Treesearch

Observations of checking frequency, depth of check penetration, veneer thickness, and surface quality were made at 20 machining conditions. An inverse relationship between depth of check and frequency of checking was established. The effect of cutting temperature was demonstrated, and strength in compression perpendicular to the grain, tension perpendicular to the grain, and rolling shear was determined at 4 temperatures. The mechanics of veneer formation is discussed with respect to the 2 basic veneer types observed.

Pulpwood production in southern states during 1957 fell slightly below the 1956 level, thus reversing a strong, long-term upward trend. Total production amounted to 19,782,600 cords, a decrease of 562,300 cords, or 2.8 percent, from the 1956 record high. At the same time, the combined pulping capacity of southern mills climbed from 38,000 tons per day in 1956 to 41,000 tons in 1957 as new mills and expanded productive equipment in existing mills went into operation.

Tabulates data on height, diameter, and age of seedling and coppice regeneration of Nyssa aquatica in Wateree Swamp, N. Carolina, 30 years after felling. Although the sample was small, coppice stems apparently grew as fast as seedlings and showed no sign of rot. The stand, however, seemed inferior to a well stocked seedling stand, mainly because of irregular stocking. Unless exploitation of N. aquatica for pulpwood becomes economic, discouragement of coppicing by very low felling (perhaps mechanically?) is advocated; use of arboricides in swamps would probably be uneconomic.

A handy, inexpensive tool for planting acorns has been developed at the Delta Research Center of the Southern Forest Experiment Station and used successfully in experimental plantings. One of its merits is that it ensures a planting hole of eactly the desired depth.

Many thrifty, second-growth baldcypress trees (Taxodium distichum) [L.] Rich. ) appear to lay down several rings each year. These false rings may cause foresters to underestimate the growth potential of a highly prized species by overestimating the age of sample trees.