Harvard course is of importance not so much in 

 itself, from the standpoint of the man whose life is de- 

 voted to forestry or the manufacture or sale of forest 

 products, as it is indicative of the modern trend of opin- 

 ion toward the lumber industry. The recognition that 

 the future of the industry rests as much in the conserva- 

 tion of the tree after it is cut, and its proper use after 

 conversion into lumber, as in the conservation of the 

 original forests is evidence that a new view of the lumber 

 industry is forcing its way into the mind of the public. 

 This is evidenced by the introduction of the Harvard 

 announcement when it says: 



"With the changes that have taken place in recent 

 years, the lumber business has come to offer an attractive 

 field for trained men. In the earlier days of the indus- 

 try, with timberland was abundant and relatively cheap, 

 lumbering was largely a business of speculation in stump- 

 age, and the rise in the value of the timber often made 

 up the bulk of the profit. Since the supply of timber 

 has become greatly reduced, the business of handling 

 it has become large and complicated, and the costs of 

 labor, materials and other factors have gone up rapidly. 

 To secure profit is more and more plainly a problem of 

 management, of manufacture, and of distribution." 

 * * * 



ANEW method of preventing sap stain in lumber 

 is being developed at the Forests Products 

 Laboratory at Madison, Wisconsin, in an effort to 

 reduce the waste in lumber, and thus again make the 

 lumberman more efficient in conserving his supply. It 

 has been the practice of the lumbermen to dip their 



product in a solution of sodium bicarbonate in an effort 

 to overcome the blue-stain difficulty, checking the fungus 

 growth which causes this stain. The laboratory has 

 found that this stain can also be prevented by dipping 

 the lumber in a solution of sodium fluoride. In addition 

 to preventing the stain, this salt is found to render the 

 surface of the wood antiseptic, thus destroying the spores 

 of any fungi alighting upon it, and prevents the start of 

 decay between the time that the lumber leaves the manu- 

 facturer and reaches the consumer. 



"The appearance of the lumber," announces the labora- 

 tory, "is entirely unaffected by the sodium fluoride treat- 

 ment, whereas it is claimed that a sodium bicarbonate 

 solution sometimes causes yellow or brown discoloration 

 of the surface. The laboratory is conducting further 

 experiments to determine the exact strength of solution 

 which it is necessary to use to produce the best results." 



* * * 



IT is probably outside the scope of this column to 

 discuss the work being started in the middle west 

 toward municipal forests, but the conservation of the 

 forests already existent cannot be of any greater im- 

 portance to the future than the development of these 

 municipal forests, if this movement becomes in any way 

 general. 



THE use of artificial silk made directly from wood 

 is increasing by leaps and bounds. Originally its 

 principal use was in the manufacture of braids 

 and trimmings, but recently the manufacture of hose 

 from artificial silk has become an industry of vast im- 

 portance. Other uses for artificial silk are woven goods 

 of all kinds, linings, tapestries, etc., neckties, ribbons, 

 sweater coats, etc. About five and one-half million 

 pounds of artificial silk are used annually in the United 

 States. There are several methods of manufacture, but 

 that from wood pulp is usually made by treating the wood 

 pulp with caustic lye after which it is dissolved in car- 

 bon bisulphide. This is then diluted with more caustic 

 lye to form a viscose which is allowed to age for some 

 time. It is then forced through dies to form threads 

 which are hardened by a treatment with sulphuric acid, 

 ammonium sulphate, and sodium borate, or formic acid. 

 After washing and drying, the silk is ready for use. The 

 Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, is in- 

 vestigating the artificial silk problem as a possibility for 

 utilizing wood waste and has on hand a variety of articles 

 made from this material. 



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