Scots Pine Timber

Abstract

BULLETIN No. 15 (Dec. 1931) of the Forest Products Research Laboratory deals with a detailed analysis of “The Timber of Home Grown Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)”. The primary considerations in connexion with the utilisation of home grown Scots pine, the resources of which timber in Great Britain were so depleted during the War, are the general grade of the timber and its mechanical properties. The investigations which have been undertaken at the Laboratory indicate that the home grown timber in different localities varies considerably in weight, and ranges from 25 to 45 Ib. per cub. ft. at a moisture content of 12–15 per cent. The darker colour of the heart wood, which is an indication of the durability, is more marked in the home grown than in the imported timber, while the percentage of heart wood is dependent on locality and age. The average rate of growth of the timber in the four consignments examined varied from 4 to 23 and the average of individual consignments from 7 to 12 rings per inch. The bulletin deals in sections with structure, seasoning, mechanical and physical properties, antiseptic treatment, working and utilisation, and pests of the species. One of the problems facing the newly formed plantations of pine in Great Britain is to find or create a market for the small material which will come out in the early indispensable thinnings; while, it is pointed out, to produce best quality timber the time must be given to obtain at least 12 rings to the inch radius, and for lower grades at least 9 rings per inch are necessary. Straight-grained timber, as free from knots as possible, is demanded by the markets.