20 BULLETIlSr 1037, V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



against sap-stained or moldy stock that is to be covered, provided 

 there is no incipient decay associated with it. 



The reduction in the value of stained lumber sometimes amounts 

 to $2 or more per 1,000 feet, board measure, and perhaps one-fourth 

 of the annual mill cut of the United States is attacked. In one year 

 it was estimated that the total losses from sap-stain amounted to be- 

 tween 8 and 9 million dollars (Weiss, S6; Weiss and Barnum, S7; see 

 also Pratt, S4). The amount in any locality, however, depends upon 

 the climate, the season, and several other factors. 



Weather conditions have a marked influence upon the amount of 

 damage to freshly cut timber in the woods or to green stock in storage 

 and in transit. During warm and moist weather such stock will 

 sometimes stain badly and in a short time, unless it is properly safe- 

 guarded. This, of course, is due to the fact that the warm and humid 

 conditions stimulate the development of the fungi. It follows, then, 

 that the greater losses from sap-stain, sap-rot, or mold should be ex- 

 pected during the warmer months, and especially during those 

 months in which both high temperatures and high humidity nor- 

 mally prevail. As a matter of fact, this is the case. In the months 

 of April, May, June, July, and sometimes August and even Septem- 

 ber, depending upon climatic conditions, the greatest damage occurs. 

 In the South, owing to the prevailing high temperatures and relative 

 humidities, the losses are often extremely severe. The greatest losses 

 occur in low-grade coniferous lumber, especially the southern pines, 

 owing f)artly to the high percentage of sapwood and partly to the 

 fact that the low-grade lumber is seldom kiln dried, but is stacked 

 in the yard to air season. Under such circumstances, unless unusual 

 precautions are observed, it is very liable to the attacks of the sap- 

 stain fungi. 



From replies to the questionnaires sent out by the wood-stock com- 

 mittee to contractors and producers of wood stock regarding sap- 

 stain and mold in vehicle stock and from the data derived from the 

 personal investigations of the writer, it was learned that these losses 

 are dependent largely upon the manner in which the stock is piled in 

 the cars and sheds during transit or storage. The losses average less 

 than 10 per cent, but may reach from 25 to 75 per cent. The writer 

 was informed that because of such damage to green spokes during 

 the summer of 1918, sometimes as many as 50 per cent in a carload 

 lot were culled. When turned spokes were selling at $150 per 1,000 

 feet b. m., the loss on a carload containing perhaps 12,000 escort 

 spokes, 2^ by 24 by 27 inches, was evidently considerable, perhaps 

 amounting to hundreds of dollars. One firm reported that it had 

 knowledge of entire carloads being destroyed. In some instances 

 cars had gone astray and had finally reached their proper destina- 



