Research in Timber 

 Utilization 



The research and develop- 

 ment efforts of both public 

 and industrial research 

 organizations in the South 

 have led to many improve- 

 ments in logging, manufac- 

 ture of wood products, and 

 use of wood materials for 

 construction and other 

 purposes. 



Investigations dealing with 

 properties and uses of the 

 southern pines began as 

 early as 1882 in the Division 

 of Forestry in the U.S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, 

 although funds and trained 

 personnel were, of course, 

 extremely limited. Such 

 work led to the discovery 

 that lumber from longleaf 

 pine trees tapped for naval 

 stores was as strong as 

 that from untapped timber; 

 therefore, much of the 

 prevailing waste of tapped 

 trees was unnecessary. 

 Other studies showed that 

 seasoning lumber en- 

 hanced its strength. Re- 

 search around the turn of 

 the century on preservative 

 treatment of railway ties 

 and other wood products 

 similarly helped point the 

 way to better use and 



conservation of timber 

 resources. 



The Forest Products Labora- 

 tory of the USDA Forest 

 Service, established in 

 1910 at Madison, Wl, in 

 cooperation with the Univer- 

 sity of Wisconsin, soon 

 became a major center of 

 knowledge leading to more 

 rational and less wasteful 

 use of timber. Because of 

 their relative abundance 

 and usefulness, the south- 

 ern pines became the 

 subject of much of the 

 research at this world 

 famous laboratory. In 1910, 

 there were no highly efficient 

 sawmills or dry kilns; pulp 

 and paper production was 

 limited and primitive; hard- 

 woods were seldom used 

 for paper; there were no 

 plywoods, particleboards, 

 or laminated timbers; and 

 wood preservation was of 

 limited application. 7 



7 "History of the U.S. Forest Prod- 

 ucts Laboratory, 1920-1963," by 

 Charles H. Nelson (1971), provides 

 a detailed description of the 

 extensive research conducted at 

 this institution. Research performed 

 in subsequent years has been 

 described in annual reports of the 

 laboratory. 



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