For some uses—railroad ties, for example—no satisfactory 
substitute for wood has yet been found. Wood is so versatile 
a material and has so long been the choice material for so 
many things that there can be little question of its holding its 
place in competition with other materials, so long as it can 
be supplied in adequate quantities, at reasonable cost. 
Recent technological advances in wood utilization, indeed, 
point to an increasing demand. The Forest Products Lab- 
oratory at Madison, Wis., has accomplished some striking 
results in increasing the value and usefulness of forest prod- 
ucts. Laminated wood, improved plywoods, and wood and 
paper-base plastics are finding an increasing variety of uses. 
Such products as “impreg,” “compreg,” “‘staypak,” and the 
“uralloys” are receiving growing recognition in the industrial 
field. It is now possible to produce industrial alcohol, or 
high-protein livestock and poultry feed, from wood. The 
possibilities for chemical conversion of wood are practically 
unlimited. 
Many of the materials that might be used in place of wood 
are definitely exhaustible. Supplies of some of the metals 
may last a long time, but when the mines are worked out 
the supply stops. Known reserves of some minerals are 
already low. But forests are a renewable resource. Wood 
can be grown asacrop. And we have a vast acreage capable 
of and available for growing it, most of which land would 
be of little value for other purposes. 
We shall certainly be short-sighted if we fail to manage 
that land for the continuous production of such a useful and 
needed raw material as wood. 
TREE PLANTING? 
9. Will tree planting solve the problem? 
We hear of millions of trees being planted in reforestation 
projects. Some conservation enthusiasts demand that two 
trees be planted for every one cut. 
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