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In the section of wood chemistry are handled the chemical problems 

 connected with the utilization of wood products. Work in progress 

 includes the analysis of wood preservatives and of treated timbers, 

 tests of the suitabilit}^ of various pieces of wood for paper pulp, as 

 study of wood distillation, and an investigation of the chemical 

 changes involved in water seasoning. A laboratory is maintained in 

 cooperation with Yale University, where a stud}^ is being made of the 

 penetration obtained in hemlock and tamarack cross-ties by the Well- 

 house process of treatment, and an investigation of the methods for 

 analyzing creosote is in progress. A special laboratory for the study 

 of wood pulps has been equipped and a small sulphite plant installed 

 at Boston, Mass., to determine the usefulness for paper making of 

 many species of American woods. 



The section of wood utilization studies the supply, transportation, 

 markets, properties, and uses of lumber and other forest products, and 

 gives especial attention to the characteristics of woods which fit them 

 for specific purposes. The principal lines of work carried on are 

 grouped under wood products, wood uses, and timber tests. To meet 

 an urgent need for an annual statement of the amount of lumber and 

 other forest products used, statistics of manufacture are gathered and 

 published in cooperation with the National Lumber Manufacturers' 

 Association. The grading specifications under which lumber is manu- 

 factured by the various associations are being published. Some 

 studies of special uses for woods have taken form in published reports 

 upon cooperage woods, vehicle and implement woods, box woods, and 

 methods of kiln drying hardwoods. 



The timber tests are designed to secure a better knowledge of the 

 comparative strength of timbers under various conditions, to add to 

 the list of commercial species suitable for construction purposes, and 

 to promote econom}" in the manufacture and use of timbers. The 

 structural value of rapidly grown timber, the effect of preservatives 

 on the strength of timber, and the protection of railroad ties from 

 abrasion under the action of traffic are examples of the subjects 

 studied. Other studies aim at the collection of data for drawing up 

 more accurate and satisfactory rules for the grading of structural 

 timbers, the supplying of information on the properties of unfamiliar 

 woods, and the placing of the technique of timber testing on a scien- 

 tific basis. 



The Forest Service conducts a series of laboratory experiments 

 under a trained staff of testing engineers in cooperation with Yale and 

 Purdue universities and the universities of the States of California, 

 Washington, and Oregon. A bulletin has been printed on the effect 

 of moisture on the strength and stiffness of wood. Preliminar}^ tests 

 to determine the mechanical properties of red fir, loblolly, longleaf, 

 and Norway pines, western hemlock, and tamarack have been made. 



