152 FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 



al implements, than the table shows to be the case in Maine. 

 The woods used here with the exception of aspen are such as 

 are used in other States in the same industry. Plows were 

 manufactured from white and red oak, potato hoes from white 

 oak and white ash. while spruce and aspen were used in the 

 manufacture of potato carriers. 



Table LIV summarizes the figures of Tables XXVI to 

 LIII inclusive. It is similar to Table I, and gives the same 

 information arranged, however, by industries instead of by 

 species. 



The Use of Waste. 



The right use of the forests of the State has received the 

 serious consideration of officials and public-minded citizens for 

 many years, and some attention has been paid by the manu- 

 facturers of the State to the possible use of material usually 

 classed as waste. 



Material not used in the manufacture of a product may 

 sometimes be utilized in one or two ways. It may be furtlier 

 converted by machinery, or it may be treated by chemical pro- 

 cesses and products obtained, such as paper pulp, wood alcohol, 

 and turpentine. If further wood working is feasible, it is 

 usually necessary that the material shall be uniform in size and 

 shape to avoid unnecessary expense in handling and sorting. 

 If this condition obtains, it is obvious that it is possible to 

 make a line of small articles from the material left from the 

 manufacture of a larger article. In chemical utilization it is 

 not usually necessary that the material be any particular size 

 or shape, since it will be reduced anyway by the chemical pro- 

 cess. \''ery often the cost of further manufacture of the lack 

 of suitable markets for the product form an almost insuperable 

 bar to close utilization. 



Manufacturers of spruce lumber have found it profitable to 

 bark their spruce slabs and sell the slabs in carload lots to pulp 

 mills. Undoubtedly some aspen and white pine slabs are some- 

 times included in these shipments. Softwood slabs are also 

 worked into laths and crating stock. One mill reports that 

 softwood is made into boxes and hardwood waste into furni- 

 ture squares, while another states that slabs are worked into 

 laths, boxes, boards, pickets, and crating. Planing mills which 



