4 
‘s 
going estimates. During the war many ways were 
found to use wood in place of other materials that 
were in short supply. Permanent scarcity of non- 
renewable materials may increase the opportunity 
for wood use. 
For one thing, wood is being adapted to many 
new construction uses. Laminated wood arches, 
for instance, have proved satisfactory in such wide- 
roofed buildings as gymnasiums and auditoriums. 
The range of wood use is also being extended by 
new methods of gluing, by improved connecting 
devices and structural design, and by wider use 
of plywood. 
Just beginuing to be understood are the com- 
mercial possibilities of new processes that change 
the physical characteristics of wood. By chemical 
treatment, heat, and pressure, wood may be con- 
verted into new materials of great utility and 
promise. It may be rendered impervious to mois- 
ture, acid, and other chemicals. It may be molded 
into a variety of shapes. Specific gravity can be 
varied from section to section of the same piece— 
a property of special significance for such items 
as airplane propellers. It can be given a variety 
of attractive and desirable finishes—including color, 
figured veneer, stencil designs, etc.—all incorpo- 
rated in the material so as to be as durable and 
washable as the material itself. 
Beyond this, the outlook is bright for wood as 
a chemical raw material. Under the stimulus of 
war, initial plant installations have been made for 
manufacturing industrial ethyl alcohol from saw- 
mill and pulp-mill waste. Ethyl alcohol, in addi- 
tion to supplying many other commercial demands, 
may be used in the manufacture of rubber. As- 
sociated with the manufacture of alcohol from 
wood are the possibilities of developing a highly 
efficient source of food protein by growing yeast 
on wood sugar. The Germans carried this process 
past the experimental stage during the war. 
Generation of other products in the fermentation 
of wood cellulose may also lead to an increase in 
wood use. ‘The possibilities are revolutionary in 
their implications, and tonnage requirements are 
unpredictable. 
Lignin, the wood constituent next in importance 
to cellulose, is now largely wasted because its chem- 
ical structure is obscure. But chemists have begun 
to penetrate its mysteries. Lignin has been found 
valuable as binding material for road surfaces, in 
reducing the amount of lead needed in storage bat- 
teries, as a dispersing agent for cement in making 
concrete, and in plastics. Once understood, this 
plentiful byproduct, which now pollutes some of 
our rivers, may find wide beneficial use. 
To the extent that new chemical processes make 
use of waste, they would not increase forest drain. 
However, some of the new products may become 
sufficiently important to call for additional timber 
cutting operations. It is not feasible to make a 
specific estimate of potential requirements for such 
uses, but they merit consideration in setting long- 
range growth goals. 
National S ecurity 
The war showed what it means not to have 
enough timber to go around. The Nation learned 
how essential its forests are for military operations. 
Every phase of the war—every operation—de- 
pended in some measure upon wood. Every 
freighter that left port with war supplies carried 
some 10 carloads of dunnage to pack and stabilize 
its cargo. Army cantonment construction required 
about 1,500 board feet of lumber per man. For 
every man sent overseas, 300 board feet was needed 
to box and crate his initial supplies, and it took 
nearly 50 board feet a month thereafter to keep 
him supplied. Every 214 -ton truck manufactured 
and shipped meant, on an average, the use of 1,000 
feet of lumber. The smokeless powder in every 
90,000 rounds of. rifle ammunition, the paper in 
every lot of 4,200 weather-proof packages of blood 
plasma, took a cord of pulpwood. Furthermore, 
until lumber and other timber products them- 
selves became difficult to obtain, the Nation looked 
to wood as a substitute for steel and other materials 
wherever possible. 
The importance of adequate timber growth in 
national security is emphasized by prospective 
shortages of other strategic materials. Geologists 
predict exhaustion of domestic petroleum supplies 
in the foreseeable future. If abundant timber is 
at hand, alcohol made from wood could be used 
as fuel for internal-combustion engines. Further- 
more, many of the byproducts of both coal and 
petroleum may be obtained also from wood. De- 
pendence upon imports for such vital materials as 
rubber also affects national security. To the ex- 
tent that such materials can be obtained from 
wood, the Nation could prepare to get along with- 
out imports by accumulating a backlog of acces- 
sible growing stock, which would not be drawn 
upon in time of peace. 
36 Miscellaneous Publication 668, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
