White Fir on Woy Up ond Coming Info lts Own, Foresters Told qt Northern Section 1955 Field Meetingi See Winton Sowmill

\\'hite fir, long the neglected orphan of .n-estern lumbering, is on its way up in lurnlter markets, rleclared E. P. Ivory, president of Ivory I'ine Companl. of California, at the banquet opening the 1955 field meeting of the Northern California Section, Society of American Foresters. Held June 3 and 4 in Amador and Calaveras counties, the field meeting \\'as one of an annual series sponsored by the professional society to acquaint members rvith nerv developments in rvoods and mills throughout the state.

Besides discussing manufacturing and marketing of r'vhite fir at the June 3 banquet, some 115 meml>ers and grlests inspected timber l.rarvesting and forest planting

Mc(loud Lumber Co.

June ,1 on a tonr of industrial and national-forest ()perations in Calaveras county.

White fir owes its market advance, Mr. Ivory said, primarily to being well manufactured and properly seasoned. Drying makes the most of its weight and strength properties, which compare well with those of other western species, and it removes all traces of the green timber's disagreeable odor.

Remanufacturing and laminating are tu,o other practices he recommended as helpful in expanding markets for *.hite fir, u'hich makes up the bulk of his company's productior-r. Remanufacturir.rg improves the grade yield from the timber, which usu:rlly produces nrostly lon'er grades of lumber. Gluing up laminated members improves both stillness and shock resistance of tvhite fir.

Ability to take and hold glue is an outstanding merit of r,vhite fir, Ivory said, calling it tops in that quality. Other good qualities u'hich help in marketing the species are freedom fronr pitch, capacity to take paint and stains, relatively lou' shrinkage, and good nailing characteristics.

To improve the market position of .rvhite fir, Ivory, rvho is chairman of the Northern California Section. Forest 1)roclttcts Research Society, suggested greater research in several fields, inclucling chipping lor.v grade and cull logs in the 'rvoods, seasoning of exceptionally u-et timber, and use of sarvdust and shavings for by-products such as cornpost and rvood flour.

The June 4 field tour started at the sarvmill of Winton Lumber Company at Nlartell, 'rvhere the group r,r'atched a nrechanical barker clean off logs so that bark-free slabs could lie made into pulp chips. Deltarking also makes lumber manufacturing more efficient by giving sa\\'yers a better vierv of the rvood in logs.

From tl.re mill, the trip covered n.oods operations of Winton l,umber Company, Associated Lumber and Box Con'rpanr', l3lagen Lumber Company, and Calaveras Land and Timber Cornpany. Timber marking practices inspected on these properties includecl leaving all trees smaller than specified n.rinimrrm diameters as rvell as light and heavy selection cuts.

In a Lrurned-()ver area, the foresters sa\v trial plantings being made br. Associated and Blagen rvith sever:Ll species