NEWS AND NOTES 



Government to Study Eucalyptus Planting 



Plans are being made to have a special 

 study undertaken by a representative of the 

 United States Forest Service in the near 

 future to determine the feasibility of the cul- 

 ture of the eucalyptus tree in the lower Rio 

 Grande Valley and along the Gulf Coast of 

 Texas. 



The importance of eucalyptus culture from 

 a commercial standpoint in California has 

 within the past few months aroused general 

 interest throughout the country concerning 

 these rapid-growing trees, and the district 

 office of the Forest Service at Albuquerque 

 receives almost daily inquiries as to the feas- 

 ibility of planting eucalypts in the South- 

 west, particularly in the state of Texas. 



Eucalypts are native to the coast region of 

 Australia and Tasmania, where at least 150 

 distinct species are recognized. They were 

 introduced into California about 1850, and 

 first planted near San Francisco for orna- 

 mental purposes. The extremely rapid growth 

 of certain species, their value for fuel, lum- 

 ber, and special products have resulted in 

 the undertaking of extensive investigations 

 concerning the habits of these trees and their 

 commercial uses and possibilities. Fully 100 

 species have been introduced into the United 

 States. 



The eucalypts are adapted to a subtropical 

 climate, and the limits within which they 

 may be planted for commercial purposes in 

 this country may be broadly defined as that 

 bounded by the frost-line. They are there- 

 fore adapted for planting in the warmer por- 

 tions of California and in parts of southern 

 Arizona and Texas. There is considerable 

 area, however, in southern Texas where it is 

 likely that the more hardy of the eucalypts 

 can be successfully planted. 



Timber Seasoning and Wood Preservation 



In recent years the importance of pre- 

 serving timber from decay by the use of 

 various antiseptics has been generally recog- 

 nized in the United States. The value of 

 properly seasoning timber before such treat- 

 ment is not so generally known, though it 

 is one of the most important features of the 

 treatment. 



There are three main advantages to be 

 derived from the proper seasoning of timber, 

 namely : The increase in strength of the 

 timber, the greater ease of injection of anti- 



septics for preserving the timber, and the 

 saving in freight charges due to the de- 

 creased weight. 



From thorough tests made by the Forest 

 Service on various pieces of timber, it ap- 

 pears that thoroughly air-dry or seasoned 

 timber has about double the strength of the 

 green material. It is well-known to all 

 operators of wood-preserving plants that 

 antiseptics are not only difficult to inject into 

 green wood, but that it is practically im- 

 possible to obtain a uniformly satisfactory 

 treatment of such material at an economic 

 cost, for the purpose of insuring a prolonged 

 life. 



The last item would at first seem too trif- 

 ling to be worthy of discussion, but from 

 data obtained only recently it appears that 

 western yellow pine lost fifty per cent, of 

 its green weight after three to five months' 

 seasoning. This means a saving of fifty per 

 cent, of the freight charges and a correspond- 

 ing saving in the handling of the timber, 

 and is therefore a far too important point 

 to overlook. 



Considering these three points, it will be 

 seen that there is not only a material saving 

 in the seasoning of timber, but also a pro- 

 portionate increase in the value of timber 

 as a structural material. The seasoning of 

 timber is never an expensive operation, even 

 when done artificially. In the southern parts 

 of the United States, a satisfactory degree 

 of seasoning could be obtained by exposure 

 of the timber to the air for a period of three 

 to six months. In some of the northern 

 states, however, a somewhat longer period 

 is necessary to secure satisfactory results. 



Forest Conservation in Germany and the 

 United States 



Germany faced the same great timber sup- 

 ply problem early in the nineteenth century 

 that the United States faces to-day, and in 

 solving it developed heavy producing and 

 well-administered forests which are models 

 for the rest of the world. 



A study of the systems of forest manage- 

 ment and wood utilization in the two coun- 

 tries offers many interesting comparisons. 

 The United States takes 260 cubic feet per 

 capita annually from the forests ; Germany 

 uses but thirty-seven. In other words, this 

 country is already using seven times as 

 much timber per capita as is Germany. 



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