1474 



Canadian Forcstrij Journal, Januarij, h)lH 



THE FAMINE IN WOOD 

 There has been almost or quite as 

 great a famine of wood as of coal in 

 many of the towns and cities of east- 

 ern Canada. This condition is ano- 

 malous, to sa> the least, in a country 

 naturally so rich in timber resources. 

 Under normal conditions, the de- 

 mand for wood fuel is relatively small, 

 due to the greatly increased use of 

 coal for nearly all fuel purposes. The 

 severe coal shortage has, however, 

 resulted in greatly increasing the de- 

 mand for wood fuel. That the sup- 

 plies of wood in fuel form have at 

 many points been grossly inadequate 

 to meet the increased demand may be 

 at least partially accounted for by the 

 following considerations: 



(1) The universal labour shortage, 

 with consequent high cost of such 

 labour as may be available. This 

 renders it both difficult and expensive 

 to convert standing timber into fuel 

 form. The labor shortage has been 

 due primarily to the heavy enlist- 

 ments including large numbers of 

 axemen and other woods workers, for 

 forestry battalions and other branches 

 of overseas service. 



(2) The uncertainty as to how long 

 the emergency demand for large 

 quantities of wood fuel will continue. 

 There is a more or less natural ten- 

 dency on the part of many people to 

 be optimistic and to assume that an 

 existing emergency will not be re- 

 peated. Dealers, in many cases, feel 

 that Government control of the rail 

 ways in the United States will solve 

 the problem of coal distribution to 

 such an extent that a coal famine 

 next winter is extremely unlikely, to 

 say the least. They argue that if 

 such should prove to be the case, 

 the emergenc>' demand for "wood fuel 

 will disappear, prices will drop, and 

 dealers having large reserve supplies 

 might face heavy loss. Accordingly, 

 while dealers for the most part do the 

 best they can to secure supplies to 

 meet current demands, they arc, in 

 many cases, naturally disinclined to 

 invest amounts adequate to ensure 

 the laying up of supplies of wood fuel 

 sufficient to meet the situation in case 

 of an extreme and i)ro!onged shortage 



of coal. This consideration is inten- 

 sified by the fact that wood fuel 

 supplies ought to be laid in from six 

 months- to a year ahead of time, to 

 ensure proper seasoning. Properly 

 seasoned wood has, of course, a fuel 

 value materially higher , than green 

 wood. 



Need for Education 

 The fact that good authorities be- 

 lieve that the fuel situation will con- 

 tinue to be more or less critical 

 throughout the duration of the war 

 does not entirely remove the element 

 of doubt as to how great will be the 

 demand for wood fuel in particular 

 localities. The point has not, how- 

 ever, been adequately considered that 

 the demand for wood fuel can be very 

 materially stimulated by an educa- 

 tional campaign urging people, as a 

 patriotic measure, as w^ell as one of 

 prudence and necessity, to sub- 

 stitute wood fuel for coal so far as 

 reasonably practicable. This action 

 is now being taken in a systematic 

 and thorough way in many of the 

 states, under the Federal and State 

 Fuel Administrations. 



(3) Coal is more convenient than 

 wood for most fuel purposes, in ad- 

 dition to being as cheap or cheaper, 

 the relative fuel values being taken 

 into consideration. The demand for 

 wood fuel is thus limited under nor 

 mal conditions. According to the 

 United States Forest Service, two 

 pounds of seasoned w^ood have a fuel 

 value equal to one pound of coal. On 

 this basis, a standard cord (4x4x8 

 feet, or 128 cubic feet) of hardwoods, 

 such as birch, beech and hard maple, 

 equals one ton of anthracite coal. 

 One and a half cords of hemlock, soft 

 maple or tamarack, or two cords of 

 spruce, balsam, cedar, white pine or 

 basswood are required to make the 

 same equivalent. 



(4) In localities where sawmills 

 exist, a considerable percentage of 

 the local demand for wood fuel is 

 supplied by mill waste, consisting of 

 slabs and edgings. Some of this 

 material is of hardwood, such as 

 beech, birch and maple, but more 

 often it is comprised of coniferous 

 species, such as spruce, balsam, pine. 



