National Conference on Forest Products 57 
Tr were trained to waste it in been given to the lumber producer and 
y eivable way. Thousands of about an equal amount of the same 
ad hat we would consider most kind of advice has been given to the 
“" Amber was cleared off to builder of homes. 
n m for crops, and, except We can not prescribe an economical 
K 8 to put up the few neces- use of lumber in our houses without 
t ings, it was burned in the knowing something about timber, its 
e ed in making fills for road- quality and production, and handling 
t e only thought was to get methods. Every sound recommenda- 
1 . for agriculture. There tion for better utilization of lumber 
vv ad for timber, but there was must be economically possible either 
3 ¢ corn, wheat, oats, cotton, in the woods or on the job, or both. 
. wes. And so they wasted it. What kind of timber have we in the 
e - used in their houses and woods? Trees are neither uniform in 
4) y timbers in their barns. size, strength, nor quality. Waste fre- 
ia traightest trees and clearest quently varies directly with the rough- 
: timber were used. And un- ness of the country. There is not 
ir conditions most of us enough timber in existence, and there 
‘e done the same. But con- never will be, to provide clear, straight- 
lave changed; and even grained lumber for all uses. What is 
's waste may have been con- the product of the sawmill? Some 
cessary, such waste can not mills could not possibly produce 20 
ed to-day. During the last per cent of clear stock. They could 
i ations we have gone a long not produce 5 per cent of timbers over 
y 2 reduction of the quantity 40 feet long. Notwithstanding actual 
4 used in our frame buildings, conditions, there are some who seem 
2 ever-increasing use of lower to feel that the lumberman need only 
; ber. employ a Burbank to produce a knot- 
ly everybody in the United less pine. 
) ‘n favor of the conservation With the increases in the cost of 
ural resources, provided we lumber there is a tendency to use it 
to formulate his own defini- more economically on the job, but cus- 
re have been many different tom has to a degree a strangling hold 
“blocs” among conserva- on those responsible for buildings. 
cluding, among others, those 1. There was a time when the yard- 
; | rather see a tree die on the wide carpet exercised considerable 
i} in to have it cut into lum- control over the size of rooms; 9, 12, 
those who would conserve 15, and 18 feet were common dimen- 
. til the market for their com- sions. In order that the carpet should 
g aterial had become well completely cover the floor, we wasted 
4 the ends of practically every stand- 
) 7 man goes into the woods ard length floor joist. To-day there 
5 back bewailing the waste are hundreds of house designs in 
. But he does not know which the architect deliberately plans 
iosts to take what he calls for the use of 12, 14, 16, and 18 foot 
of the woods, and I regret floor joists so that they can be used 
} iat some mill men do not without waste. While this may be a 
.t it would cost. The lumber move in the right direction, it is also 
rer goes to the city and quite probable that odd lengths could 
‘aste on the construction job. be used to great advantage. 
long boards cut into short 2. Examine the floors of many of 
lengths and the indiserimi- our old buildings and you will find 
of high-grade lumber. He wide boards. There was considerable 
sly wants to sell odd and objection not many years ago to the 
ths. Often he does not know use of narrow widths or strips in 
0 more it will cost at his floors, but this has largely passed. 
on the yard to handle mis- The use of millions of feet of lumber 
i short lengths. Again, he for high-grade use has been made pos- 
ecords, or no records, show- sible through the acceptance by the 
osts of using short and odd public of the narrow and short-length 
@m the construction job as flooring, and there is still room for 
with the cost of using the much improvement. 
even lengths of 12, 14, and 3. Many men here can remember the 
It is also true that few day when much lumber was sawn so 
have such records. As a that it would dress a full inch. In the 
this dearth of information, cruder mills this meant a cut of from 
+ and worthless advice has 13% to 114 inches in thickness. Scant