Items of Interest February 28, 1914 Issue

Items of Interest

On a rough estimate, a newspaper with an average circulation of sixty thousand copies and an average edition of twenty pages, uses each day the product of about four acres of spruce forest. When this figure is multiplied by the great number of newspapers published in the United States, many of them with much larger editions, and when this is further multiplied by three hundred and sixty–five, because many papers are issued every day of the year, it can be seen that the drain upon the forests is enormous. In the national forests there are many woods considered inferior by lumbermen. The forest service, in its desire to utilize to the best advantage all of the resources of the federal timber holdings, has been seeking proper uses for these trees, and has experimented in making pulp from them at its pulp laboratory at Wausau, Wis., an auxiliary of the forest products laboratory at Madison. The paper from the new woods must fulfil many conditions as to color, finish, and strength. In these trial runs most of the paper is made from various western firs, which show considerable promise.

Reorganization of the department of agriculture by 1916 is proposed in the agricultural appropriation bill just made public. Abolition of many bureaus and consolidations is planned. The bill authorizes an appropriation of eighteen million nine hundred thousand dollars for the department next year, and despite opposition from Secretary Houston, money is provided for free seed distribution. Leasing of forest reserve land for hotels, stores, and summer residences is a new feature.

Navigation of the waters of the Warrior and Tombigbee rivers from the bay of Mobile to the iron and coal fields in the mountains of northern Alabama has just been made possible after fifteen years of work and an expenditure of nine million dollars by the government. A large fleet is planned, and when all are in service it is promised that a boat will leave New Orleans or the coal fields every six hours.

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As a Man Thinketh
February 28, 1914
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