1906 FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 511 



"I can give you a brief history of formation the wagon builder could use 



the work as it has developed, and out- wood that he is not now using, and 



line the work as we think it ought to still have just as good a wagon. We 



be handled from this time on. found that the manufacturer was tied 



"In 1890, when the Division of For- down to a considerable extent by the 

 estry was a very small affair, consist- demands of the trade as to the kind of 

 ing of six or eight men, the testing of wood that should go into a wagon, 

 timber was begun in connection with "We also saw need of studying other 

 Washington University of St. Louis, questions in connection with the man- 

 and some tests were made on, I think, ufacture of wood into salable products, 

 thirty-two different kinds of wood, The question of kiln-drying has come 

 most of which were pretty well known to be a most vexatious problem. We 

 at that time and in general use. Those find need of making studies of the 

 tests were very useful, as I think most question of drying. It is a pretty in- 

 of you who know about them will tricate question, as most of you know, 

 bear me out, useful to engineers and and it is far from solved. And there 

 to lumbermen who wanted to know is, in addition, the problem of finding 

 about the value of the timber that they the woods which we have not hereto- 

 had to work with and the timber they fore used which might be used for dif- 

 had in view to work with. Those tests ferent things. These are questions 

 went on for five or six years. There which come in right along the lines we 

 came a time when other work pressed have been discussing. There are other 

 and the testing work was stopped, not problems of vital importance which we 

 to be resumed for several years. In can work out in a laboratory of this 

 1902 plans were devised for beginning kind. The problem of using up waste 

 this testing work again. The man who by means of wood distillation is one 

 prepared the plans and who has had which confronts the lumber manufac- 

 charge of practically all of the work turers, and we should provide for ex- 

 done in testing since that time is Dr. periments in wood distillation, and 

 W. K. Hatt, of Purdue University, similarlv for experiments in the pre- 

 where we have our main laboratory, servative treatment of timber, which 

 In addition, a very small laboratory is a problem of great importance, 

 has been furnished the service by the "This will indicate to you the work 

 Forest School at Yale University and that we see ahead in connection with 

 small laboratories by the Universities this project. The point of view of the 

 of California, Washington, and Ore- Forest Service is this : That to do this 

 gon. work in the most valuable way, we 



"Some of the tests we made were on must do it not only in close co-opera- 

 large timbers, such as bridge timbers, tion with your associations we must 

 up to the size of 8x16 and 16 feet long, do it directly under the supervision of 

 About a year ago we began to see a your associations. If this laboratory 

 field for doing good, useful work, in is secured there should be a general 

 co-operation with the manufacturers advisory committee of the different 

 who use wood. We saw that there associations to help us outline the work 

 was great waste through not having of making the tests and to see that we 

 definite information about timbers so do not work entirely on the theoreti- 

 that they could be put to the uses that cal side and leave out matters of prac- 

 they were actually useful for. For in- tical importance. There ought to be 

 stance, in the manufacture of wagons, that close connection between us right 

 we found that there was a great need along." 



for reliable information on what tim- The delegates of the various associ- 



ber can be used for different parts of a ations showed that the co-operation of 



wagon spokes, hubs, rims, tongues, the Forest Service has already helped 



axles, and boxes, and everything that their industries in pointing out good 



goes into a wagon. With definite in- substitutes for disappearing species, in 



