The early timber testing 

 work of the Bureau of 

 Forestry and several univer- 

 sity laboratories was soon 

 materially expanded at the 

 Madison laboratory to 

 include strength tests of 

 various sizes and grades of 

 most commercial timbers 

 and effects of factors such 

 as defect and moisture 

 content. As early as 1915, 

 the Southern Pine Associa- 

 tion and the American 

 Society of Testing Materials 

 adopted lumber-grading 

 rules prepared at the Madi- 

 son laboratory. These and 

 subsequently developed 

 standards for plywood and 

 other products have provid- 

 ed architects and engineers 

 with accurate data for 

 design of structures, reliable 

 data for commercial specifi- 

 cations, and a basis for 

 substitution for scarce 

 species or materials. 



Another major highlight of 

 utilization research at the 

 Forest Products Laboratory 

 was the development and 

 patenting of an efficient dry 

 kiln by H.D. Tieman. This 

 highly practical develop- 

 ment was the result of years 

 of intensive research on the 

 fundamental principles of 

 drying, shrinkage, and 



effects of moisture content 

 in wood of various species. 

 The laboratory at Madison 

 also sponsored courses in 

 kiln drying to disseminate 

 knowledge of modern drying 

 methods. These efforts 

 have helped reduce use of 

 green lumber in construc- 

 tion, with consequent im- 

 provement in performance 

 and consumer benefits. 



Research aimed at improv- 

 ing the efficiency of sawmills 

 led to better equipment 

 and plant layout and more 

 productive cutting practices. 

 Thus lumber yields, particu- 

 larly from small logs, can 

 be substantially increased 

 through computer-based 

 selection of the "best open- 

 ing face" of each log -a 

 discovery of special signifi- 

 cance in view of the increas- 

 ing proportion of small logs 

 in the available timber 

 supply. 



In the area of pulp and 

 paper research, early work 

 by industrial researchers 

 and by scientists at the 

 Madison laboratory and 

 other institutions pointed 

 the way to successful 

 production of kraft pulps 

 from southern pines, and 

 the ensuing enormous 



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