mn tniCTE SAM'S naturalists . HSLEASE Friday. April 25. 1930 . 



AI^T0I3NCE:S!?T ; Now is the time alot of folks like to get out in the woods. 

 Others of us like to tinker ground the back yard, and maybe build a new 

 chicken coop. But from what our VJilds Han has been telling us Uncle Sam's 



Naturalists have been telling him about wood and trees, but I'll 



let yoU> tell all that, Mr, rildsmaji — That oiJght to interest the handy- 

 man-about-the -house as welj as the wood rangers 



I guess everybody knows some kinds of wood are stronger than others. 

 And all you men who have worked with wood probably realize that some pieces 

 of wood are stronger than other pieces of the same kind. 



For some time the U. S. Forest Service has been testing out timbers 

 for strength nnd qualities of different sorts; and looking into the roasons 

 for those differences in lumber cut from the srzne kind of trees from the 

 s?j:io woods. 



The Forest Service's Office of Experiment Stations, tells me that 

 many of the strength secrets of some trees have not only been found out, 

 but how to handle the forest so as to control the strength of the lumber 

 which can be cut from trees is also known. 



It is largely a tjuestion of how densely the trees are growing to- 

 gether in the woods; that is, whether they are crowded or spaced far apart. 



You have all probably noticed how the trees in a thick woods prune 

 themselves naturally. TThere they are spaced close together, the lo^rer limbs 

 are shaded out and killed while tho tree is still young. The fungi, snow or 

 wind do the rest; and cause the lower limbs to drop off. 



It is important for trees to shed their lower limbs early in life, 

 because then .my lirab-scpxs or knots will be left near the center of the 

 tree when it is ready for harvest. The new growth laid on the trunk in 

 rings every year after the lower limbs are dropped will be free from de- 

 fects. Thus more clear lumber can be cut from such a tree. TThen the young 

 trees grow far apart, tjie lower limbs are not shaded off or pumed by nat\ire. 

 The lower limbs persist and when the ma-ture tree i.3 cut, the knots are 

 Ijigger and cause more of the lumber to be of a low grade. 



But let's not look at this question altogether th-rough a knot-hole 

 Even the strength of the clear lumber is affected by the spacing of the trees. 

 One olear piece of hickory, or oak, for instajice, may be stronger than 

 another piece, because of the surroundings under which the tree :;rew from 

 which that wood was cut. 



