Show A 41 1 X Z t as 11 s A at F oh A A 07 0 1 jr 0 0 ILLIONS of feet of timber and finished lumber rot every bear ear in railroad ties bridges trestles piles farm buildings fences poles and mine props the lumber consuming pub lie ile of the united states pays perhaps 30 to 40 a year to make good the losses from wood decay these great drains are a soiree ot of more and more concern each year chemists and engineers who have to di with the uses of wood are working unceasingly on the problem the united states forest service has men who devote their whole time to it the importance of the problem can not be overestimated millions of dol lars are annually saved by preserve pre serva tive treatment of timbers but much yet remains to be learned wood decay Is caused by fungus a vegetable growth sometimes so small that it can be seen only with the microscope its roots or branches like minute hairs force their way into the wood tissues and absorb or eat away the solid parts the collapse which results Is called decay the united states department of agriculture in connection with a study of the wood using industries of vari ous states Is learning what part of the rough lumber output of our american i 1 their cost as well as is other data ot of alue to the growers of timber and to the sellers and buyers of lumber in making up the figures lumber used as bridge timber house frames farm fences trestles board walks walls walis and similar classes of tures with only such cutting and fit birg as Is given it by carpe carpenters was classed as rough lumber that made into flooring finish siding sash doors frames panels stairs boats vehicles boxes baskets turnery wooden ware cooperage musical in st farm implements furniture spools handles and like forms was placed in the class of finished lumber the present aggregate population of the four states is estimated by their respective state officials to be 9 the population of the united states in round figures Is 90 according to recent estimates the average lumber cut in the tour four states for 1907 and 1908 the one an active the other a dull year was 3 73 feet and for the united states it was 36 calculated on this basis the per capita use of sawn lum her in the four states was feet and in the united states feet the per cap ta used in the four states ol 01 0 lumber further manufactured vas 20 feet these figures indicate a lavish use of lumber in the united tej 1 im 1 t si 0 ni t t f W 4 aj f 1 a fl 1 tr satte sv tte 11 0 sa ills 1 passes through a second procesa process of manufacture before J 11 Is ready for the cons liner imer the study is regarded as having an important bear ing on the extent to which more economical use of our forest resources an be brought about so far the re rv suits obtained show that more than five eighths of the lough lumber sawed Is to be counted as the raw material for other industries which convert it I 1 into nto a more highly finished and more valuable product in the united S 9 ates atea N aste in the woods the mill and the factory Is so great that two thirds of what was in the tree is lost on the way to the con burner sumer the heaviest part of this loss takes place in the sawmills at ich of this mill waste naste is unavoidable under present conditions but the greater the demand for the product and the high er its value the better will e economy nomy pay waste in manufacture Is very small compared with that at the saw mill study of the demands of f th the wood using industries may be a means of finding out how the mill may profit ably market a part of what now goes to the burner in sawdust slabs and trimmings statistics of the wood using indus tries trigs of massachusetts maryland north carolina and wisconsin lately gathered by the department of agri culture in operation cooperation co with these states show that of their total saw mill out put 36 pe cent Is used in the form of output if the same ratio holds for the entire country as for these states about 13 feet m er 0 of f 1 lumber U b is used yearly in rough form and 23 feet Is further man this Is the first time that detailed figures have been obtained on this subject the study which has yielded these figures has also in view to as certain what commod ties are made wholly or partly of wood the various kinds of wood used their origin and Arfi AJ 11 tor ur pel pei capita consumption Is from three to ten times that ot ol the leading nations of europe |