General
Fundamental Science
Silviculture and management
Mensuration, increment, and yield
Forest Protection
Logging and Engineering
Conversion
Utilization
Economics and Statistics
Policy, Legislation, and Administration
Meetings and Conventions
Personalities
The items appearing here are condensed selections of news thought to be of interest to readers of UNASYLVA. They are grouped alphabetically by countries under headings currently used by the Division of Forestry and Forest Products for reference purposes. The Editor will be glad to receive direct from readers authenticated items of interest and of news value for this part of the review.
AUSTRALIA
The Ministry of Public Education in the State of Victoria has developed elementary forestry education in the schools to a remarkable extent. Under the terms of the School Endowment Plantation Scheme each school may be granted a piece of forestland, the care of which is assumed by the school children. There are now 350 such forest stands maintained by 420 schools, most of which are of less than 3 ha (7 acres) although some are more than 18 ha (46 acres). The total area allotted is about 1,200 ha (3,000 acres). The school forests are generally plantations of Pinus radiata which were established by the schools themselves and in which clearing is now being done by a new generation of school children. The areas are Crown lands placed at the disposal of the schools, land supplied by municipalities, or land purchased by committees of school teachers appointed to take care of the stands, with the help of regional foresters. Consequently, from their very earliest youth children are trained by their teachers to respect and love trees, as they acquire at the same time basic principles of silviculture.
AUSTRIA
The Vienna Hochschule für Bodenkulture (Academy of Agriculture and Silviculture) celebrated its 75th anniversary on 31 May this year, in the presence of the authorities, delegates from various countries, and high Austrian officials.
CANADA
Monsignor Labrie, Bishop of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, has addressed a pastoral letter on forestry to his clergy and diocese. This was hailed by the foresters of the Province of Quebec as an "alarm warning of the catastrophe towards which we are heading despite all our science. It also serves as a survey pointing out the faults and indicating the remedies to be taken in order to halt our unpardonable prodigality." After paying homage to the efforts made by a great number of teachers, technicians, and organizations that have devoted their efforts to the science of forestry, Msgr. Labrie stated that in practice the same destructive methods are still being used. If there is any progress in mechanization, it is still directed towards destruction. In a comparison of the conditions prevailing among forest workers in Sweden and those of the Canadian county of Saguenay, he points out that in Sweden workers are encouraged to make their home in the forest, but in Saguenay forest workers move from place to place, appear to have lost the desire to establish homes for themselves, and only think of squandering their earnings.
PORTUGAL
In 1947/48, the Junta Nacional da Cortiça (National Cork Association), in collaboration with the Water Supply and Forestry Department, the agricultural unions, and forest owners organized successful courses for cork-growers and owners. Despite certain difficulties, ten Study series were given in various regions. Workers and farmers declared that the silvicultural methods and scientific techniques presented were highly satisfactory.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Pacific Northwest Experiment Station at Portland (Oregon) has just announced the creation of a new forest research center to be organized by the Blue River Experimental Forest, a portion of the Willamette National Forest This experimental forest of 6,000 ha (15,000 acres), which is composed of a virgin stand of Douglas fir of various ages, will be used in a study of the progression of forests from the virgin state to that of sustained-yield management as this applies to the Pacific Northwest. The influence of the forest on watershed climatic conditions will also be examined. For this purpose, close co-operation will be maintained with the Experiment Station of the United States Army Engineers which is studying the phenomena of snow melt and variations in the flow of water on an area of 2,000 ha (5,000 acres) of adjacent forest lands.
Dr. Frans Verdoorn; managing editor of Chronica Botanica, spoke on 17 June before the Southern California Botanical Society, at the Rancho Santa Anita, near Pasadena, on "The Modern Arboretum, a Center of Regional, Botanical, and Horticultural Synthesis." Dr. F. W. Went, Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology, and chairman of the trustees of the Los Angeles County Arboretum Foundation outlined the plans of this foundation which will develop a modern arboretum of 46 ha (114 acres), with educational, horticultural and research departments at the site of the historic Reid and Baldwin estates, Rancho Santa Anita.
BRAZIL
André Aubreville, a member of the French delegation at the Latin-American Conference on Forestry and Forest Products, held at Teresopolis and expert on African forestry, has made a study of the Parana pine and the eucalyptus plantations, which are so important to Brazilian forestry. His -recently published notes are all the more valuable because they compare conditions in Brazil with those of tropical Africa.
His findings confirm that, in the region of the Parana pine, Araucaria angustifolia, there exists, paradoxically, an industry which is compelled to restrict production drastically at a time when the export of its products would be of tremendous importance for the industry's own development and to relieve the global shortage of softwoods. This situation arises from the lack of transportation facilities, which are difficult to develop because of the rugged conformation of the country.
Production for export in the four southern states, where most of the pine resources are concentrated, is being limited to 330,000 m3 per month, whereas the production capacity of the sawmills is said to be 732,000 m3. Total production of sawn pine amounted to more than one million m3 in 1947. Taking into account the production of the pulp factories, including the large one at Monte Allegre, in the state of Parana, as well as that of the plywood factories, this means hardly more than a total exploitation of from. 4 to 5 million m3 ®. Compared with the total acreage of pine forests, estimated to be nearly 28 million ha, and working on the supposition that the density of these stands does not average more than 48 m3 per hectare, the minimum figure mentioned by Mr. Aubreville, this is an extremely small total.
Unfortunately, exploitation does not generally follow rational silvicultural practices. A great deal of research needs to be done on the ecology and biology of the pine before better results can be achieved. Some of the private companies and the Instituto Nacional de Pinho (National Pine Institute) actively encourage artificial regeneration but this work is not yet generally or systematically carried out. The Institute, which is entrusted with the study of economic and silvicultural problems of the pine forests, is very active and has considerable financial resources at its disposal. Its work, however, is hampered by the fact that most of the Parana pine forests are privately owned.
Mr. Aubreville was particularly interested in the manifold problems of the Parana pine forests and the present state of the campos which surround them. Under the tall pine stands, which are, as a rule, fairly sparse, there is a dense and varied understory of hardwoods including some species of great commercial value. Natural regeneration of the pines is therefore practically impossible. It would be interesting to know how the pines originally established a foothold under such conditions. Mr. Aubreville apparently favors this explanation of the proliferation of the Parana pine: a dense Indian population once lived on the plateau of southern Brazil and the repeated fires they set, and which the thick-barked pine trees resisted very well, had its influence on the campos and on the general appearance of the countryside.
The eucalyptus plantations in the state of Sao Paulo, which Mr. Aubreville also visited, are the achievement of an enthusiastic pioneer, Armanda Navarro de Andrade. Their establishment was essential because of the total deforestation of this region, in which agricultural development was extraordinarily rapid. In less than four centuries the forest cover had been almost completely destroyed. Despite the success of these plantations, and the economic benefits derived from them, Mr. Aubreville warns: "Such success might entail certain dangers later on, if the Brazilian forest service, hypnotized by the eucalyptus, does not pay sufficient attention to the protection of the local flora, which from the standpoint of soil conservation and improvement play a much more effective role than the eucalyptus itself."
NYASALAND
The report of the Director of the Forest Conservation Service of Nyasaland for the year 1946 includes, besides a brief historical account of its development and activities, interesting data on this territory, which possesses large forest stands of mlanje cedar, Widdringtonia whytei, one of the principal native softwoods of Central Africa.
Fire is the main danger to the forests of Nyasaland. It sweeps through large areas every year except for small stretches of closed forests, such as the softwood forests of the Mlanje Mountain and certain protected plantations. Early burning is practiced over a large area of wooded savanna, but because of the total lack of supervision it cannot be said that this constitutes any marked improvement over native practices. The year 1946 was one of particularly serious fires.
The most valuable woods of Nyasaland, such as the mlanje cedar, the Podocarpus mlanjianus (yew family), the Piptadenia buchananii (mimosa family), and the Nyasa khaya, Khaya nyasica, reproduce abundantly and naturally. This is not true of the Angola padauk, Pterocarpus angolensis, the natural and artificial regeneration of which present a problem that has not yet been solved.
A vast range of exotic softwoods can be successfully planted in Nyasaland The slash pine, Pinus caribaea, the longleaf pine, Pinus longifolia, and the Monterrey pine, Pinus radiata, are used to a large extent, but the area devoted to the mlanjicedar can also be extended considerably. Among the broadleaved trees, the Nyasa khaya, the Piptadenia buchananii, and the Iroko, Chlorophora excelsa, grow well in plantations. The Sydney blue eucalyptus, Eucalyptus saligna, covers large areas, among which is the vast privately owned forest of the Imperial Tobacco Company, which has its own sawmill and seasoning kilns.
CANADA
Co-operative study of a scheme of regular management to ensure the sustained yield of a forest area of 1,000 km2 (400 square miles) has been organized in the Green River Basin of New Brunswick, north of Edmundston. The survey is carried out by a working committee on which are representatives of the owner company, the New Brunswick Ministry of Lands and Mines, the Dominion Forestry Service, and the Entomology Division, Canadian Ministry of Agriculture. The study began with entomological research because it was of first importance to combat the spruce budworm, Cacoecia fumiferana, which causes considerable damage in this region. Cutting is now directed solely by consideration of which stands are most likely to encourage propagation of the insect. These stands, which must be exploited first, are, old stands containing a large proportion of overage balsam pine, Abies balsamea. The objective is to establish practical data for future forest management plans. In addition to the careful study of forestry methods most likely to give satisfactory results, greatest importance is also attached to control and inventory methods. Work on these two problems is carried out from two different angles: The general plan is to maintain an up-to-date card index of the forest stands and inventories, based on large-scale work in soil sampling and aerial photography. Commercial value is given to all existing trees that are alive. Reduction coefficients to be applied to exploitation waste will be determined directly by utilization studies carried out by the owner company and the Forest Service. The detailed plan aims to ascertain the extent of the various changes in the forest as a result of felling, windfall, disease, insect blight, decay, and increase. Five experimental plots of 10,000 km2 (4,000 acres) each have been established for this purpose. They will he surveyed every five years by a tight system of sampling.
CHINA
The National Forestry Research Bureau of China has planted seedling trees on 1,429 ha of denuded and dangerously eroded hill country in the Nanking region. Nearly 5,200,000 seedlings were planted, of which approximately 90 per cent are expected to survive. They were furnished almost entirely by forest nurseries at the bureau's experiment stations. The species used were mainly Chinese and Japanese pines. Four soft wood trees were planted to one hardwood. Manpower was supplied by 600 refugee laborers. Protection of the plantations is important in this area, because the inhabitants, who are extremely short of fuel, are in the habit of cutting tiny tree, as soon as they can be used as fire wood Strict regulations will ensure protection. Among the measures envisaged is one permitting only grasses and weeds to be used as fuel during the next five years. A special forest protection police force will be set up to these measures.
It is thought that similar operations in the Nanking area will cover 13,500 ha.
FINLAND
The Forest Service is devoting much of its time to draining swampy forest soils. One of the five sections of the Management Branch deals only with this important question. A total of 9,600,000 ha is classified as actual marshlands. Drainage is undertaken where it alone will ensure natural regeneration and growth. This can be determined fairly accurately by a preliminary examination of soil and vegetation. Generally speaking, the birch is the first to grow on drained lands. It improves the fertility of the land so rapidly that spruce, fir, and pines can later flourish. Experiments, some of which already go back several decades, with stands at the first thinning stage, show that there are probably 2.8 to 3.2 million ha that can be reclaimed. Unfortunately, manpower and funds are insufficient to carry out this work on a large scale. Before the war, the state subsidized drainage in private forests, paying up to 60 percent of the costs. During the first five years of operation, 96,000 ha were reclaimed.
SWEDEN
Alkaline chlorates have long been used to combat harmful plants. However, recent experiments carried out in Sweden and in the Soviet Union have caused renewed interest.
Chlorate treatment has been used in Sweden to prepare sites for natural regeneration of forests. This has I proved of particular value when followed by surface burning, especially where there is a growth of Vaccinium spp. and Ledum palustre, which spread and reproduce vegetatively. The application of chlorates followed by burning also seems to give excellent results in drained peat or marsh lands. Vigorous seedlings of Scotch pine and birch appeared following this treatment, whereas previously the land had produced only deformed and sparsely growing pines. On the other hand, burning seems to be inadvisable for land covered with Calluna, which reproduces by seed.
In Russia, chlorates have been used in forest nurseries and on small forest areas which are in the process of natural or artificial regeneration. The results show that, in addition to effective control of the herbaceous vegetation and even of the root suckers of certain trees, doses of from 1 to 5 grams per square meter also improve the growth of seedlings and young plants. The chlorates activate the decomposition of plant residue, stimulating microbiological activity, especially promoting ammonification and nitrification. This last is all the more important because in acid soils-and the majority of forest soils are acid - nitrates are the best source of nitrogen for plants. In experiments carried out in forest nurseries, deciduous trees reacted beat to chlorate treatments: The air-dry weight of young oak, ash, elm, and maple trees was multiplied from 2.5 to 3, and the air-dry weight of the aerial portions multiplies 4 or 5 times and leaf size from 1.5 to 3 times. In a mixed stand of spruce and hardwood plots treated with, chlorates in doses of from 3 to 5 gr per m2 regenerated much quicker than the untreated control plots. During the five or six years of the experiment the growth of seedlings was from three to four times faster. Doses of from 1 to 2 gr per m2 caused no injury to young trees and shrubs of more than two years, provided the aerial portions did not come into direct contact with the solution. On the other hand, in those parts of the forest apt to be invaded by perennial herbaceous weeds, the use of chlorate in too small doses may stimulate their growth instead of destroying them.
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
According to a Russian press release, it was noted that during the last drought year in Russia the production of wheat in the heavily wooded regions was from 50 percent to 70 percent higher than that of the area which had no forests. It was further noted that in the region of the steppes, where the fields are protected by shelterbelts, wheat production was twice as high as in other areas. Soviet authorities have therefore decided to plant orchards, tree screens, or even actual forests in the agricultural regions of the steppes to serve as windbreaks. It is proposed that from 4 to 5 ha per 100 in treeless regions be afforested. This would increase the wooded area of Soviet Russia by five million hectares.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Cork-oak plantations in California date back to 1855. There are now approximately 5,000 trees more than 10 years old. The acorns have high germinating capacity and can be preserved for 12 months if kept at a temperature of from 3 to 4° Centigrade with proper humidity. It is possible to obtain an annual production of from 5 to 10 tons of acorns with a yield of 150 acorns to the kilogram. During recent years 200,000 young plants were distributed to landowners, of which 50 percent took root. In the course of the last few years, harvesting tests of the bark have been made. It was found that the best time is from the beginning of July to the beginning of October. Although the trees were stripped for the first time, the cork was found to be of sufficiently good quality for most articles of current use. The regrowth of the bark is very rapid and produces cork of excellent quality. Trees from 25 to 30 years of age produce, following the removal of the first layer, an average of 45 kilograms in five years. The stripping of the first cork can start when the tree is 20 years old. If distribution of young plants can continue until at least a million trees are growing in California, the state could, within 30 years, count on a reserve of 50,000 tons of cork.
A large-scale experiment is being conducted in the Cascade Head Experimental Forest on the Oregon coast, in close cooperation between the U. S. Forest Service and a large industrial firm. Five plots which will yield about 34,400 m3 ® (7,600,000 board feet) of timber have been sold to the firm for normal exploitation, but the trees to be felled have been marked in order to carry out specific silvicultural practices. The object is to determine how far it is possible to apply to this type of forest (regular mixed stands of 90-year-old Tsuga and Picea) certain methods of cutting specifically designed to ensure a sustained yield. The first plot selected for exploitation comprises 17 ha (42 acres) situated astride a hill crest and intended for "high lead" clear-cutting. It is particularly intended to examine the effect of this method in relation to windfalls in comparison with the system usually adopted, which restricts felling on the crest. Two other plots will be clear-cut on stretches differently situated. Two others will be thinned, one by heavy crown cutting, the other lightly by cutting out suppressed undergrowth. Only light and very mobile exploitation equipment will be used in the last two cases. Results will show in a few years. However, interesting data on relative cost prices in regard to the various exploited plots, their recoverable yield, and on intensive utilization of products should become available with each cutting operation.
The recuperation of the spoilbanks of the open-cut coal mines of Pennsylvania for agricultural purposes or for forest lands constitutes a difficult problem which was discussed at a meeting held on 15 March 1948 at Pennsylvania State College. The regrowth of natural vegetation on these lands is generally extremely slow. The spoilbanks are ugly but, what is more serious, they are often subject to intensive erosion which endangers neighboring waterways. It is thought that the best possible utilization of these areas would be to reforest them. In Pennsylvania, the soil is characterized by extreme acidity and the abundance of sulphurous compounds which make it difficult to improve it for future agricultural use. Occasionally, however, reforestation occurs naturally near surfaces covered with trees 'or brushwood. The species that could be used are: pines in the dryer parts, spruce-fir, fir, and larch in the more exposed and better-watered areas. On less and soils, broadleaved species could be used, especially Robinia. Fairly close spacing is recommended to cover the ground as rapidly as possible. A certain amount of leveling is very often necessary for reforestation purposes, and precautions must be taken to ensure adequate drainage.
CANADA
Experiments have been made recently by a large Canadian air survey company in using three cameras simultaneously, the middle one taking vertical views, while the two others operate obliquely. Particularly good results have been obtained with winter photography. One of the main advantages of this method is that the area covered in a single flight is very much wider, which considerably reduces the cost of aerial photographic surveys. The flight altitude, which can be lower, allows for a scale of 1 to 9,600 and enables more precise interpretation. While the determination of species and types of forest offers considerable difficulties with vertical photographs taken in summer, the oblique views taken in winter reflect the trees in silhouette and enable a much more precise and detailed distinction to be made. Photographs taken in winter also offer a much better opportunity to estimate accurately the proportion of both hardwood and softwood species in mixed stands. Also, the determination of heights can be made directly on oblique photographs by means of a transparent grid, which can be fixed to, the stereoscope used to examine these views.
NEW ZEALAND
A general survey is being made of New Zealand forests. The object of this survey is to estimate or revise previous estimates of the total volume of forest stands and to gather a considerable amount of miscellaneous information on ecological conditions, such as the rate and extent of regeneration of the principal tree species and the extent of damage caused by wildlife and game. The survey units will obtain estimates of volume with a probable error not exceeding ± 10 percent. The survey is based on aerial photography. Vertical photographs are taken and a map is made on a scale of 4 inches to one mile. Sampling for determination of the average volume per acre for each forest type recognizable on the photographs is done by the use of regularly spaced lines on which rectangular plots of 1 acre each are established.
Detailed botanical and ecological data are recorded for a certain portion of each main plot.,
AUSTRIA
Remarkable success was achieved in April and May 1948 by spraying DDT from the air to combat the nun moth, Lymenthia monacha. This dangerous insect bad been spreading through the valley of the Salza, probably since 1943 or 1944; however, it was not identified until 1946. By April 1948 the infested area had grown to 3,370 ha, with 21 centers of infestation. The spraying of DDT in a 5 percent solution of kerosene was carried out from 27 April to, 15 May 1948 by the IT. S. Air Force. The operation was made difficult by the mountainous nature of the country, the narrowness of the valley, the need to fly at heights between 30 and 45 in above the trees, and by the fact that favorable atmospheric conditions for spraying occurred only three hours each day, immediately after sunrise.
Despite these obstacles, 60,800 liters of the mixture were sprayed over the infested area, making an average of 18.4 liters per ha, or 0.92 kg of pure DDT per ha. The results obtained exceeded the most optimistic forecasts: the rate of mortality observed following the spraying was from 95 to 99 percent, depending on the location. No damage was caused either to fish or wildlife. The parasite which feeds on the nun moth, Parasetigena segregata, was also killed, but this could no doubt be avoided, since DDT retains its deadly effect for some 14 days, by spraying from 8 to 10 days before the emergence of the caterpillar.
CANADA
The exact nature of the disease attacking birch and wild cherry trees in northeastern North America, particularly in the Province of Quebec, has not yet been determined. R. Martineau has recently published the results of his research covering the whole of the province. It appears that the proportion of trees attacked by this disease varies from 61.1 percent to 94.3 percent for birch in different parts of the province, and from 52 percent to 96.7 percent for wild cherry. The most seriously threatened region is that of the plains and the plateaus on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River and the Gaspé Peninsula, where the mortality rate has reached 60.2 percent and 67.7 percent respectively; the rate of mortality is high throughout the Province. It is not indicated whether the attack is more dangerous to exploited or to virgin stands. On the other hand, analyses of variation bring to light a clear relationship between intensity of disease and density of stand, decay of the tree being considerably more accentuated in sparse stands. A clear relationship also exists where age and average diameter of the stand is concerned, older trees suffering most.
The battle against forest fires achieved a measure of success in Canada in the years 1946 and 1947. Although the number of fires did not show a marked decrease, since the average for the previous 10 years was 5,508 and the figure for 1947 was 5,217, this is probably due to an increase of tourists, blueberry pickers, and forest workers, since industrial exploitation was especially active in 1947. On the other hand, the extent of the areas burned over by each fire decreased from an average of 180 ha. (450 acres) for the five-year period 1940-1944, to 69 ha (170 acres) for 1946 and 48 ha (120 acres) for 1947. The total area damaged in 1947 was 248,000 ha (613 000 acres) compared to a yearly average of 901,700 ha (2,228,000 acres) between 1937 and 1946. Carelessness of smokers (23 percent) and lightning (20 percent) caused almost half the forest fires. The third most frequent cause was campfires (15 percent). A factor in the year's battle was that climatic conditions were, generally speaking, favorable.
Large-scale salvage operations are contemplated in certain districts of Ontario, which suffered particularly from the forest fires of 1947, to save such timber as has not been rendered completely unusable. Aerial surveys have been made to locate the burned stands and determine the quantity of timber recoverable from each area. After being cut the timber will be skidded to the nearest lake where it will remain immersed throughout the winter and perhaps part of the next year to protect it against insects until it can be taken to the sawmills. It is probable that the firms holding timber rights will be compelled to cut the timber in damaged forestlands before resuming operation in virgin stands. It is also possible that some companies will be given concessions to salvage timber on crown lands.
CEYLON
According to the report of the Conservator of Forests for 1946, regeneration has been satisfactorily established and the parent overwood is now being removed in nearly all the experimental plots in the wet and intermediate forest zones. In the dry zone regeneration is difficult. Here "stick-cleaning" in the scrub jungle promotes establishment of such species as ranai, Alseodaphne semecarpifolia, satinwood, Chloroxylon swietenia, and milla, Vitex pinnata. "High-slashing" or cutting shrub growth at a convenient height instead of at ground level inhibits regeneration. Cleanings in unfenced plots must be carefully done if the desired plants are to be protected from grazing game animals. The year 1946 was also notable for a large-scale attack of predatory insects in the dry areas, which caused serious damage to valuable species. This may be a normal recurrence of epidemics but some foresters wonder if it may be the result of intensive spraying with DDT as an anti-malaria measure. The spraying, may have affected the parasites feeding on the predatory insects more seriously than the insects themselves.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
In October 1947 disastrous fires swept the forests of New England. In the state of Maine, which suffered most, 81,000 ha (200,000 acres) of forests, exclusive of other land, were devastated by fire; the losses were 15 dead, 862 houses, and 267 cottages destroyed, and 5,000 persons made homeless, and this is only part of the total. The primary causes were the climatic conditions prevailing at the time; however, various other causes contributed to the violence and rapidity with which the fires spread, and remedies are being sought for the future. There was delay in taking necessary precautionary measures such as prohibiting trespassing in the forests. There was lack of coordination among states, municipalities, counties, and larger communities within the state. There was inadequate radio communication, the only means of rapid communication after telegraph poles are burned down and telephone lines broken. Public appeals broadcast by government services attracted large numbers of curious to the neighborhood, blocking the roads and impeding the fire fighters. Local ordinances and regulations governing fire control are being scanned for revision and co-ordination. Better distribution of available manpower is being considered with a sufficient number of trained personnel to take charge in case of fires. The supply of fire-fighting equipment was insufficient, with no bulldozers and inadequate supplies of portable pumps and hose. Every community, however small or poor, it is now thought, should be equipped with at least one or more small forest pumps, a few hundred yards of hose, and some means of carrying water. It should also be possible to increase and develop natural water supplies in most areas. Finally, landing grounds located at strategic points, from which assistance by air can be obtained, should have adequate runways for larger planes.
One interesting development during the 1947 fires was the successful use of "wet water." This was done for the first time on a large scale, and proved extremely effective. Most of those engaged in fighting these fires were of the opinion that the damage would have been much smaller had sufficient quantities of "wet water" been available at the beginning.
The beaver has long been considered a useful animal in water conservation; in any case, its value as a fur-bearing animal was thought to compensate for any damage it might cause. This belief is being questioned. In northern Wisconsin, especially in Marinette County, the beaver has proved to be more destructive than fire. A study covering the ten-year period from 1938 to 1947 shows that land flooded as a result of dams built by beavers amounted to 680 ha (1,700 acres), causing total destruction of valuable, stands of spruce, balsam fir, alder, and white pine, causing a loss of $11,617. Losses due to forest fires for the same period are placed at $7,442 for this area. The loss in productivity of the inundated lands is even greater. From 20 to 100 years may elapse before the land on which water has stagnated for a long period will regenerate naturally. Similar conditions were found in the states of New York, Michigan, and particularly northern Minnesota.
The terrible Columbia River floods of May 1948 caused serious damage to Vanport and Portland, Oregon, and other cities, as well as to industrial developments and farms. Forty lives were lost and 60,000 persons were left homeless. A commission of experts of the United States Forest Service was set up to study the causes of this flood and its effects upon the national forests located in the flooded zone. The Columbia River basin covers an area of 671,000 km2 (259,000 sq. mi.), of which 101,000 (39,000 sq. mi.) are in British Columbia (Canada). It contains 31 national forests with a total area of 17,800,000 ha (44,000,000 acres), and constitutes the most important timber reserve in the United States. The commission found that very serious damage had been caused by the flood in a great number of these forests, washing away roads and highways, bridges and telephone lines, just a few weeks before the beginning of the forest-fire season, thus exposing vast areas to the danger of insufficient protection from fire. The magnitude of the flood was due to abnormal snowfall in the mountains followed by a late spring, prolonged rains, and a sudden hot spell which caused the snow to melt rapidly. The Commission found ample evidence that the water and snow could have been held back until the flood peaks bad passed if millions of upland acres had not been denuded of forest cover. Forest fires have caused most of the denudation. In the national forests alone, more than 2 million ha (5,126,000 acres) have been destroyed by fire, most of this before 1935, when the Forest Service began to give intensive fire protection to these stands, previously considered of low value. Overcutting, grazing, farming, mining operations, and road construction work, too often carried on without thought of the damage caused to the forest and the soil, have also contributed. Present cutting practices and current methods of exploitation do not seem to have bad any sizable influence on the recent floods. Nevertheless, methods which may be harmless at lower levels of the watersheds can be dangerous in the upper portions, especially on steeper grades or slopes. Observation has shown that forests have a retarding effect on the rate of snow-melt. Fifteen days after the flood peak, particularly in high-altitude zones, timbered areas were still snowbound, whereas the neighboring denuded lands, even though normally cooler, had lost their snow-cover completely.
Despite the progress achieved in fire protection, damage caused by fire in 1947 was considerably greater than in 1946. A total of 200,799 fires burned over approximately 9,300,000 ha (23,225,932 acres) as compared with 172,278 fires which covered 8,300,000 ha (20,691,393 acres) in 1946. The damages for 1947 are estimated at more than $55 million. The 11 southern states were most seriously affected because the acreage burned over represents 11 percent of the forest land. Deliberate incendiarism was the cause of almost 23 700 fires. Only 0.8 percent of the lands under protection were burned over, whereas the figure was 18.1 percent for unprotected lands in the southern states.
AUSTRIA
The use of the Wyssen cableway system was demonstrated in the Voralberg Mountains under the auspices of the Osterreichische Gesellschaft für Holzforschung (Austrian Timber Research Society). The capacity of a Wyssen cable system varies according to the ground it has to cross, between 25 m3 par day on very difficult ground to 70 m3
CANADA
The discovery of a process for the barking of standing timber has been announced. The study of the chemicals used in this process-soluble arsenic, ammonium sulphamate, sulphamic acid, and sodium chlorate - was carried out by government chemists. The process is to be applied on a large scale.
CANADA
Newsprint containing 5 percent to 15 percent of straw mixed with sulfite and groundwood has been experimentally produced by the Ontario Paper Co., Thorold, Ontario. The first experimental run amounted to approximately 50 tons. The process used was developed at the Peoria, Illinois, laboratory of the United States Department of Agriculture. The experiment disclosed that while use of straw as a substitute for wood pulp raised newsprint production costs, straw fiber could be used more advantageously in producing higher-grade papers, thus liberating wood supplies for newsprint manufacture. The finished product at Thorold appears to have much the same characteristics as paper made with the usual ingredients, groundwood and sulfite pulp. Strength was similar and the surface seemed even smoother than that of regular newsprint.
The straw was purchased from near-by farms in the stack and trucked to the mill's research laboratory. There it was chopped by ordinary ensilage cutters and cleaned of chaff. It was then placed in a large spherical steam cooker, and small amounts of sodium sulfite and soda ash were added. The mixture was cooked for two hours at a temperature of 170° C (340° Fahrenheit) and at a pressure of 7 kg per cm2 (100 pounds a square inch). It was then decanted onto a screen over a pit and the chemicals were washed away with water. At this stage the straw still looked like straw but its structure had been weakened. Delivered into a refiner, the straw was mixed with water and agitated so that the fibers were set free from the other plant structure. They then passed through screens that held back any fiber bundles that had not been separated. After passing through the screens the thick fluid was partly dehydrated to a semisolid mass. Bleaching powder was added to remove the yellowish color of the fibers, and the material was washed again to remove the bleach residues, which were now highly Colored. The white liquid, somewhat thicker than cream, was mixed with groundwood and sulfite pulp and formed a sheet on the paper machine nearly 5 in (200 inches) wide, at the rate of 335 meters (1,100 feet) per minute. The proportion of the straw fiber was varied from 5 to 15 percent of the total. It is thought possible to increase the proportion to 25 percent.
FINLAND
The continuing rise in heating costs and the increased demand for economy in building have brought about in many countries a considerable expansion in the use of insulation boards. The raw material of insulation boards used so far has consisted mainly of wood fiber. However, another raw material, peat moss, suitable for the manufacture of insulation boards, is available in Finland in unlimited quantities. For several years, experiments have been carried gut aiming at the manufacture of peat-moss boards, and this spring the Pew Finnish peat-moss insulation board, called "Wisuboard," will be on the market for the first time. In addition to peat-moss, mineral oil bitumen is used as the second main component to remove the hygroscopic quality of the peat moss and to act as a binding agent. A special feature in its manufacture is that the bitumen used is dry-boiled into the peat-moss by a special -'method so that it forms a thin membrane around each individual fiber. This prevents the porous fibers from absorbing moisture and binds the board, making it firm and impermeable.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
One of the latest developments from research laboratories is a method of drying paper by sound with the "ultrasonic dryer." When the dryer is turned on, a rapidly rotating disk forces the air out through holes around its rim; this air is cut by vanes in another, turbine-like stationary disk. The pulses pass through acoustic horns, setting up tremendous sound vibrations which are applied to wet paper, agitating it and literally knocking off the water, considerably shortening what has always been a lengthy procedure. The soundmaker is also used in chimneys of paper mills to prevent the loss of certain chemicals hitherto dissipated during the papermaking process.
SWITZERLAND
A concert hall made entirely of wood, 104 m. long by 62 m. wide and 16.50 m. high was constructed at Berne for the Swiss National Song Festival. The quantity of wood used was 700 m3. The hall can hold 11,000 persons. Cost of erection was 1.4 million Swiss francs.
UNITED KINGDOM
The Timber Development Association has published a graph showing the construction of houses in England and Wales during the past 29 years. Figures for the year 1947 indicate that there has been an increase of 150 percent over 1946. The 127,900 houses constructed during 1947 in England and Wales required 204,000 standards of softwood, corresponding to an average of 1.6 standards per house. During the period 1934-36 an annual average of 330,000 houses were built, and 825,000 standards of wood were used, corresponding to 2.5 standards per house.
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
Soviet Russia has been stressing the extraction of peat. According to Russian data, the Country possesses 73 percent of the peat bogs of the world. Large-scale use of this material began only in 1924. It rose from 1.7 million tons in 1933 to 23.8 million tons in 1937. The present Five-Year Plan provides for the production of 44 million tons in 1950. Although in 1940 peat production was already more than four times greater than that of all other countries of-the world together, it still is only a fraction of the potential production. According to Soviet experts, rational utilization of peat will serve primarily for electrification and industrialization. A considerable number of power stations are already burning peat. In 1940, 18.5 percent of the electric power in the U.S.S.R. was derived from the combustion of peat, particularly in the suburbs of Leningrad and Moscow, in Kalinin, in Smolensk, in White Russia-in all areas where wood is scarce. Power stations use from 60 to 80 percent of peat for fuel. It is certain that the peat industry has become increasingly important, both from the scientific and from the economic standpoint, and that it is only at the beginning of its development. Peat bogs cover vast areas; even under intensive exploitation, there is no risk of exhausting them for many decades. However, as exploitation expands, mechanical means of extraction will be required. Special hydraulic machinery has been designed for this purpose; several institutes for the study of peat are concerned with problems of drying and transportation. Peat is also used for the manufacture of insulation boards, as bedding for cattle, etc. When it is distilled, valuable chemical products such as phenol, creosote, tar and liquid fuels for tractors are produced from it.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A revolutionary consumer-size peach package with a capacity of 11.7 liters (one-third of a bushel.) will be tried out this year by the Benton Center Fruit Association, Benton Harbor, Michigan. Benton Harbor is in the heart of one of the largest peach-producing areas in the world. The boxes are 41.0 cm (16 1/8 in.) long, 29.2 cm (11½ in.) wide, and 11.4 cm (4½ in.) deep. The ends are solid, 1.3 cm (½ in.) stock, while the sides are slatted and of 0.95 cm (3/8 in.) stock. The boxes will be manufactured of ponderosa pine and local hardwood. The chief advantages claimed for the new package are that it holds a smaller amount than the conventional bushel basket (35.2 liters) and is therefore more convenient for the retail consumer, and that it permits the packing of riper, softer fruit because its slatted construction provides ventilation to permit rapid cooling of the fruit after it is packed.
AUSTRIA
During the 1947 production period, according to recent figures, paper production appeared to be specializing according to occupation zones, with the American and British zones producing general types, and the Soviet zone turning out the bulk of roofing paper. Roofing paper production amounted to 444,000 m2 per month during 1947, a sharp drop from the 713,000 m2 reported monthly in 1946. Current monthly capacity is reported at 2,160,000 m2 Monthly averages for other paper production in 1947 included 3,156 tons of newsprint; 3,439 tons of book and writing paper; 2,967 tons of wrapping paper; and 327 tons of special paper. The current monthly average of the paper industry is reported at 22,200 tons.
In March 1948 paper production, without roofing paper, amounted to 15,954 metric tons. In order to utilize fully the capacity of Austrian paper and cardboard plants some 2,000,000 m2 ® of pulpwood is required. This quantity is not yet available and the plants are working at 70 to 75 percent of capacity. However, this is a decided improvement. Paper and cardboard production for domestic consumption is about 100,000 tons per year, the balance being exported. Paper and cardboard hold a strong position in trade agreements between Austria and other countries, requiring domestic consumption to be curtailed. Austrian paper, for instance, is exported in exchange for German coal from the Ruhr. Through increased coal supplies one big paper and fiber plant has increased its production of artificial fiber from 350 tons per month to 480 and is now working at full capacity. The supply of waste paper, however, is still insufficient. Normal yearly requirement is 45,000 tons but it was possible to collect only 13,900 tons in 1947 and 19,650 tons in 1946. This again is the consequence of the acute internal shortage, with every scrap of paper carefully kept and used again.
A joint Franco-Austrian Commission met in Vienna to conclude a further agreement on Austrian exportation of prefabricated houses to France. During the past two years, a large quantity of prefabricated houses was exported to France. They are considered to be of exceptionally high quality.
CHINA
The paper and paperboard plants operated by the Chinese National Resources Commission produced 15,190 metric tons of paper and paperboard in 1947, compared with 4,992 tons in 1946. This represented an increase of 204.3 percent over 1946. The paper output of the NRC mills in 1947 was 153.6 percent greater than 1946. The NRC -plants were reported to have manufactured about 20 percent of the paper produced in China during 1947. Pulp produced by these plants totaled 2,674 tons in 1947, none in 1946.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Cutting and transportation plans were seriously hampered this year. Following the catastrophic summer drought of 1947, which killed a large number of spruce trees, there was very little snow during the winter, making it impossible to transport timber to the sawmills in time. In the eastern part of the country the rate of transportation was only a third of that planned. There was also a shortage of manpower and it was necessary to organize volunteer help. Lack of pitprops may curtail coal production.
Industrial production in 1947 and during the first months of 1948 exceeded expectations. However, the increased production depleted stocks of roundwood very considerably as compared to the year before. Figures for industrial production in 1947 were as follows:
Sawn timber - 2,965,000 m3 (10 percent hardwoods) or 117 percent of the target figure
Railroad ties - 234,000 m3 or 138 percent of the target figure
Veneer wood - 6,485,000 m2 or 125 percent of the target figure
Plywood - 51,000 m2 or 99 Percent of the target figure
The value of wood exported in 1947 totaled 1,469 million Czech korunas. Sawn timber came first with a total of 1,128 million Czech kcs. The principal importing countries were the Netherlands (307 million kcs.), Belgium (168 million), Italy (148 million), Egypt (145 million) and Palestine (115 million). Export value of finished products amounted to 703 million kcs., the major portion of which consisted of furniture (195 million); matches came second (82 million); veneer sheets and plywood came (59 million). The export value of all wood products, which amounted to 2,172 million kcs., occupies fourth place on the list of Czechoslovakian exports, the total value of which was 28.6 billion kcs.
Czechoslovakia's 1947 production of paper and paperboard is reported at about 264,480 tons -approximately 80 percent of capacity, and only 10 to 15 percent below the prewar average. Newsprint makes up about 33,060 tons of this total, special paper 11,020 tons, graphic paper and wrapping paper, 110,200 tons for each type. Paper bags are produced at the rate of about 150 million annually. A variety of papers are now available for export, including writing, wrapping, and special fine-quality papers, cigarette papers, photographic paper, silk paper, various types of paper and cardboard boxes, books, games, paper flowers, and transparent paper. Production of all types of pulp has passed 70 percent of capacity, with an annual production of approximately 330,600 tons, about 20 to 25 percent below average prewar output. Mechanical pulp (production capacity estimated at 110,200 tons per year) comprises 88,160 tons of this total and sulphite chemical pulp 231,420 tons, of which domestic consumption amounts to about 165,300 tons. Sulphate pulp, being produced at twice the prewar rate, totals approximately 19,836 tons a year.
FINLAND
Fiberboard totaling 135,000 tons was manufactured in 1947, exceeding prewar production of 126,000 tons. This is one of the few industries having increased production beyond 1938 figures. The erection of a new hard fiberboard factory at Pihlova ham been announced.
FRANCE
The annual amount of wood available in France, without adversely affecting the production capacity of its forests, is 7½ million m3 of timber and 30 million steres of firewood and wood for chemical industries. During the past few years, however, the wood cut considerably exceeded these figures. France's forest industry produces, on an average annual basis, the amount of wood shown in the table below.
The total value of the annual production of the wood industry amounts to 50 billion French francs.
Forestry work, wood-cutting, and wood-processing provide employment for approximately 700,000 persons, 250,000 of whom are employed in felling, 60,000 in the sawmills, and 40,000 at other related work such as the collection of cork bark, extraction of resin, etc. Flooring factories, cabinetmakers, case factories, plywood factories, etc., employ 400,000 workers.
INDO-CHINA
Development plans for forest production aim at an annual output, to be attained in ten years, of 1,550,000 m3 of lumber. Of this amount, 350,000 m3 would be hand sawn, 500,000 m3 by portable saws at site, and 700,000 m3 in normal sawmills-as against 875,000 m3 in 1939, of which 700,000 m3 were hand sawn. The target figure for woodfuel and charcoal has been fixed at 3,150,000 steres as against 1,900,000 and that of pine resin to 7,000 tons as against 890.
|
Posts |
125,000 steres or 500,000 posts |
|
Mine props |
2,750,000 m3 |
|
Pulpwood |
750,000 m3 |
|
Industrial wood |
75,000 steres |
|
Wood for tanneries |
500,000 steres |
|
Firewood |
15,000,000 steres |
|
Charcoal |
500,000 tons |
|
Fuelwood1 |
500,000 tons |
|
Railway ties |
750,000 m3 or 5,000,000 ties |
|
Cask wood |
100,000 m3 or 25,000 m3 cask and stave wood |
|
Rough logs for sawing |
3,750,000 m3 |
|
Sawn wood and wood for the manufacture of plywood |
350,000 m3 |
|
Wood for cabinetmaking |
300,000 m3 |
1 Wood used as fuel in gas-producing engines instead of charcoal.
The measures proposed to achieve this purpose fall into three categories:
1. Expansion of the economically exploitable forest area by reducing logging costs through the use of mechanical equipment; reduction of transportation cost from forest to consumption centers; transportation facilities adapted to the use of mechanical equipment and processing in the forest.
2. Utilization of wood species hitherto neglected.
3. Long-term transformation of the composition of stands by appropriate silvicultural measures to favor economically valuable species.
Timber production is intended mainly to supply local demand, with a possible exportable surplus. Forest products such as charcoal and especially pine resin would find a ready export market. The target figure of 7,000 tons of raw resin, if processed, would produce almost 1,200 tons of turpentine and 5,000 tons of rosin, which is far in excess of anticipated needs for domestic consumption.
IRAQ
Climatic conditions in northern Iraq are favorable to forest growth, but ruthless exploitation for firewood and the maintenance of large herds of goats have almost completely deforested the region, with the exception of rugged mountainous sections along the Turkish border. Some of the remaining stands could be utilized as pulpwood, but conservation and reforestation appear more important. Owing to the lack of water for industrial purposes, Iraq has no wood-pulp industry. All paper and related products must be imported. Consumption since the war has nearly trebled. The war gave the cigarette industry a tremendous impetus, and daily production has increased from about 2,500,000 cigarettes to 7,000,000. Of this output, some 6,000,000 are industrially produced, the' others hand-made. Consumption of packing paper, cigarette paper, and paperboard increased correspondingly. Date exporters greatly improved packing methods during the past five years by using more paper and by extending the use of wrappers to the basket trade. Exporters also have made considerable improvement in the packaging of date cubes of various sizes, necessitating large quantities of cellophane paper. About 25 newspapers with a total daily circulation of 25,000 are published, as compared to the 10 newspapers with a daily circulation of 10,000 published 5 years ago. Import of paper and newsprint is government-controlled and the volume of trade with hard-currency countries is regulated by the amount of dollars available.
ITALY
Negotiations between Sweden and Italy on payments and the exchange of commodities have been concluded in Stockholm. The new list for exports from Sweden confirms the previously fixed quotas for viscose pulp and highalpha cellulose -85,000 and 3,000 tons respectively. The quota for paper cellulose has been increased from 20,000 to 33,000 tons and the quota for mechanical pulp from 3,500 to 7,500 tons; under certain conditions the quotas for paper pulp may be increased later.
MEXICO
The Mexican paper industry operated at maximum capacity during 1947, working three eight-hour shifts daily and producing 105,728 metric tons of paper and paperboard. This was a considerable increase over the 1946 production of 95,443 tons. The 1948 output is estimated at 136,383 tons.
Mexico, with four plants, is one of six nations added to the list of rayon-producing nations in the past ten years. The other five are Colombia, with three new plants (one of which is reported suspended) Chile, with two plants; Cuba, Peru, and Egypt, with one each. Planning to enter the rayon industry in the near future are Australia, China, India, and the new nation of Israel, making a total of 35 countries as rayon producers. Many will be dependent to some measure on North American wood pulp, for which there is already considerable competition by the paper, rayon, and plastics industries.
Mexico's rayon output was 25,000 kg. (55,000 lbs.) in 1942; 250,000 kg. (550,000 lbs.) in 1946; 1,600,000 kg. (3,600,000 lbs.) in 1947. When its four plants are producing at capacity, output should exceed 4,500,000 kg. (10,000,000 lbs.). A greatly expanded rayon industry in Mexico will eventually import seven or eight thousand tons of high-alpha wood pulp from the United States or Canada and, perhaps, Sweden. This figure may even be exceeded. Two plants began operation in the past year and a third was expected to do so shortly. The new acetate rayon manufacturing plant of Celanesa Mexicana, S.A., at Ocotlan, in the state of Jalisco, about 80 kin. (50 miles) east of, Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city, started about a year ago at the rate of 1.4 million kg. (three million lbs.) of yarn and is stepping up capacity rapidly to 2.7-3.2 million kg. (6 or 7 million lbs.) annually. Acetate for the Ocotlan plant is spun at the Cumberland, Maryland (U.S.A.), plant of Celanese Corporation and shipped to Ocotlan, but eventually it will treat cotton linters at its own plant. It will use 70 percent wood cellulose, all imported, and 30 percent linters pulp. Viscosa Mexicana, S.A., is another new celanese plant which will use the viscose process. This plant, at Zacapu, in the state of Michoacan, was scheduled to begin producing at the rate of 2.7 million kgs. (6 million lbs.) per year, but will eventually push production up to 4.5-5.4 million kgs. (10 or 12 million lbs.). The oldest of all the rayon plants in Mexico is Artisela Mexicana, S.A., in San Angel or Villa Obregon, a southern suburb of Mexico City. This is another viscose process plant, making about- 450,000 kgs. (1,000,000 lbs.) of rayon per year, but its production is being expanded. It was converted to rayon manufacturing in 1942.
PHILIPPINES
Exports of logs in 1947 totaled 8,870 m3 (1,958,000 board feet) of which 8,220 m3 (1,815,000) went to the United States. Principal imports during 1947 were: lumber, 2,676 m3 (1,134,000 board feet) 86,000 railway ties; plywood 300,700 m2 (3,327,000 square feet) newsprint, 17,526 metric tons; kraft wrapping paper, 1,345 tons; other printing paper, 1,330 tons; old newspapers for wrapping and packing, 8,934 tons; other wrapping paper, 2,060 tons; paper bags, 3,310 tons; wallboard, 14,430 tons.
SIAM
According to its 1947 balance sheet, Siam's foreign trade has doubled its volume in comparison with the figures for 1946, with wood holding an important place among the exports. Nearly two-thirds of the wood exported was teak.
SWEDEN
An agreement has been reached as to the amount of wood pulp the wood-pulp industry will supply to Swedish paper mills. Deliveries in 1948 will amount to about 90,000 metric tons of chemical wood pulp and 14,500 tons of mechanical pulp-which is somewhat less than the amount allotted for domestic consumption the year before. This reduction is intended to make available a larger quantity for export. Domestic prices have been increased about 30 kroner per ton but still fall short of the general free-market price by about 250 kroner per metric ton. It is thought that Swedish Woodpulp exports to the United States during 1948 will be considerably lower than was expected. As a result of Swedish wood-pulp negotiations with Great Britain for the second half of 1948, the price for bleached wood pulp was increased by El, and for unbleached sulphite wood pulp by 15 shillings. However, the price for unbleached kraft wood pulp remained unchanged. The increases were said to bring prices on the British market more in line with those prevailing in other countries. A trade agreement was concluded with the British and American Occupation Zones of Germany, and it is anticipated that 75,000 metric tons of wood pulp will be shipped there during 1948. During the first half of 1948 one-half of the amount had been contracted for and in part delivered.
Swedish paper production for 1947 is reported to have been 1,040,000 metric tons. This compares with 978,000 tons in 1.946, and the normal yearly prewar output of 800,000 to 850,000 tons. Exports of Swedish pulp last year totaled approximately 1,735,000 metric tons, compared with 2,200,000 in 1937. Chemical pulp accounted for 1,510,000 tons of 1947 total, and the remainder was mechanical pulp. Stocks of chemical pulp were 172,000 tons at the end of January 1948.
A large plywood factory equipped with the most modern machinery is being erected for the Statens Skogsindustries Company. It is expected that this factory will be able to export plywood to the value of 3 million Swedish kroner annually.
SWITZERLAND
In a long public statement on the present-day wood economy of Switzerland, based on careful study of various phases of Swiss economic activity, particularly those dealing with the economics of forestry, the wood industry, and the building trades, Mr. Hess, Federal Inspector-General of Forests, declared that it had become possible to remove the last wartime economic restrictions.
UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA
Artificially established exotic timber plantations in the Union of South Africa, an important part of the Union's assets, are valued at £23,000,000. It is estimated that, within the next 25 years, the investment in afforestation will be nearly doubled and the state is therefore vitally concerned with the economic use of plantation-grown timber During the past ten or fifteen years the afforestation of conifers by private enterprise has advanced tremendously; private forests in the future will be a significant portion of the Union's plantations. Private enterprise is also vitally interested in organizing utilization of forest products. The Government, through the Division of Forestry, installed sawmills to work its own timber, and a Forest Products Institute was established to do research on utilization. During the war great encouragement was given to the local sawmilling industry, and at the same time the state sawmills were kept running. The local sawmilling industry, which was started by private enterprise, is almost wholly dependent upon the Department of Forestry for logs under short-term contracts.
The domestic sawmilling industry has labored under certain disadvantages: a great number of sawlogs were supplied from immature trees, the supply of sawlogs was very irregular, and transport conditions are uncertain compared to other countries. Many of these drawbacks are slowly disappearing and the products obtained from mature South African timber are equal in quality to the average imported product. As existing forests progress towards maturity, increasing and more regular supplies of sawlogs will become available. A revision of present methods of logging and transport is necessary to ensure that better log lengths are produced. The sawmilling industry developed very rapidly under emergency conditions and the demand was such that even poor products found a ready market. Fortunately, however, the larger private producers are fully aware that quality needs to be improved, and have gone far in the use of the best techniques of production. They are showing that the domestic product, if properly handled, can compare favorably with the imported product. Grading rules, sponsored by the South African Lumber Millers' and Shook Manufacturers' Association, will be issued shortly by the South African Bureau of Standards; they will do much to improve existing conditions.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The United States Forest Service has accepted the bid of the Ketchikan Pulp Paper Company (a subsidiary of the Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Company) to cut 42,480 thousand m3 (1,500,000 thousand cubic feet) of pulp timber in the Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska. The stand consists of approximately 75 percent western hemlock and 25 percent Sitka spruce. The bid was the minimum set by the Forest Service - a stumpage rate of 30 cents a cubic meter (85c per 100 bd. ft.) for all timber used for the manufacture of pulp and somewhat higher rates for sawlogs and timber used for other purposes. The bid prices for the timber hold until 1 July 1962. At that date they will be subject to further determination and also every five years thereafter. The agreement extends to 30 June 2002. The purchaser is required to put up substantial bonds for performance of contract in accordance with detailed specifications regulating the cutting of timber, disposal of waste, fire prevention, and so forth. The Ketchikan Pulp and Paper Company is obligated to complete a 150-ton pulp mill within 3 years of the acceptance of its timber bid, and to achieve a capacity of 300 tons per day within 5 years. Permission is given to increase the mill capacity to 525 tons daily within 10 years. Before its bid was accepted, the company had acquired a millsite in Ward Is Cove 9 kin (6 miles) from Ketchikan, to which it is connected by highway and water.
The Forest Service does not set up any requirement as to the manufacture of paper, nor is there specification as to the kind of pulp to be made. It is the general understanding, however, that it will be sulphite.
A recent survey by the Experiment Station of the Northern Rocky Mountains at Missoula, Montana, shows that marketing conditions for wood have constantly favored the cutting of western white pine, Pinus monticola, and ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa, in their respective zones, as compared to other softwood species found in the same areas. The difference is so marked that the index of commercialization," that is the average difference between the sales price of the products and the cost price at the sawmill (not including the stumpage rate), has been, between 1916 and 1945, far below 0 during 24 years out of 30 for the secondary species in the white pine region, and for 13 years out of 30, in the ponderosa pine region. During the same period, the index of commercialization fell below 0 only during the depression - for western white pine in 1933, and for ponderosa pine in 1931 and 1932. The development of uses and markets for the secondary species has considerably improved the situation. Nevertheless there is still a difference of more than $2.21 per cubic meter ($10 per 1,000 board feet) in favor of western white pine and from $1.10 to $1.77 ($5 to $8) in favor of ponderosa pine. The two species, however, represent only about one-third of the trees in the stands of this region. The survey has clearly shown the importance of the problem of markets in the western United States, the need for conservation of ponderosa and western white pine stands, and the need to extend their areas.
YUGOSLAVIA
Since the war all Yugoslav industries have been nationalized, including the timber industry, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Wood Industries; the ministry has several regional offices. The war caused a great deal of damage to factories and buildings, as well as to the forests. The Five-year Plan for 1947-51 provides for the rehabilitation of the wood industry and for better forest exploitation and sawmill production. It also provides for a considerable decrease in felling. For instance, only 18.5 Million m3 of timber will be cut in 1951 as compared to 27 million in 1939. The amount of wood intended for industrial use in 1951 is to be 8½ Million m3 as compared to 9½ million in 1939. The plan provides for the construction of plywood factories, paper mills, production of railroad ties, and the establishment of furniture manufacturing plants. It is hoped to produce 40,000 sets of furniture by 1951, part of which is intended for export. Implementation of the plan will considerably curtail exports of sawn and undressed timber.
BURMA
The reorganization of the Burma Forest Service provides for three grades of officers: Selection grade, senior grade, and junior grade. Selection grade, which includes the Chief Conservator, the Conservators and the officers of the former Class I service, now comprises 37 officers, against 80 before the war, while the Senior grade, which corresponds to the former Class II services, has 68 officers as against 82. This reorganization has diminished the number of officers; administrative duties, however, have increased. Twenty members of the Class II service were promoted to the selection grade to fill vacant positions and 20 rangers were raised to senior grade to fill their places. Four British foresters have been retained in the service with the title of adviser.
PROCUREMENT PROGRAM OF THE U. S. ECONOMIC CO-ORDINATION ADMINISTRATION AS ANNOUNCED 15 AUGUST 1948
|
Date publicly announced |
Commodity |
Authorized to |
Country of origin |
Value |
|
1948 |
|
|
|
|
|
June 27 |
Wood pulp |
United Kingdom |
Canada and Newfoundland |
$5,500,000 |
|
July 11 |
Newsprint |
Bizone, Germany |
Sweden |
1,434,000 |
|
July 19 |
Wood pulp |
France |
Canada |
371,000 |
|
July 19 |
Waste paper |
France |
United States |
22,350 |
|
July 26 |
Groundwood pulp |
Bizone, Germany |
Sweden |
888,000 |
|
July 26 |
Groundwood pulp |
Bizone, Germany |
Finland |
488,000 |
|
Aug. 2 |
Waste paper |
Bizone, Germany |
United States |
33,000 |
|
Aug. 2 |
Paper products |
Bizone, Germany |
Netherlands |
300,000 |
|
Aug. 9 |
Electrical pressboard and tympan paper |
France |
United States |
20,000 |
|
Aug. 9 |
Wood pulp |
Greece |
Sweden |
170,000 |
|
Aug. 9 |
Newsprint |
Greece |
Sweden |
210,000 |
|
Aug. 12 |
Mech wood pulp |
Bizone, Germany |
Sweden |
339,000 |
|
Aug. 12 |
Rayon grade wood pulp |
Bizone, Germany |
Sweden |
2,210,000 |
|
Aug. 16 |
Bleached cotton linters |
Bizone, Germany |
United States |
128,000 |
|
Aug. 16 |
Bleached cotton linters |
Bizone, Germany |
United Kingdom |
128,000 |
|
Aug. 16 |
Pulpwood |
Netherlands |
Canada |
140,000 |
FRANCE
As a result of the fires which have swept through the Landes region in recent years, approximately four-tenths of the Pinus pinaster forests of this region, which are of great economic importance to France, must be re-established, often under more difficult conditions than for the original operation. The French Government has set up a special organization to work in close co-operation with local governments and private owners of the region. Many difficulties must be overcome, especially lack of manpower, the recurring need for soil improvement, and constant and efficient protection against fire. Large-scale plans, being mapped and carried out, will affect not only the conformation of the new forests but the entire agricultural structure of the region. Among the projects under discussion is one providing for the commercial cultivation of Pinus pinaster on a 75-year rotation. That would be just as long as the present rotation system, but for 50 years of that period the soil would be used as forest land, and for the remaining 25 years as cropland or pasture. A rotation which would diminish neither timber nor resin production would thus become possible, while at the same time fire protection measures will guard against a recurrence of catastrophic fires.
RUMANIA
Forestry legislation passed in 1947 provides for thorough protection of forest resources. The more important provisions include the following: All forest areas of more than 0.25 hectare are subject to the provisions of this legislation. All forests must be placed under proper forest management within the next four years; they are to be grouped by watersheds in the mountains and by economic units in the plains. Clear-cutting, with rare exceptions, is prohibited; forest ownership remains individual. Service in fire protection is compulsory, under penalties up to ten years of forced labor. All private forests are to be supervised by forest rangers. At least one graduate forester (forest engineer) must be employed for forests of more than 6,000 hectares and at least one subordinate forester must be employed for forests of more than 3,000 hectares.
UNITED KINGDOM
Application of the reforestation plan in the United Kingdom has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of workers employed in forestry work. Whereas, ten years ago the number of these workers was about 4,000, they now number about 10,000. In 50 years, when the plan is to have reached full development, it is expected that forest workers will number 50,000, not counting 200,000 others employed in wood industries.
These workers need homes. Although the problem can often be solved by building new houses in existing villages, the fact that the new forests are generally planted in sparsely populated districts often makes it necessary to establish new communities. A village of this type, near the new national forest of Ae, 16 km (10 miles) north of Dumfries, in the south of Scotland, is-beginning to take shape. It will comprise 80 houses, with a school, shops, church, playing fields, and, naturally a sawmill.
The Forestry Commission began operations in this region in 1927, an area where sheep-farming had been predominant. Today, of a total of 4,323 ha (10,683 acres), more than 1,200 ha (3,000 acres) have been planted. A total of 3 200 ha (8,000 acres) will be forested, 160 ha (250 acres) will be reserved for agricultural purposes, and the remainder will constitute a summer range for sheep When the first trees were planted only 16 men were employed. It is estimated that by 1960 there will be 90 men engaged in permanent work, excluding those needed for the saw mill, transportation etc. Thus, the forest is restoring rural life to certain areas of the United Kingdom. However, the workers need not all be housed in villages. An allotment of a house, a garden, and a few acres of land will be given to those who prefer to rent forest holdings, with the guarantee of 150 days of work per year in the forest.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A constitutional amendment to the laws of the state of Oregon will be submitted to a popular referendum in November. Its object is to enable the issuance of a loan based on 0.75 percent of the estimated value of the state domain for the rehabilitation of forests devastated by fire and for the development of forestry research. It is thought that this enabling act may produce a sum of more than $9,500,000 for these purposes. The total revenue derived from the sale of products obtained from State forests will be used to pay off the loan.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The annual meeting of the SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS will be held December 16-18 in Boston, Massachusetts. An attendance of 500 members and guests is anticipated.
According to Clyde Martin of Tacoma, Washington, president of the Society, the national meeting will open on December 16 with individual sessions of the Society's nine divisions having to do with private forestry, forest economics, forest recreation, forest products, forestry education, wildlife management, range management, silviculture, and public relations. Nonmembers interested in those fields of specialization are welcome to attend any of the sessions.
The fiftieth anniversary of professional forestry education in America, which began at Cornell University in 1898, will be observed at the general session on December 17 with addresses by well-known forestry educators.
At the final session on December 18, technical papers on forest practices in the Northeast will be given by representatives of federal and state governments and the forest products industries.
After a tour of service with FAO, Alan Gordon has returned to Australia to resume his former duties with the Division of Forest Products, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, in Melbourne. From its inception Mr. Gordon had been in charge of the work on mechanical wood technology in FAO's Division of Forestry and Forest Products. He will continue to help FAO as a member of the division's committee on Mechanical Wood Technology. On his return journey to Australia, Mr. Gordon visited several forest products laboratories in the United States and Canada.
Tor Sandbu has also left FAO after his year's tour of service to resume his duties in the Norwegian Forest Service. Originally stationed in Washington, in the Forest Products Branch, Mr. Sandbu was transferred to the Division's European office at Geneva, where he assisted in the work of the European Timber Committee and in the preparation and publication of the FAO/ECE Quarterly Statistical Bulletin.
S. L. Frost of Bryan, Texas, acting director of the Texas Forest Service, has been named Executive Director of the American Forestry Association. Succeeding Ovid Butler, who retired in April, Mr. Frost, at 38, is the youngest executive officer in the association's 73-year-old history. Before his appointment this spring as acting state forester, he headed the educational work of the Texas Forest Service, serving-at the same time as secretary of the Texas Forestry Association and, in 1947, as chairman of the Southern States Forestry Educational Directors Association. He also organized the wartime Civil Air Patrol of Texas forests.
