National Conference on Forest Products 13 
foremost stand the lack of mutually wood lumber grading rules, 73 per cent 
adjusted specifications and the need of the material needed by the furni- 
for education alike of the producer ture and similar wood-using industries 
and consumer. Hence the mills con- is in lengths of 4 feet and under. And 
tinue to burn up small pieces and to 58 per cent of their material require- 
cut boards into even lengths while the ments is in widths of 4 inches and 
manufacturer resaws the boards or less. Is there any serious question 
the builder cuts them down to fit his that such a process of getting together 
blue prints. The inertia of trade can be worked out to mutual advan- 
practices and customs will have to be tage? And this of course simply il- 
overcome. That they can be overcome lustrates the sort of mutual coordina- 
is proved by the recent notable prog- tion on the basis of common benefit 
ress made in standardizing lumber that is applicable to a large range of 
grades and specifications, a striking problems. : 
example of the possibilities of co- Wastes in air seasoning or kiln- 
ordinate industrial action. drying of lumber are difficult to esti- 
In many ways the dimension stock mate, but appear to be nearly as great 
problem is a test case. To “put over” as the preventable waste in logging. 
the dimension stock idea is admit- Large quantities of -both hardwood 
tedly difficult. No great headway can and softwood lumber are deteriorated 
be made, in my judgment, until the or actually discarded because of stain- 
trade associations and other organized ing, checking, warping, loosening of 
industrial groups set about to make knots, and other seasoning defects. 
the dimension stock proposition a go- Apparently over 4 per cent of the 
ing commercial practice, provided for present total drain upon our forests 
through careful study and specifica- occurs through losses of this char- 
tions and with a mutual give and take acter. 
in sharing the economies and profits Seasoning losses have the advantage 
derivable from them. of being largely susceptible to direct at- 
Let us suppose, for example, that tack at the individual plant; and this 
one of the hardwood associations was can usually be done without large in- 
to start negotiations with one of the creases in the plant investment. 
furniture associations which buys its Losses from this source, in other 
boards. Assume that the furniture words, are in a different category from 
makers determine the amount, kind, those which require either by-product 
size, and grade of the cuttings which factories or a correlation of specifica- 
they use, or, in other words, make up tions between different groups of man- 
a bill of materials. This can be done, ufacturers. They are largely under 
because the Forest Service has actu- the control of the individual lumber 
ally tried it. Let us then assume that producer. 
the hardwood sawmills determine by For example, a Louisiana sawmill 
actual trial the amount, kind, size, which manufacturers red gum lumber 
and grade of the cuttings they can ob- until recently reported an annual loss 
tain from their low grades and mill from blue stain amounting to $40,000. 
waste: and that this bill is compared During the past year all of the sap 
with the furniture manufacturer's bill. lumber at this plant was treated with 
This, too, can be done. The hardwood live steam as soon as it left the saw. 
grading committee has recently com- The company now reports ‘that the 
pleted a very similar job. loss from blue stain has been entirely 
Let us then suppose that both as” avoided and that their red gum lumber 
sociations set up a joint service agency commands a premium because of its 
to work out the remaining obstacles bright condition. 
that are bound to crop up, establishing The difficulties in preventing losses 
a common language for placing and from seasoning center largely around 
filling orders, and obtaining from the the need for a more technical handling 
Government any research that may be of stock and kilns and more skillful 
needed in seasoning problems, allow- supervision. An important obstacle, 
ances for dressing, and the like. I In other words, is the difficulty in ob- 
am confident that within a practicable taining in everyday yard and Kiln 
period, and at a practicable cost, a practice the proper use of carefully 
new and mutually advantageous adjusted technical processes, as dis- 
method of supplying the furniture in- tinguished from the old, easy rules of 
dustry with its raw material could be thumb. This undoubtedly is the rea- 
put into operation. son why many sawmills suffer a de- 
A survey of the Forest Service in- grade in one-fourth of their output 
dicates that while 4 feet is the mini- when better kiln-drying would limit 
mum length recognized by the hard- the degrade to one-tenth. -But that is