46 Miscellaneous Circular 39, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 
from the time we fell a tree in the for the sawmill, making these plants 
woods the so-called waste is converted self-sustaining as to fuel: As it takes 
into charcoal iron and other products. about 214cords of wood to produce a 
It is in connection with the wood- ton of charcoal iron, and this district 
mill part of this operation that I wish produces better than 250,000 tons of 
to particularly call your attention, as charcoal iron per year, we are using 
it is here that considerably more can in this industry alone better than 
be saved to the lumber-using public. 625,000 cords of wood per year of the 
The crooked logs are first cut into so-called waste. 
short lengths, then worked up into While there are other processes of 
wood; but as the use of dimension manufacturing followed in the Lake 
stock in the rough increases in de- States, I am a firm believer in cutting 
mand the good cuts between the crooks everything possible from the land the 
and defects can be cut to proper first time over. It has proved very 
lengths and worked up on proper ma- disastrous to attempt selective cutting, 
chinery made for this purpose, thereby as much of the timber left standing is 
increasing the amount of good lum- shallow rooted and blows over or be- 
ber and increasing the quantity of comes ill-shaped because of heavy 
wood. I might say in passing that the tops and slim bodies—to say nothing 
publicity given dimension stock in this of the fire risk, which is many times 
standardization campaign is having its greater than in standing virgin timber. 
effect, as many industries that can use As this conference is intended to 
some dimension stock in their busi- bring out various ideas as to the best 
ness are beginning to see that it is to method of conserving the forests and 
their advantage to be willing to pay to produce a larger amount of mer- 
more than a cull price for the mate- chantable material, I can not help but 
rial rather than have the impression again refer to the dimension mill as 
that because the lumberman makes being able to solve this problem. A 
these sizes from slabs and edgings and large percentage of the trees growing 
cull lumber the product should be in our woods are so crooked that, 
bought cheap. when loaded on a sawmill carriage to 
' This one-time waste, by the present be sawn into lumber, by the time they 
unit plan, not only enables us to log are straightened there is very little 
closer but after all logging is done left, and that is the poorest part of 
we go over our choppings with wood the log. There are in my district a 
choppers and cut out of the tops number of mills that cut all of their 
everything that is left, down to the logs into short lengths, then saw them 
size of a man’s wrist. We also reach into sizes required for working into 
out and buy wood stumpage and cord- all kinds of dimension stock, then turn 
wood from lumbermen who only cut and dry and finish all of their material 
for lumber, until you can say that in ready for the thousand and one things 
the lower peninsula of Michigan there for furniture factories, ete. But as 
is little or no waste, and the fur- this field is fully covered, the next 
naces there are going into the upper thing is to create a demand for rough 
peninsula for a portion of their wood, dimension stock properly bundled and 
as this field is not so well covered, but air dried. This can only be accom- 
is rapidly becoming so. plished by a standardization of sizes, 
I am frequently asked how much of thus enabling the manufacturer to 
the hardwood frem the average forest stock certain sizes the same as he does 
goes into lumber and how much into lumber, thereby assuring the consum- 
by-products. I can answer this by ing manufacturer a constant supply. 
saying that it varies in different locali- But the only way to induce Iumber 
ties, but as some of us freight in all of manufacturers to produce dimension 
our raw material we can come very stock in a large way is for the con- 
close to the percentages of each. sumer to accept it in all stages of 
Based on green freight weight as the dryness as he does his lumber and not 
material comes from the woods, the expect to have it kiln-dried as has 
average will not vary much from 40 been suggested. 
per cent lumber, 42 per cent wood, and To undertake this part of the work 
18 per cent sawdust, bark, and de- would take the hardwood lumberman 
cayed portions. This 18 per cent is into a field in which he has had no 
used in producing steam and heat for experience, and can seldom get suf- 
the process of carbonizing the wood ficient volume to warrant the outlay 
and distilling the products and power for dry kilns and other equipment.