TIMBER WASTE

Southland Times, Issue 19330, 15 September 1921, Page 4

TIMBER WASTE

NEGLECTED MEANS OF UTILIBATIOF FOREST ENGINEER’S ADVICK (Special to the Time#.) CHRISTCHURCH, September 14. In an address on the utilisation of forest products, Mr A. R. Entrican, engineer of forest products under the State Forest Service, said that, the idea was to increase the utilisation of forest production. The only country that was working her forests within the limits of their annual growth waa Sweden, which would not have to call on her capital forest resources for many yearn. Naw Zealand, on the other hand, was working on her capital as far as her forests were concerned. The capital resources were being drained, and unless the process was stopped they would disappear. The first step in forest utilisation was when the trees were fifteen or twenty years old, according to the species. In New Zealand there were losses from the growing tree to the sawn timber. Even in the mills there were losses. Timbers were ordered in five feet up to twenty feet lengths where they might be ordered in three feet lengths. The pieces sent to the slab heaps in New Zealand mills were too large. The tendency in the mills was to burn for fuel slabs only. In America and Canada, green sawdust was used and the slabs were saved for useful purposes. East year £33,000 worth of handles—pick handles, broom handles, shovel handles, and so on—were imported into New Zealand. All of them could have been made in this country. Not one of the American and Canadian handles need be imported. About £7OOO worth of shingles came into New Zealand every year, and they could be made in the country, as kawaka timber possessed all the properties required for shingles. The wood wool industry would deal with waste timber. Wood wool could be used for all kinds of packing, and even for surgical dressings. The wood distillation industry had not been established in New Zealand, but .xwnments had been made in the North Wand to test its chances here.