A CONCEPT CIF INTRINSIC WOOD CUALITYr AND INCNIDESinUCTIVIE METHODS ICU UtilEIPAINING CUALITY IN STANDING 1P1413E12

This paper presents a concept of wood quality. The heart of the concept is: Quality is the resultant of physical and chemical characteristics possessed by a tree or a part of a tree that enable it to meet the property requirements for different end products. In other words, the intrinsic quality of wood evaluated solely in terms of its suitability for various products or end uses. A number of the more important wood-quality indicators are discussed, with emphasis upon the relationship between wood characteristics and property requirements. The following are considered: Wood density, ratio of summer. wood to springwood, fine structure, chemical composition, paintability, gluing, sapwood thickness, nonuniform growth, growth rate, distinctive figure, compression wood, tension wood, and compression failures. Included are brief discussions of the need for a better concept and wider appreciation of wood quality, the ways in which wood quality can be improved, and methods and results of wood-quality evaluation in standing timber. 1 —Presented by Dr. Edward G. Locke, Director of the U. S. Forest Products Laboratory, at the 13th Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (Section 41, Mechanical Conversion) September 10 to 29, 1961, in Vienna, Austria. 2 —Maintained at Madison, Wis., in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin.