176 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



About 52 percent of total unused residues are 

 in the South, 38 percent in the West, and 10 per- 

 cent in the North. Since practically the entire 

 volume results from lumber manufacture, much 

 that is in the South and North is scattered among 

 thousands of small mills. In the West, residues 

 are mainly at large mills in the Douglas-fir sub- 

 region and in California. 



Table 112. — Unused -plant residues in the United 

 States and Coastal Alaska, by kind of material 

 and by section and region, 1952 



Section and region 



Coarse 



Fine 



Total 



North: 



New England . . . _ 



Million 



cu. ft. 



25 



25 



5 



13 



1 



Million 

 cu. ft. 

 18 

 27 

 17 

 11 

 1 



Million 

 cu. ft. 

 43 



Middle Atlantic 



52 



Lake States 



22 



Central 



24 



Plains 



2 







Total. - _ _ 



69 



74 



143 







South: 



South Atlantic _ _ 



109 

 146 



44 



151 



205 



61 



260 



Southeast . _ 



351 



West Gulf 



105 







Total 



299 



417 



716 



West: 



Pacific Northwest: 



Douglas-fir subregion 



Pine subregion _ . 



111 

 9 



115 

 10 



226 

 19 







Total 



California 



Northern Rocky Mountains. _ 

 Southern Rocky Mountains.. 



120 



162 



15 



8 



125 



66 



15 



9 



245 



228 



30 



17 



Total 



305 



215 



520 



United States 



Coastal Alaska ... 



673 

 2 



706 

 1 



1,379 

 3 







United States and Coastal 

 Alaska 



675 



707 



1,382 



Plant residues are in a large measure unavoid- 

 able in all types of primary manufacture even 

 with the most modern equipment. Their utiliza- 

 tion is complicated by many factors. The lack 

 of markets is a chief hindrance. And even if 

 markets exist, residues must be available cheaply 

 and in sufficient quantity ; otherwise potential users 

 may not find it profitable to use them. Most 

 markets are specialized and very often local or 

 regional in character. Thus large concentrations 

 such as are found in the West may offer the best 

 opportunities for economic use. 



Despite reasonably good current use of plant 

 residues, there remains the problem of finding 

 profitable waj's of using more of them. In some 

 cases this mav mean finding new uses foi' residues. 



In other instances it may mean the development 

 of new markets for products that are presently 

 derived from residues. 



TRENDS IN UTILIZATION 



Failure to get maximum use from the Nation's 

 timber resources has been a matter of gi-owing 

 concern for many years. Fuller use has become 

 increasingly vital in the face of diminishing sup- 

 plies and expanding requirements for domestic 

 timber. Much has been done about it in the past, 

 and recent developments promise still greater im- 

 provement in the future. 



Better and more complete utilization in the 

 woods and in the conversion processes is largely 

 activated by economics. The equipment, ma- 

 chines, techniques, and new processes and products 

 by which better utilization can be accomplished 

 are mostly the results of research and of industrial 

 experimentation and development. Improve- 

 ments in equipment and methods which have 

 taken place over the years in the interest of lower- 

 ing production costs have in turn contributed to 

 better utilization by making more of the raw 

 material profitable to handle. Advances in utiliza- 

 tion have been further stimulated by expanding 

 markets, tightening supplies, higher stumpage and 

 log prices, changes in labor and equipment costs, 

 and other economic considerations. New uses for 

 wood and improvements in primary manufactur- 

 ing processes and the establishment of more pulp 

 mills and other wood-using industries have also 

 influenced the trend by creating markets for ma- 

 terial previously left in the woods or unused 

 at the mills. 



Research in forest products utilization can be 

 credited with substantial contributions toward 

 better and more efficient wood use during recent 

 years. Pulping processes have been developed 

 which give higher yields per cord of wood and 

 which use a wide variety of "weed" and little-used 

 species; log grading systems have been, and are 

 being, devised and tested as tools for product 

 segregation of logs; many devices and techniques 

 have been developed for the more efficient opera- 

 tion of small sawmills; the machining properties of 

 many species have been tested, together with the 

 preferred machining methods; and methods of 

 modifying wood properties have been found, thus 

 creating new markets. 



Much information has been developed on the 

 engineering, container, and structural uses for 

 wood, resulting in improved structures and 

 products with more economical use of timber; 

 glues, gluing, laminating, and sandwich construc- 

 tion studies have resulted in better service, new 

 markets, and increased wood-use economy; air- 

 seasoning and kiln-drying studies have been re- 

 sponsible for superior wood products with de- 

 creased degrade and waste; the development of 



