116 



Canadian Forestry Journal, July, 1915 



estry Branch, paying all salaries and fur- 

 nishing all equipment. While the main 

 function of the laboratories is the carrying 

 on of scientific research on forest products 

 for the benefit of Canadian wood-using in- 

 dustries and the public at large, there is 

 an opportunity for the students of the uni- 

 versity to keep in close touch with the 

 work by j)ersonal inspection and through 

 occasional lectures, delivered to the engi- 

 neering students by members of our staff. 

 A number of specially qualified students 

 and graduates have also been appointed 

 on our technical staff. 



The Heal Function. 



There has been more or less misunder 

 standing during the early stages of organi- 

 zation regarding the exact function of the 

 laVtoratories. The Forestry Branch is en- 

 gaged mainly in such problems as adminis- 

 tration of forest reserves, fire protection, 

 reconnaissance surveys, tree planting, and 

 in general the educating of public opinion 

 in the proper care of living trees. The 

 Forest Products Laboratories on the other 

 hand are interested in the conservation of 

 forest resources by proper utilization of 

 the raw material. The work is, therefore, 

 largely of a chemical, physical and engi- 

 neering nature and has to do with the 

 intensive study of wood itself and the 

 many products which can be manufactured 

 therefrom. Investigations have been un- 

 dertaken with the view of extending the 

 knowledge of wood and its products, point- 

 ing out improved methods for using the 

 raw material furnished by our Canadian 

 forests and finding ways and means of uti- 

 lizing the . vast amount of waste wood 

 which is occasioned in the lumber and 

 allied industries. 



The period to date has been mainly one 

 of organization and preparation for sys- 

 tematic, scientific work. The progress has 

 been slow in some respects owing to the 

 newness of this type of work in Canada 

 and the small supply of specially trained 

 technical men. However, I think it will 

 be a{»parent from the discussion which is 

 to follow that a real start has been made 

 in this work, which is of such vital im- 

 portance to Canada. 



The Fersonnel. 



At the beginning of the fiscal year, April 

 ■ 1st, 1914, the writer took over the duties 

 of Superintendent in succession to Mr. A. 

 G. Mclntyre. At this time the staff num- 

 bered ten, made up of seven technical men 

 and three office assistants. Twelve months 

 later the permanent staff totaled twenty- 

 three, while at the present time the per- 

 manent staff numbers twenty-nine, with 

 two others appointed to commence duties 

 later in the summer. Five of our technical 

 men are now absent on active military ser- 



vice, these being Messrs. F. W. Fraser, D. 

 M. Trapnell, L. X. Seaman, W. B. Campbell 

 and L. L. Brown. 



Buildings Provided. 



Up to the fall of lid 4 the staff found 

 temporary accommodation in the Old Medi- 

 cal Building, granted for our use by McGill 

 University. We are now quartered for a 

 period of four years in the buildings at 

 700 University street, which were recently 

 purchased by McGill University. The of- 

 fice building i;, a large stone structure con- 

 taining about twenty-five rooms in all. 

 Two rooms in the basement have been pro- 

 vided with concrete floors, benches, piping 

 and apparatus for use as wood jjreserva- 

 tion laboratory and fungus pit. On the 

 ground floor one room is used as clerk 's 

 office and a large room has been set aside 

 for exhibits of forest products. The first 

 floor provides four offices and a room for 

 library and conferences, while the top floor 

 contains two offices, drafting room, chemi- 

 cal laboratory and dark room for photo- 

 graphic work. 



The adjoining building has been recon- 

 structed to serve as an experimental paper- 

 mill. This is a two-storey structure of 

 brick and stone, 90' x 30' and the interior 

 has been almost completely reconstructed 

 and provided with concrete floors, water, 

 gas, steam, electric light, electric power 

 and drain connections. The mill is now 

 fairly complete and the machinery nearly 

 all ready for operation. 



For the work in timber testing the uni- 

 versity placed at our disposal the testing 

 laboratory in the Engineering Building, 

 which provides most excellent facilities for 

 this branch of our work. A wood-working 

 shop has also been equipped in the build- 

 ing adjoining the experimental papermill. 

 A portion of our yards has been in use 

 for the storage of wood, special precau- 

 tions being taken to prevent fungus infec- 

 tion. A specially constructed shed has 

 been built for the air seasoning of small 

 wood specimens. A small sawmill on the 

 outskirts of the city has been in use for 

 the working up of the larger logs. 



The progress of work in the laboratories 

 will no doubt be made clearer by separate 

 discussion of each division. The present 

 organization includes the Division of Ad- 

 ministration and the technical divisions of 

 Timber Tests, Timber Physics, Pulp and 

 Paper and Wood Preservation. 



Administration. 



The Division of Administration is con- 

 cerned with the general operation of the 

 laboratories, correspondence, library and 

 so forth. A favorable start has been made 

 in collecting a library containing informa- 

 tion on the special work which concerns 

 the laboratories. The main library of Mc- 



