94 FOREST COMMISSIONERS REPORT. 



Paper birch is commonly known in Maine and through parts 

 of New England as white birch although the name "paper 

 birch" is generally used in other localities. This species is 

 native to the northern United States, and grows best in fairly 

 deep, loose, well-drained, sandy loam. The wood is fairly hard, 

 strong, and tough, and has a close grain and uniform texture. 

 Its many uses depend upon the fine grain, uniform texture, and 

 its ability to hold its shape after seasoning. The ease with 

 which it turns upon the lathe, and the smooth, clean surface 

 which it presents after turning adapt it to numerous purposes 

 for which accuracy and niceness of finish are required. Exam- 

 ples of such uses are: spools, shoe pegs, shanks, dowels, tooth- 

 picks, handles, and turned-wood boxes. It is quite probable 

 that more different articles are made from this wood than any 

 other wood in the State, since any novelty mill has in its tool 

 room hundreds of patterns of boxes, handles, toys, and various 

 novelties. Practically the entire quantity shown in Table II 

 as going into shuttles, spools and bobbins, went into spools, 

 these articles being classed together as one industry in reports 

 of this kind. The handles made from this wood were small 

 tool handles, and the boot and shoe findings were shoe shanks, 

 and pegwood, or shoe pegs. The amount charged to the match 

 and toothpick industry all went into the latter articles. Wood- 

 enware, as the term is generally used, is not often made from 

 paper birch, but the thousand and one things known as novelties 

 are made in Maine, more often from this wood than from any 

 other. Boxes made from paper birch are small turned boxes. 

 The wood is also used for clothespins, clothes driers, cork tops 

 — listed under bungs and faucets, skewers, finish and flooring. 



While the average value of birch at the main sawmills is 

 less than $13 per 1,000 feet b. m., the average price paid by 

 the industries, $21.72, was more than 60 per cent higher indi- 

 cating that most of the factories require the higher grades. 



Red Spruce. 



While white pine is the wood used in largest quantities by 

 the manufacturing plants of Maine, there is much more spruce 

 taken out of the forests of the State. In 1910 the sawmills of 

 the State reported cutting 272.509,000 feet of pine and 363,691,- 

 000 feet of spruce;, while in the same year the forests of the 



