Forstlicher Strassen- and Wegebau
(FOREST ROADS). F. Hafner. pp. 380, 1956. Planiergeraete im Forstlichen Strassen- und Wegebau (HEAVY EQUIPMENT IN FOREST ROAD CONSTRUCTION). F. Hafner and W. Hedenigg. pp. 76. Georg Fromme and Co., Vienna-Munich 1956.
Since the end of the second world war, Austria has, partly with the help of international technical assistance, greatly increased her efforts to open up her forest resources by means of forest roads. Within one decade roughly 5,000 kilometers (over 3,000 miles) of new roads have been constructed, an achievement only made possible by modern, mechanized equipment.
The first of these two publications is an up-to-date, complete and well-illustrated textbook on forest roads primarily in mountain regions, dealing with the various aspects, possibilities and ways of planning, and the methods and types- of construction. The basic theoretical considerations are discussed, with formulas and tables, as well as the practical experience acquired in the course of many years of road building in typical mountain country. Traditional methods of manual work are described with the same care as modern, highly mechanized equipment and methods.
The concept of forestry is that of the Central European alpine region, in as much as the book places great emphasis on very careful planning, layout, construction and subsequent maintenance of forest roads, which are intended for perpetual use under sustained yield management. Consequently, the periods for paying-off such roads can be very much longer than for forest roads in "cut out and get out " exploitations. This may explain why, in countries like Austria, a very good technical road standard often seems to take priority over considerations of costs alone and of short-term economy.'
The second publication is a very interesting report on work and cost studies on various types and sizes of bulldozers, angledozers and motor graders used in forest road construction in the Austrian Alps in 1955/56. This is probably the first time in Central Europe that investigations into the suitability of highly mechanized road building methods for mountain forest roads have been carried out on a large scale, and the results are therefore of great interest. In particular, it has been found that heavy-duty equipment (70 to 100 hp.) is twice to three times as economical as lighter machine types, and that its application is not only much faster, but also four to five times cheaper than manual work.
Grundlagen der Chemie und chemischen Technologie des Holzes
(OUTLINE OF WOOD CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL WOOD TECHNOLOGY) W. Sandermann, pp. 498, ill. 221, tables 134. Ed.: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft Geest and Portig K.-G., Leipzig (Germany), 1956.
In the preface the author states that the publication is mainly intended as a textbook for students but also that it should appeal to a wider range of people with an interest in wood as a raw material.
This assumption is well-founded, partly because of the actual contents of the book and partly because of the way the material is presented. Besides covering the fields of wood chemistry and chemical technology, the book also contains as an opening section an economic analysis of wood as a raw material. This section, numbering 77 pages, outlines the history of wood utilization, discusses the present situation, the competition with other raw materials, and presents forecasts of developments which are partly projected into a distant future. Most of the trends discussed will, however, make themselves strongly felt within the present generation. The destiny of the various branches of the wood consuming industries is elaborated upon, and such threats as the fully synthetic fibres and glass fibres for textiles and paper are considered. Finally, the development of forestry in view of the important functions of forests aside from that of supplying wood are mentioned, and on this basis conclusions drawn with regard to the future of the wood industries.
After short sections on photosynthesis and wood anatomy, the chapter on wood chemistry follows. The chemistry of cellulose and lignin, including the modern concepts of these sciences, are presented in a very clear way. The recent advances in knowledge about the accessory constituents of wood are included, partly in the form of tables.
The most important single items of the technological part are the pulp and paper industries. Besides other industries naturally belonging to the wood chemistry field, the related subjects of, for example, glues and glueing, surface treatment of wood, wood preservation and board materials of various types are also included. In the last chapter a number of preparatory and analysical experiments are described.
The concise manner of presentation and the great number of tables and illustrations make this book easy to read. Numerous references to sources of detailed information are given at the end of each chapter.
The text will thus provide the student with comprensive up-to-date information and, mainly because of the economic considerations, it will also serve as a thought-provoking survey for many other categories of readers. As the book has few counterparts, it is hoped that translation into other languages will be considered.
The Transportation of Pulpwood in Flumes
. W. D. Bennett. p. iv + 141. illus. Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada. Montreal, 1956.
The use of flumes for the transportation of pulpwood is today confined mainly to a relatively small area in eastern Canada.
Under certain conditions, however, and for certain purposes, flumes, over the years, have proved to be the most efficient and economical means of wood transport. Their restricted use at present may be due, at least in part, to a lack of knowledge about them.
It is the purpose of the above report, issued by the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada, to describe the advantages and disadvantages of flumes, their areas of application and their costs of construction and operation, in such a way that an intelligent appraisal of their merits may be made in comparison with other more conventional means of pulpwood transportation.
The following are some of the points made by the report:
1. Temporary flumes need not be expensively engineered and constructed, and may be built and operated economically for very short periods.2. In metal flumes the semicircular (or parabolic) shape seems to possess the best hydraulic and woodcarrying properties, with economy in construction.
3. The most important phase of flume operation is feeding or loading. Care must be taken not to overload the flume, and to avoid fluming oversize, forked, or deformed logs with the general run of pulpwood.
4. The economics of flume operation are almost wholly dependent on the conditions prevailing in its proposed location. Where water is available and conditions seem to favor its use, its demonstrable economies would seem to make it worth considering in competition with other methods of transportation.
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