41() ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



'I ho <:;rowin<j; scarcity of woods suitable for (lie innmifacture of 

 l)ol)l)ins jiiid shuttles recently led the Service to take u]) this (|uestion 

 with interested manufacturers. The United States ]iobl)in and 

 Sluittle Company is testinji; at its ])lant at ivawrence, Mass., a number 

 of liard woods from the National Forests of the Pacific coast States 

 which, from their })hysical and mechanical projierties, seem well suited 

 for this use. 



Throu«j;hout the lumbcr-producinjjc regions tliere is mucli waste at 

 the mills due to tlie dilliculty in disposin^jj of sliort lengtlis. The 

 cypress manufacturers, among others, nave ex])erienced trouble alonf:^ 

 this line. Ex])eriments are now being made to learn whether cyjjross 

 can be used for ])lug-tobacco boxes and butter tubs, which would 

 open a considerable market for short lengtlis of this wood. TJie 

 high price and growing scarcity of S])anish cedar, used in the manu- 

 facture of cigar boxes, has led the Service to look for other woods 

 ada])ted to this ])urpose. The Chicago Box Company is now experi- 

 menting with the incense cedar, a western tree abundant on many of 

 the National Forests. If incense cedar proves its worth for this use, 

 both the cigar-box manufacturers and the National Forests will be 

 benefited. 



A most important wood in this country, one for which, on account 

 of its peculiar ])roperties, no substitute has been found, yet one of 

 which the sup]:)ly is very rapidly diminishing, is hickory. The Forest 

 Service has in the past studied the conditions necessary to grow this 

 wood, and has tested its strength, but little attention has been given 

 to the method of manufacture of hickory products. At the recpiest 

 of the National Hickory Association, the Forest Service has begun 

 a study which is ex])ected to fmd what amount of liickory goes into 

 unessential uses and to indicate such changes in the methods and 

 organization of the industry as may be necessary to draw this supply 

 into uses which essentially demand it. 



A study of tlie uses of the various woods of the United States is 

 under way. Each wood's physical properties, j^articularly its weight, 

 hardness, color, ease or difficulty in working and finishing, enduring 

 qualities when exposed to weather, and strength and elasticity, are 

 listed, and data are assembled concerning its utilization from early 

 times to the present, with an account of influences which have 

 brought about changes in its use. Special consideration is given to 

 the properties or other factors which seem to give the wood a value 

 in present and pros])ective manufacturing. The study will cover 

 about 200 s])ecies, one-half of which are of considerable importance. 

 No wood is included that has not been reported for some use other 

 than fuel. It is believed that, as forestry develops in this country, 

 the woodlot owner and the lumberman will specialize more and more, 

 as orchardists now do, upon the species which will pay best, and that 

 in doing so they will need such information as is now being gathered. 

 For certain sj)ecies the work has advanced far enough to warrant 

 publication during the coming year. 



Reports prepared primarily to assist in the proper disposition of 

 National Forest timber, and comprising information on the kinds and 

 classes of material used, the principal sources of supply, and the 

 disposition of the material shipped out, were made for a number of 

 markets in the West. The reports aided materially in finding pur- 

 chasers and markets for timber, and in fixing the price of stumpage. 



