THE CLOSER UTILIZATION OF TIMBER 



By the Sub-Committee on Forest Utiuzation. 



Chairman, R. S. Kellogg, Wausau, Wis. 



Bruce Odeee, Cadillac, Mich. W. C. Miles, Globe, Wash. 



K. A. ZiEGLER, Mont Alto, Pa. 



Presented by R. S. Kellogg, Tuesday morning, November 18, 1913. 



SYNOPSIS 



POPULAR opinion holds the lumberman responsible for the wastage of 

 50 to 75 per cent of the timber which he handles, this waste consisting of 

 high stumps, broken trees, logs and uncut timber left in the woods, and 

 of sawdust, slabs, edgings and trimmings at the mills. The lumberman maintains 

 that he saves as much material as he can at a profit, and that he should not be 

 charged with wilful waste when he refuses to handle material which cannot be 

 sold for at least the cost of production. 



Conditions which make possible closer utilization in logging and manu- 

 facturing are: 



1. Ready markets. 



2. Cheap transportation. 



3. Character of timber. 



4. Efficient management. 



5. Proper equipment. 



Nothing can be saved unless there is a market for it. Mills located at points 

 where there is a demand for all their products have practically no waste. Mills 

 located far from consuming points often have heavy waste. 



Transportation charges often determine whether material is utilized or thrown 

 away. 



Timber of one kind may be closely utilized, while timber of another kind, 

 under the same conditions, may be so expensive to handle that only a small 

 amount of it can be saved. 



Efficient management, which is increasing, will help much in closeness of 

 timber utilization. 



The development of logging and manufacturing equipment has fully kept 

 pace with the needs of the industry. 



The present low price of stumpage makes it more profitable for the manu- 

 facturers of many small wooden articles to buy logs, and entire timber tracts, than 

 for them to make their products from the waste of lumbering operations. 



The labor costs in handling waste material are often prohibitive. 



Many by-product plants require such large investments and long-time supply 

 material that their erection is possible only in connection with very large lumber- 

 ing operations. The conditions surrounding many small operations are such 

 that close utilization is impossible. 



