CONTROL OF DECAY IN PULP AND PULP WOOD 7 
On the whole, the species used are not resistant to decay, for 
which reason storage of them is difficult. The fact that a certain 
proportion of the wood reaching the mills is already infected or 
decayed in varying degrees (see PI. Ill, fig. 1) makes the storage of 
this material even more difficult than that of the sound, since the 
fungi present at the time of piling will continue to develop rapidly 
under conditions favorable to their growth. 
LENGTH OF STORAGE PERIOD 
Most mills aim to carry only a year's supply of wood in the yard, 
but circumstances often render longer storage necessary. Wood 
from 2 to 4 years old was found at several mills and it required no 
specialist to see that such long periods of storage were disastrous 
under the conditions of piling that obtained. Pulping and chemical 
tests showed how the wood had deteriorated. Much of the storage 
loss is preventable by the introduction of better methods of piling and 
improved sanitation. 
Pulp wood supplies, especially east of the Mississippi River, each 
year come from increasingly great distances from the mills. In some 
cases they are transported 1,000 miles or more. Much of the supply 
is at present coming from less accessible, often swampy, regions, 
where cutting operations are largely dependent on the condition of 
the terrain — winter being the favorable season for operations. This 
leads to a seasonal concentration in production and a corresponding 
congestion at points of delivery, instead of a regular and dependable 
supply. The growing scarcity of material is also a factor which 
induces many operators to stock heavily in order to insure adequate 
material. 
The result is very often a heavy influx of timber into yards not 
equipped to handle it to the best advantage, because of limited space 
and insufficient labor. Demurrage charges must be kept down, and 
haste in unloading often leads to improper piling. 
Changes can be brought about only by the close cooperation of the 
pulp-wood producer, the jobber, and the mill operator and his 
employees. These changes must be based on a thoiough knowledge 
of the causes of decay and the conditions that faA T or it. It must be 
fully recognized that the improvements can be effected only if 
sufficient money is spent for the necessary facilities and labor, and 
for effective supervision of them. 
HANDLING OF PULP WOOD AT WOODS POINTS 
Care of pulp wood should start at production points. Observation 
shows that a large amount of infection and deterioration occurs 
before the wood reaches its destination. 
TIME OF CUTTING 
Winter is the best time to cut, since fungous and insect life is 
largely dormant at this season, and chances of infection are almost 
negligible. Infection by fungi occurs during warm, moist weather — 
particularly in the northern regions, in the summer and fall. In the 
South it may occur at almost any time of the year, but it is especially 
likely to take place during the rainy season. Since infection occurs 
