Promise Of The Trees

[Music] in the Pacific Northwest both the land and the climate are ideal for growing trees here wide areas of privately owned land are managed as tree farms [Music] here forests of huge old trees stand side by side with infant crops of healthy Furs and hemlocks growing with the help and protection of experienced industrial Foresters part of the land is in youthful crops of clean trunk trees on other land crops are coming rapidly to maturity all are protected Ed from fire by men and equipment operating over the tree Farm's network of Roads whatever their size and species may be all the trees are storing up a promise of houses clothing books and paper for people everywhere A Promise built by the trees's remarkable processes of growth just beneath the bark every tree is completely covered by a fragile layer of living material known as the cambium the cambium produces all the wood in a tree leaving a permanent record of each Year's growth in alternate bands of [Music] color a microscope focused on the area outlined in white would reveal tiny individual fibers of wood and bark and the living cells of the cambium layer in the jelly-like C ambum layer a single row of cells contains the trees power to grow and manufacture wood for these cells are able to divide in two [Music] a new cell has just been made in the cambium layer over a period of weeks it will change itself to a fiber in newly formed wood first the cell expands by pulling sap shown here in blue to a cavity [Music] inside now the cell begins to build walls of a strong flexible substance known as [Music] cellulose lgan shown here in brown is a tough parred plastic it fills the spaces between the cells cementing them rigidly together while the walls continue to grow [Music] thus each new cell becomes a tiny fiber less than half as thick as a human hair and is locked in newly formed wood new wood forms minute by minute day by day under every square inch of bark on every living tree the countless Hollow fibers so formed lend lightness and strength to wood as a building material the complex structure of cemented fibers is cross-boundary Rays a wood fiber is about 90 times as long as it is thick separated from wood the fiber is tough and flexible ideal for making paper its cellulose walls are raw material for such important products as rayon and cellophane on tree farms fibers and wood are the crop and tree farmers are in the business of growing wood at the greatest possible rate tree Farmers know that different trees grow at different rates in crowded stands Darkness holds back growth and slowly kills the weaker trees tree Farmers know how to select trees for removal so the stand will grow rapidly once more and so excess trees can be taken for use as pulpwood when a stand of Timber gets very old wood is lost faster than New Growth can replace it in such stands natural forces of Destruction are at work Foresters notice the dying [Music] tops fungus diseases and trees destroyed by wind here one by one the trees are being lost on tree farms carefully planned harvesting puts the timber to use and clears the ground for a new crop from cones on nearby trees millions of seeds drift into the clearings establishing new crops of tiny seedlings carrying the promise of the trees far into the future from this Hillside A Very Old Timber two areas have already been harvested farther out along the hill tree Farmers have selected another area and are just beginning to harvest the timber here small trees ideal for pulpwood have crowded in among big old Douglas Furs the small trees are yarded to roads with light high-speed equipment in what is called the pre-logging operation many of these logs would be broken and lost if not removed before the fallers go to work on the bigger [Music] [Music] Timber after the big trees are filled using heavier equipment systematically pick out all logs and pieces of practical usefulness and move them to the roads free Farmers not only know where to harvest they know how much to harvest on every tree farm operated by a warehouser Timber Company the wood removed in a year is carefully balanced with a Year's growth on the tree farm as a whole as the loggers finish each area a Forester trained in Wood utilization follows up he inspects all pieces that look as though they might be useful he sees many a victim of old age disease and rot he knows that for such logs the Harvest has come too late their wood and fibers can never be put to use but harvested logs are just beginning a journey toward a thousand uses for logs are nature's bundles of fibers bundles moving from tree farms to integrated manufacturing centers where P Mills Sawmills and plywood factories work together to use all the wood from all the different kinds of logs [Music] at integrated plants each log comes under the eyes of expert sorters who judge the products promised by the wood and send the log to a sawmill plywood factory or pulp Mill whichever can use it best at the very beginning of manufacturer hydraulic barkers remove all the dirt and bark so that every part of the logs will be clean material for either Lumber or wood pulp logs entering sawmills go to head rings for the first of many cuts by many kinds of saws that will separate each log into Lumber Timbers and many odd-shaped pieces that are finely used for pulse [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] in plywood factories huge lathes turn selected logs into veneer thus wood that was once a promise in the trees becomes Plywood And Lumber ready for shipment and use as material for buildings and homes slabs trimmings and edgings left over from Lumber and plywood manufacturing contain countless valuable wood fibers they are part of the raw material used for pulp more pulp material comes in from thinning and pre-logging operations and many big logs are of species most desirable for pulp all this material goes to chipping machines which will make them into wood chips of uniform shape and size [Music] [Music] [Music] an average wood chip contains about 1 million tiny fibers still tightly cemented together just as they were in the tree that made them silos at P Mills receive chips and store them in Readiness for processing into wood P pulp Mills are permanent installations operating around the clock 7 days a week they require reliable supplies of wood and water and good Transportation facilities the complex Arrangements of building and Equipment are all necessary to release cellulose fibers from wood and purify them on a mass production [Music] basis important sections of each Mill make Chemical Solutions used in the pulping process some Mills make alkaline Solutions important sections of each Mill make Chemical Solutions used in the pulping process some Mills make alkaline Solutions and others prepare mild acids both kinds of Mills use the same principles and similar equipment to make pulp each Mill houses a battery of enormous pressure vessels known as digestors here wood chips and chemical Solutions come together under heat and pressure for a process known as cooking 60 ft above the ground the flange tops of the digesters project through the control room floor on the floor above a conveyor brings chips in from the silos and drops them into the digestors with chips inside digestors are sealed at the top cooking liquor comes in from the bottom the man in charge of digestor operation is the cook he is responsible for the quality of wood P produced from each charge of [Music] chips now the digestor is full of cooking liquor a pump circulates the liquor through the [Music] chips with instruments tests and experience the cook guides all important changes taking place beyond human sight or reach behind the walls of the digestor cooking liquor becomes strongly active under heat and pressure it begins to penetrate the fibers of the chips lignin gradually dissolves loosening its grip on the cellulose fibers and when cooking is complete the chips are ready to fall apart into individual fibers now pressure will be relieved and the digestor emptied into a pit [Music] when liquor is drained off wood PFF consisting of separated wood fibers remains in the pit this is sulfide PP craft PP is made in a similar way but in different Mills using different cooking chemicals after cooking craft PP is dark brown in color all traces of spent cooking liquor are removed on rotary washers the pump is flooded over screens which let through only completely separated fibers this unbleached craft PP is moving toward the next main section of the mill the bleaching section as it moves samples are tested to find the exact amount of chemical needed when the pulp reaches the bleaching section of the [Music] mill chemical reactions of bleaching take place concealed from view in tanks and Towers at the top of each Tower an open washer reveals something of the changes being worked by the bleaching chemicals elaborate instruments help the head bleacher man keep the six gentle treatments of bleaching under strict control as it enters the last stage the flow of Pulp is divided into small batches for close control of strength Purity and color thus fibers formed in trees become wood pul of sparkling cleanliness and Purity move moving toward the last major section of the mills in machine rooms bleached pulps are prepared for shipment to Market by a machine that spreads wet pulp in a continuous sheet the pulp is drained and pressed then dried at moderate temperature in a huge vacuum chamber as dry pulp comes out quality control technicians are running continuous tests after refining in miniature pulp beers samples are put in standard laboratory molds to make small sheets of paper a typical test of strength and quality is one for endurance of repeated [Music] folding meanwhile records of every step in production of every lot of P are filed in record [Music] rooms information compiled will guide planning of further developments in Mill equipment and processes every fiber in a bail of pul was once a unit in Nature's production of wood now each fiber is destined to be a unit in man's production of completely different substances the different kinds of pup are material for papers that will last past a century or for Fabrics films and Plastics of almost unbelievable [Music] variety huge volumes of this wonderfully useful Tree Farm product are shipped from the Pacific Northwest to Mills and factories in every part of the [Music] country chemical Industries making rayon and cellophane us wood PP as an abundant source of pure [Music] cellulose in these Mills the cellulose walls of the fibers are completely dissolved to make a thick syrup called [Music] Visos cellophane is one of the widely used products made from Visos but more important yet is rayon made by squeezing Visos through tiny holes into a bath of [Music] acid these filaments gathered together make a single strand of rayon yarn which might be used in rugs Tire cord or clothing cellulose is part of the promise stored up by growing trees Visos rayon is practically pure cellulose transformed to Fabrics of outstanding color Beauty variety and value an entirely different use for pulp is found in Mills making paper container board and carton material materials made on machines called Ford reers unbleached craft PP is made into container board a rugged uniform material for corrugated B es bleached pulp goes into the stiff dense odorless material used for butter and milk cartons paper mills specializing in finest grades of writing Printing and business papers are most particular about quality and uniformity of both they use [Music] machines called beaters begin refinement of pulk and thoroughly mix it with other ingredients of paper making stock refining is carried forward in machines called Jordans which put the fibers in condition to form together in a smooth strong sheet when they reach the Ford [Music] reineer paper is formed on an endless buying screen belt called the Ford rineer wire this is a cross-section of a forrer with the wire at I level it shows how refined wood pulp fibers are put together to make paper stock flowing on the wire is about 300 parts water to one part of P as the wire moves along the water drops through the refined fibers settle on The Wire interlace together in a newly formed sheet of paper the sheet is already strong enough to support its own weight as it leaves the wire steam heated rolls drive out all remaining moisture and perfectly formed paper move steadily onto the winding reel every sheet of fine paper is inspected before shipment for pride of quality and craftsmanship is traditional in the ancient art of paper making for people in every Walk of Life the promise of the trees comes true when they use and enjoy the multitude of products made from wood or fibers to them Quality Lumber moving from the yard to a building site can carries the ability to shelter a family in the security and comfort of a good home fine rayon Fabrics appeal instantly to people who appreciate style and quality in the clothes they own and wear with abundant paper the printing industry satisfies the demand of modern people for books magazines and printed materials endless in their variety and usefulness paper is a basic material in schools a carrier of knowledge to Children's Minds helping each one to the measureless benefits of Education everyone uses paper to communicate bya mail to exchange ideas news and information with people in distant corners of the land records of all the important events in life are committed to paper's Perfect Memory of the written word in thousands of business offices paper helps regulate the flow of all the things people need and use and wherever goods are moving there are products developed from the promise of the trees food comes to Market in containerboard shipping cases it comes to customers hands in clean attractive packages that add immeasurably to the convenience of everyday shopping in hundreds of ways ways people everywhere benefit from the power of living trees to grow and form new wood such benefits live on in each successive crop of timber tree farmers in the Pacific Northwest are working planning increasing the yield of tree farm land making tomorrow's promise of the trees greater than ever l [Music]