312 



CONSERVATION 



Wood Preservation Means Forest Conservation 



An increase from three and one-half mil- 

 lion gallons of the oil of coal tar, or creo- 

 sote, as it is popularly known, imported into 

 the city of New York in 1904, to an 

 amount estimated to be almost 25,000,000 

 gallons last year, is one of the indications 

 pointing to the progress of the Nation-wide 

 movement for the conservation of forest re- 

 sources. 



It is creosote which the Government and 

 scores of corporations and private wood 

 users have found to be one of the most sat- 

 isfactory preservatives of railroad ties, mine 

 props, telephone and telegraph poles, fence 

 posts, and for timbers used for other com- 

 mercial purposes. Lengthening the life of 

 timber in use means the lessening of the 

 drain on the country's forests, and what is 

 more important to the average business man, 

 it means the saving of thousands of dollars 

 annually spent for the labor of the frequent 

 renewals made necessary when untreated 

 timber is used. 



Ten years ago the strongest advocates 

 of the creosoting method of preserving wood 

 could scarcely have hoped for the present 

 advanced state of this industry. Creosoting 

 is becoming the acknowledged standard 

 means of increasing the lfe of timbers. 



Formerly the production of creosote, from 

 both coal tar and wood tar, far exceeded any 

 demand for wood-treating purposes. How- 

 ever, the number of wood-preserving plants 

 has grown so rapidly within the last four 

 years that this country is not now able to 

 supply its own demand for coal-tar creosote. 



A brief study of the importation columns 

 of the trade journals shows the effect of the 

 growth of the wood-preservation industry. 

 In the whole year of 1904 the New York 

 imports amounted to only 3,500,000 gallons. 

 By the end of 1907 the. importation had in- 

 creased to 17,500,000 gallons, while for the 

 present year conservative estimates place the 

 imported coal-tar creosote at between 

 twenty-two to twenty-five million gallons. 



The year has started most auspiciously; 

 during a five-weeks' period in December 

 and January the importation through New 

 York alone was 15,000 tons, giving a weekly 

 average of 3,000 tons, or 68,000 gallons. It 

 is significant that during this same period the 

 importation of related by-products from coal 

 kept pace with that of creosote. Ammonium 

 carbonate, chloride, sulphate, and "sal am- 

 moniac" entered to the amount of 104, 227, 

 1,260, and 400 tons, respectively. If these 

 had been all made into the sulphate, the 

 equivalent product would have been 460 tons 

 per week. The estimated ratio of twenty 

 pounds of sulphate to one and one-half gal- 

 lons of the creosote oil would make an 

 equivalent production of 69,000 gallons of 

 creosote. This is not far different from the 

 68,000 gallons which were really imported. 



Since these ammonia products and creosote 

 are being imported in this relation, it is 

 plainly evident that the production of creo- 

 sote is not alone deficient, but also coal-tar 

 products in general. 



The production of creosote in this coun- 

 try will, in all probability, continue to be 

 far less than the consumption. 



A great help may be eventually afforded 

 by the increasing use of wood-tar creosote, 

 which has not been in nigh favor in the 

 past. It is gratifying to note that within 

 the last few years some of the more impor- 

 tant wood distillers have been turning into a 

 profit those oils and tars which were for- 

 merly run to waste. The demand for these 

 products is increasing, and this recovered 

 by-product has been asserted to be not only 

 a revenue for the producer but also a valua- 

 ble preservative for the treatment of struc- 

 tural timber. 



An Important Tree Family 



Recent investigations by the Bureau of 

 Forestry emphasize the fact that the bulk of 

 the forest wealth of the Philippine Islands is 

 stored in the members of one family, bo- 

 tanically known as Dipterocarpacese, which 

 name has been very aptly shortened to ' ' Dip- 

 terocarp ' ' family. The word means, liter- 

 ally, ' ' two wings, ' ' because some of the 

 members of the family have fruit with two 

 wings. It is estimated that this one family 

 contains more than three-fourths of the tim- 

 ber wealth of the islands. It is to the Philip- 

 pines what the pine family is to temperate 

 regions. It holds timber of all grades, from 

 the hard and durable woods like Yacal and 

 i.iangachapuy, through a medium grade like 

 Guijo or Apitong, to the softer timbers 

 known commonly as Lauan. 



Naval Stores Production 



The production of more than 36,500,000 

 gallons of turpentine and more than 4,000,000 

 barrels of rosin, with a valuation of more 

 than 14,000,000 for the turpentine and near- 

 ly $18,000,000 for the rosin, summarizes the 

 output of the Naval Stores industry for 1908, 

 according to the preliminary report of the 

 United States Forest Service just completed. 

 Of the eight Southern states, each produc- 

 ing more than 200,000 gallons of turpentine 

 and 25,000 barrels of resin, Florida leads the 

 list with 17,030,300 gallons of turpentine in 

 1908 against 15,572,700 gallons in 1907, and 

 1,932,114 barrels of rosin in 1908 against 

 1,774,370 barrels in 1907. 



