Research in Timber

Abstract

IN an address¹ to the Timber Trade Federation, delivered in October last, Prof. Percy Groom showed that the lack of co-operation in the past between technical science and the timber trade of this country had resulted in the timber resources of the Colonies and India not being efficiently utilised. The British Empire includes within its bounds a larger number and wider range of timbers than any other State; but many of these are imperfectly known, and on that account not in commercial use. Prof. Groom instanced many examples of the need for scientific research in timber. Wood-pulp, the import of which into the United Kingdom was valued at 5,500,000l. in 1913, is obtained at present mainly from spruce growing in foreign countries. In all probability it could be manufactured as cheaply from the soft woods, valueless as timber, which grow abundantly in the forests of our tropical possessions; and an investigation into this problem is most desirable. The hard woods of the tropics, owing to the loose nomenclature and wrong naming of many species, are less sought for than they deserve by architects, railway companies, and other large consumers of strong durable wood. The African mahoganies, for example, comprise a large series of different woods, varying widely in colour, hardness, and other qualities; and the identification and standardisation of these and other tropical woods should be the subject of prolonged scientific investigation. Some woods of great merit show defects in ordinary use which might be remedied by experiments in the laboratory, an interesting example being the Indo-Malayan Yang wood² (Dipterocarpus sp.), which had been introduced into England as a substitute for teak, but was found to warp badly and exude a resin, injuring its utility and appearance. Experiments carried out at the Imperial Institute resulted in the discovery of a simple cure for these defects, and the wood has been reinstated into favour.