28 



BULLETIN 510, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



incipient stage and is not readil}^ noticed by the casual observer. 

 Yards which dress the lumber just before filling orders can in this 

 vraj supply to the trade clean-looking lumber, but this does not 

 always impl}^ freedom from fungous infection. The opinion seems 

 to be prevalent among many lumber dealers that the mere brightening 

 of the lumber by nnming through the planer serves to remove all 

 objection to infected stock. This is far from the fact, however. It 

 merely gives it a better sale appearance, and the danger to the ulti- 

 mate user still remains. The adage that " beauty is only skin deep " 

 applies to such infected stock with particular force. 



T\Tiile perhaps the majority of lumber dealers have merely over- 

 looked the full sigTiificance to the building trades of the dangers 

 which lurk in diseased stock and are trying in every way to satisfy 

 their trade and meet competition, there still remain a considerable 

 number who do not look into the future but are content to get the 

 stock off their own hands without any care as to the service which it 

 will give the consumer. This is a thoroughly mistaken policy, for 



the lumberman 

 should in every way 

 strive to increase the 

 value of his product. 

 In the first place, it 

 is good business pol- 

 ic}^, and, second, 

 there remains the 

 question of moral 

 and legal responsi- 

 bility. 



P92F 



Fig. 29. — A stack of pine lumber of uneven lengths. Note 

 the irregular distribution of the piling sticks and the 

 consequent warping and twisting of the boards. 



STORAGE SHEDS. 



In many retail 

 yards shed condi- 

 tions are very poor. The closed type of shed is in the minority. 

 Since lumber under cover is as a rule piled closely in bins, the need 

 for ample ventilation beneath and a tight roof above is imperative. 

 All the decay observed in lumber sheds is directly traceable to one or 

 the other of these factors ; mainly, however, that of improper ventila- 

 tion. It has frequently been the custom merely to lay a narrow timber 

 sill directly on the ground, or at best within a very few inches of it, 

 to serve for the foundation (fig. 30). The best practice, however, has 

 been to place the sills on brick or concrete piers not less than 18 to 24 

 inches high, running the siding of the shed only to the bottom of the 

 sills, so as to allow a free circulation of air regardless of the direction 

 of the wind. Such a construction is represented in figure 31. 



Another defect of the open shed which has been frequently'' noted 

 is the strong tendency to alk)w the ends of the longer stock to project 



