36 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



result tliMt iiniic fnmi it. was that lie aetually turned out as much 

 lumber per day as other men who did not stop to bother about a 

 detail of this sort. He turned it out by virtue of the fact that he kept 

 his saws in better condition, and there was less loss of time and 

 power through badly running saws, and while they were running they 

 were running light, smooth and clean. 



It would be a money making proposition for many a millman to 



follow the spoor of his saw teeth a while like the huuter t'lillows his 

 game. Trail it up to every point it should logically lead to; analyze 

 the results; and then do some figuring. If the analysis is properly 

 conducted, and the figuring is rightly done it will, in many cases, re- 

 sult in the complete reform of sawing methods and standing guard 

 over sa^ys to see that they are not operated in good timber wlien they 

 have bad teeth. T. 



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i 



Boxwood and Its Uses 



In view of the fact that within the last few years boxwood has 

 returned to more general use in the arts and industries than dur- 

 ing the preceding ten or more years, it is given a place among the 

 woods that makes it worthy of particular notice. That the revival 

 is pronounced and growing is being more clearly demonstrated as 

 time passes. This is particularly noticeable in the art of wood 

 engraving, in which, about eighteen years ago, the wood cut was 

 entirely relegated by a large majority of publishers and other con- 

 sumers and was supplanted by substitutes that were the result of a 

 demand for more speedy and economical methods in "process-work." 



Foremost among the engraving methods that came into special 

 favor in the "art preser^-ative of arts" were the half-tone, the zinc- 

 etching and the chalk-plate processes, the first two of which continue 

 in high favor, the chalk process having passed hardly beyond the 

 experimental stage. A reaction set in, and a few years later the 

 wood cut returned to favor and since has gradually but surely 

 regained lost standing and is gaining new ground among the strong- 

 est advocates of process-work, and more particularly among manu- 

 facturers of agricultural implements for use in their ad patterns. 



The superiority of the true boxwood over metal and other sub- 

 stitutes for engraving and carving purposes is clearly shown by 

 artists who handle it, and who declare it to be much better adaptable 

 for work in which sharply defined lines and edges are necessary. 

 An engraving made from it will stand a run of 50,000 and preserve 

 distinct impression. It is stated that for a limited run the wood 

 cut is a saving over the electroplate. This wood, which may fitly be 

 classed as the wood preservative of the art, assuredly is bringing 

 about a renaissance in engraving. 



Other practical and eminently important uses for which boxwood 

 is coming to be recognized as a superior and most valuable material 

 are niari|uetry. inlays in fine furniture and interior finish, fancy 



bric-a-brac, box-casings or bearings tor machinery, scientific instru- 

 ments, rollers for skates, and rules. Besides these there is a large 

 and growing list of articles of utility and ornament in the arts and 

 industries which absorb the inferior and fragmentary portions of the 

 wood. 



Boxwood grows in almost every country on the globe, and is known ■ 

 by various names, but the true boxwood (Buxus sempervivens) of 

 commerce grows ■ to its highest state of perfection in Europe and 

 Asia, the best wood for industrial uses coming from Turkey by way of 

 Eussia. In America it seldoms attains to greater dignity than that 

 of a shrub, and is used for decorative purposes in gardens and 

 hedges. It may be found from Maine to Florida along the east- 

 ern seaboard in Texas, the Sierra Madre mountains and in Mexico, 

 but in none of these states or regions has it ever attained to any 

 appreciable commercial value. Cuba produces a fair quality. 



The tree from which the commercial wood is obtained grows to a 

 height of thirty-five to fifty feet and one to two feet in diameter. 

 The heart-wood has a rich brown color, shading into red and green. 

 The sap-wood is very close-grained and is saffron-white, the best 

 pieces for engraving having the most pronounced yellow tinge. The 

 fiber of the wood is extremely close-knit and hard and heavy, which 

 make it susceptible of a high and durable polish. 



The form in which boxwood comes to this country for mercantile 

 y.se is in logs or bolts about five feet long and three to six inches in 

 diameter, the smaller ones being considered by the handlers the bet- 

 ter material. It is sold by the ton, varying in price according to size 

 and quality. A fair idea of its value may be gleaned from the fact 

 that the small slabs composed of pieces two to four inches square 

 and one inch thick, doweled together, sell to the engraver at two to 

 seven cents a square inch. 



' y vj{^^^vaaiJi;*ii)X;)tl!)aMJilvi>^JtTO^^ 



Pencil Cedar Production 



When it is considered that approximately yi."),000,000 pencils are 

 manufactured in the United States annually, and that 20,000 cubic 

 feet of red cedar are consumed in their production per day, it is 

 no -wonder that pencil manufacturers are looking around rather 

 anxiously for means of perpetuating the supply of raw material. 

 The feature which has contributed more than any other toward 

 the present scarcity of the i)roper kind of wood is the tremendous 

 waste contingent upon the manufacture of pencils. They require 

 absolutely clear, straight-grained stock from the heart-wood, and 

 in order to secure this quality of wood, it is necessary to waste 

 an average of seventy per cent in cubic feet, or nearly ninety per 

 cent in weight. The refuse thus created has practically no value. 

 It is almost certain that some of the mills now in operation must 

 close down within a few years. 



While cedar is used as the raw material in a number of in- 

 dustries besides pencil manufacture, the prices which pencil fac- 

 tories are willing to pay to secure raw material is gradually divert- 

 ing the bulk of the red cedar output from those lines to the one 

 industry. 



In a recent bulletin on the subject, published by the Forest 

 Service, it is pointed out that two species of red cedar are used, 

 namely, the southern form, Juniperous harhadcnsis and the north- 

 ern forp», Juniperous virginiana. The only difference between 

 the two )■ in botanical characteristics. The commercial range of 

 red cedar extends, according to the booklet, from the Ohio river 

 on the north as far east as eastern Tennessee and central Georgia, 

 south to Tampa bay, and west to eastern Texas and western 

 Arkansas. 



The govertimcnt has recently been investigating the possibilities 

 of perpetuating the supply, and has compiled a number of tables 

 showing graphically the silvical characteristics of the tree. The 

 investigation covered reproductive features of the species and 

 the best condition under which red cedar can be grown from 

 natural seed regeneration and by planting. 



The greatest obstacle in the way of perpetuation of supply is 

 the fact that a large bulk of the red cedar holdings are in small 

 lots and private hands. The small owner is essentially, on account 

 of the relatively small importance of his cedar holdings, too much 

 engrossed in other atVairs to give his trees the rc(|uisitc attention. 



