1162 



Canadian Forestry Journal, June, 1917 



Canada on account of the scattered 

 population and limited markets as 

 well as the technical nature of man.y 

 of the processes. It is estimated that 

 the logging waste which is left in the 

 woods represents about 25 per cent, 

 of the original trees. Obviously the 

 opportunities for utilization are limit- 

 ed and the main problem in Canada 

 at present is to rigidly enforce the 

 proper burning of slash in the wet 

 seasons to remove this serious fire 

 hazard and leave the woods in better 

 condition for second growth. Other 

 losses in the forest are due to fire, 

 insects, fungi, wind, thick growth, 

 scattered growth, local predominence 

 of inferior species, mature trees not 

 up to cutting standard, inaccessible 

 timber and land-clearing operations. 

 These are some of the problems which 

 confront the forester and the im 

 portance of the forest protective 

 movement is emphasized when we 

 remember that forest fires in Canada 

 have destroyed perhaps ten times as 

 much wood as has been taken out by 

 the lumberman. The federal and 

 provincial forestry branches and the 

 various associations have done a 

 great deal to safeguard our wide- 

 spread forest resources and to secure 

 the co-operation of the public in over- 

 coming carelessness in the woods. 



40 Per Cent. Waste 

 Saw-mill waste amounts to about 

 40 per cent, of the original tree, so 

 that the finished lumber on the aver- 

 age represents from 30 to 35 per cent 

 of the tree. New developments in 

 the utilization of wood waste are 

 being made continually but it is false 

 economy to handle waste unless the 

 by-product industries can be carried 

 on at a profit. Effective utilization 

 calls for a variety of chemical and 

 mechanical processes which must be 

 adapted to the form, species and 

 quantity of wood waste available at 

 any point. Slabs, edgings and trim- 

 mings represent 15-17 per cent, of 

 the tree. Among the more common 

 uses are fuel, laths, box shocks, small 

 slack cooperage, small wooden ar- 

 ticles, kraft and sulphite pulp, excel- 

 sior, wood flour, wood wool and pro- 

 ducer gas. Sawdust accounts for 



another 11 per cent, and is used to 

 some extent for fuel, producer gas, 

 briquettes, polishing metals, insulat- 

 ing, packing, bedding in stables, floor 

 sweeping compounds, composition 

 flooring blocks, linoleum, improving 

 clay soils, smoking meat and fish, 

 blasting powders, wood flour, plastics, 

 porous bricks, mixing with mortar 

 and concrete, distillation, ethyl alco- 

 hol, oxalic acid and carborundum. 

 Bark amounts to about 11 per cent, 

 of the tree. It is usually used as fuel, 

 although hemlock and oak barks are 

 important in the tanning industry. 

 A recent development is the use of 

 spent hemlock bark for mixing to 

 the extent of about 30 per cent with 

 rag stock in the manufacture of roof- 

 ing felts. Experiments on its use in 

 wall board, indurated pails, conduits 

 and wall paper give promise of suc- 

 cess. In the manufacture of special 

 wood products a good deal of wood is 

 lost during seasoning by decay due to 

 poor methods of storage and also by 

 warping and splitting. There is a 

 large waste in converting wood into 

 the desired shape for the finished 

 article. Proper co-ordination with 

 plants making small wooden articles 

 brings about a great economy of ma- 

 terial. Shavings find use as fuel and 

 to some extent for packing, bedding, 

 drying wet land and manufacturing 

 fibre board. Beechwood shavings are 

 required in large quantity by vinegar 

 factories but this is another case 

 where specially cut wood is usually 

 used instead of relying on by-product 

 wood from various plants. 



{To be concluded in July issue.) 



PLANTING WHITE PINE 



The Pennsylvania Department of 

 Forestry has not suspended white 

 pine planting because of the white 

 pine blister disease. Almost fifty per 

 cent, of the 3,750,000 trees planted 

 on the State Forests this spring were 

 white pine. 



Canada has not one tree too many 

 for present and future needs. We 

 own just one quarter of the timber 

 possessed by the United States. 



