TIMBER STORAGE IIST THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN STATES. 41 



and this must necessarily be the case until a standard and succinct 

 set of grading rules is put into practice by all dealers. 



Branding not only puts the company's guaranty of quality behind 

 the product, but indicates as well the kind of timber supplied. Thus, 

 for example, an operator in Douglas fir and western white pine in 

 Idaho could not then possibly confuse his product with southern pine 

 or eastern pine when it reaches the eastern market. For the architect 

 it is very essential to know that the kind of timber he receives accords 

 with the specifications. 



The biggest and most enduring reputations in any line of indus- 

 trial activity are based on the best type of service. When the lum- 

 berman who has the highest desire for good service throws his prod- 

 uct promiscuously on the market with the lower grade materials, he 

 is at the same time throwing away an industrial asset of no doubtful 

 value. This will become more and more the case as the building 

 public wakes up to the dangers lurking in the use of inferior or 

 fungus-infected timber. 



The timber of the United States is a national asset in which the 

 citizens have a certain vested interest which calls for the best utili- 

 zation possible. The lumberman as guardian of these interests cer- 

 tainly owes to the public no less than his best efforts to convert the 

 forest into a finished product which shall ultimately reach the con- 

 sumer in prime condition. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



11 



Improvement of lumber storage conditions can be brought about 

 by modifying present insanitary practices along the following lines : 



(1) Strong efforts should be made to store the product on well-drained 

 ground, removed from the possible dangers of floods, high tides, and standing 

 water. 



(2) All rotting debris scattered about yards should be collected and burned, 

 no matter whether it be decayed foundation and tramway timbers or stored 

 lumber which has become infected. In the case of yards already filled in to 

 considerable depths with sawdust and other woody debris the situation can be 

 improved by a heavy surfacing with soil, slag, or similar material. 



(3) More attention should be given to the foundations of lumber piles in order 

 to insure freedom from decay and better ventilation beneath the stacks. In 

 humid regions the stock should not be piled less than 18 to 24 inches from 

 the ground. Wood blocking used in direct contact with wet ground should be 

 protected by the application of creosote or other antiseptic oils or else re- 

 placed by concrete, brick, or other durable materials. Treated horizontal skid 

 timbers would also be highly advantageous, for stock should never be piled 

 in direct contact with diseased timber. 



(4) Instead of throwing the "stickers" about on the ground, to become 

 infected, they should be handled carefully and when not in use piled on sound 

 foundations and kept dry as far as possible. If resinous pine or the heartwood 

 of such durable species as white oak or red gum be employed, the danger of 

 possible infection will be greatly decreased. 



