HARDWOOD RECORD 



33 



cent for wooden bnxos anil 9.4 per cent for 

 fiber. 



All fiber board does not compete with wood 

 in box making. Data collected dnring this 

 investigation showed that while 110,000 tons 

 were made into box boards, 314,000 Ions were 

 intendC'l for other juirjioscs. Book binders 

 demand largo (luanlities for backs of ledgers, 

 blankbooks, edition work, check books and 

 tablet backs, while printers use much in card 

 and sign printing, builders for lining and roof- 

 ing papers, and the makers of small, light car- 

 tons and boxes use large ()nantities. 



Shipments in Fiber Boxes 

 Railroads accept for shipment by freight 

 any commodity packed in liber boxes, if they 

 will accept it packed in wood, provided the 

 regulation sizes and weights are not exceeded. 

 No such regulation is insisted upon for wooden 

 boxes. The makers of fiber containers claim 

 that contents are as well protected as in wood, 

 so far as breakage is concerned, and point to 

 the long and varied list of commodities tliat 

 go to market in fiber containers. Among such 

 arc lamps, globes, dishes, glassware, inchiding 

 jars and bottles; light hardware and tinware, 

 electrical apparatus, dry paints, novelties, toys, 

 clothing, shoes, millinery supplies, books, sta- 

 tionery, and foodstuffs of almost all kinds, 

 including especiall.y crackers, biscuits, dried 

 fruits and confectionery. A claim put forfh 

 by fiber box makers, and insisted upon as of 

 great importance, is that articles of food 

 shipped in fiber absorb no taste or odor from 

 tlie box. 



The wooden and the fiber box each has a 

 field which it will, apparently, be able to hold 

 against the others ; but there is another field 

 Avhere comp'=tition between them is keen. When 

 the article to be shipped is heavy, and the 

 container must be of large size, a strong 

 wooden box is necessary. Truck gardeners, 

 and provision markets wliich ship wet or damp 

 commodities, do not make much use of fiber 

 containers. In the rivalry for business be- 

 tween the makers of the two kinds of boxes, 

 each has not hesitated to point out the ad- 

 \antages of his own and the alleged disad- 

 vantages in his rival 's wares. A summary of 

 these, from the viewpoint of each, may be 

 given. The maker of the W'Ooden box main- 

 tains that his is more economical because it 

 may be used again and again, and when be- 

 yond further use as a box, it still has some 

 value as short lumber, or kindling wood. The 

 maker of the fiber box answers by pointing 

 lo the fact that his product may be repulped 

 and remade as often as it comes back to the 

 mill. The manufacturer of the wooden box 

 insists that his can be more cheaply handled, 

 because it may be grappled with hooks, and 

 can resist hard knocks which tear or crush the 

 fiber container. The maker of the latter ad- 

 mits that it must not be handled with hooks, 

 and that violent falls or bumps may stove it 

 in; but he has at his disposal figures from 

 transportation companies, and wholesale mer- 

 chants, showing that fiber boxes, because of 

 their lightness and regular sizes, may be han- 

 dled at less cost than wooden boxes. He does 

 not admit, however, that a box made of wood 

 can be depended upon to sustain a fall with 

 less in.jury than a fiber box, and points to in- 

 stances when the wooden box has split open 

 and the fiber box has remained unbroken, 

 when both were submitted to similar usage. 

 AYhcn boxes are pile>l higli, and the lower tiers 

 by accident become wet, as in case of flood, 

 the fiber containers will crush and let the 

 upper tiers down; but boxes of wood will 

 continue to sustain the weight, and only the 

 contents of the lower boxes will be damaged. 

 The manufacturers of fiber boxes maintain 

 that fewer thefts occur from their containers 

 in transit and in warehouses than from wooden 

 cases, becaiise theirs are sealed and can not 

 be opened and closed again without leaving 



the thief's mark, while a board may be pried 

 from a wooden box and nailed again and tho 

 theft will remain undiscovered until the box 

 reaches its destination. The wooden box 

 maker, as an offset to this, asserts that the 

 fiber container suffers as much damage and 

 loss from rats, which easily gnaw into it, as 

 the wooden package suffers from thieves who 

 pry boards oil and nail them on again. 

 Summary 



1. It is im{)ossible to compare tho cost of 

 fiber and wooden boxes, except in the most 

 general way, because^ all fiber boxes do not 

 cost alike nor do all wooden. The average 

 cost of those ol' fiber is considerably under 

 those of wood, 10 per cent or more in most 

 cases. The maker of wooden boxes admits 

 that the cheapness of fiber is the most stub- 

 l)orn factor in the competition, and declares 

 that it has done more than anything else to 

 advance the fiber box to its present place. 



2. Statistics indicate that of the whole 

 quantity of boxes made in the United States 

 — based on the surface measure of the mate- 

 rial of which they are made — approximately 

 iiO.6 per cent are wood and 9.4 per cent fiber. 

 A comparison of the amount of lumber re- 

 ported for boxes by the box manufacturers 

 in 1907 for the whole country, and the quan- 

 tity calculated two years later after a careful 

 canvass of six states, indicates that the wooden 

 box is not quite holding its ground. This 

 conclusion, however, is true only if the six 

 states, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Caro- 

 lina, Kentucky, Illinois and Wisconsin — con- 

 taining about one-fifth of the whole popula- 

 tion, show the correct average pro rata use of 

 box lumber for the whole country, and if the 

 estimate of box lumber in 1907 was correct. 



3. Competition between wood and fiber for 

 l)ox material is active for rather small boxes 

 only, and for those where extra strength is not 

 demanded. Those of large size, or for very 

 heavy articles, are of wood, except in a few- 

 instances where reinforced fiber is used. 



4. Fiber board may shed water well for a 

 time, but it can not stand as much as wood, 

 and w'hen boxes are liable to a penetrating 

 dampness, wood is the better material. This 

 is particularly true when the lower tier is sub- 

 ject to the weight of those piled above. 



5. When food products are packed in boxes 

 it is often of importance that no odor or taste 

 be absorbed from the container. Some woods 

 meet that requirement, while others do not, but 

 fiber boxes are unobjectionable. 



6. Theft from boxes in transit is said to be 

 more frequent for wooden boxes than for fiber, 

 but the gnawing by rats in warehouses is much 

 more injurious when the latter boxes are used. 



7. Both wooden and fiber boxes are made 



largely of waste material — the former of low- 

 grade lumber for which there is small demand 

 elsewhere, and the latter from old papers, 

 straw, lope and screenings, w-hich otherwise 

 would have small sale. A little excellent wood 

 pulp goes into fiber boxes and some high-grade 

 lumber is used in making boxes of wood. 



8. The w-ooden box may be used several 

 times and at last be converted into kindling 

 wood. The fiber boxes are repulped again and 

 again to be made each time into new con- 

 tainers, 



9. The prospect is good that material for 

 the making of both kinds of boxes will be 

 adequate to meet the demand for many years 

 to come. High-grade lumber may run short 

 when forests have been culled to meet trade 

 requirements, but boxes are not made of that 

 hind of lumber, but of the poorer sorts which 

 are now jilentiful and promise to remain so. 

 'J'he situation in Massachusetts is an instruc- 

 tive example of how the demand for box lum- 

 ber is met in a state whose primeval forests 

 were cut long ago. In that state a total of 

 351,000,000 feet of box lumber is required 

 yearly, and white pine supplies 263,000,000 

 feet of it. Practicallj' every tree of this is 

 second growth — that is, young trees w-hich 

 iiave grown since the old forests were cut. 

 There is no reason to suppose that the annual 

 cut of white pine in Massachusetts will ever 

 be any smaller than it is now, and it will all 

 come from w-oodlots and forests of second 

 growth that are cared for and protected. 

 Trees need not be left to grow large before 

 they are good for box lumber. Other states 

 may do as well as Massachusetts in this re- 

 spect, and may be depended unon to do it, 

 v.hen the demand comes. A few Mississippi 

 Valley states, by putting their waste land to 

 that purpose, could gi-ow enough cottonwood to 

 supply the Unittu States with boxes. 



The makers of fiber boxes arc in no more 

 peril of shortage in raw material. There is no 

 want now, and the harvest of old papers, jute, 

 s(rcenings, straw and similar commodities 

 ])romises future abundance. A promising field 

 for enormous increase in supplies for this in- 

 dustry iias not yet been drawn upon. It may 

 l)c had b.y pulping the wood wasted at saw-- 

 mills and in the forests — -waste that is not now- 

 used for anything. It is not believed that any 

 mechanical obstacles lie in the way, the chief 

 difficulty being the fact that such waste is 

 scattered, and the cost of collecting it must be 

 considerable. There are enormous quantities 

 of fiber plants that are available as soon as 

 the demand comes, and the price will .justify 

 manufacture. Among such are cornstalks, 

 coarse reeds, grasses, tules and perhaps cotton 

 .stalks and cotton waste. 



Hardwood Record Mail Bag 



Seeks Quarter-Sawed Ash 



New York, Dec. -. Editor H.vROWooD Recoud : 

 Will you kindly £iu-nish us with the names of 

 manufacturers who are able to supply quarter- 

 sawed ash? The Inform.ition will be greatly ap- 

 preciated. 



Company. 



Tlio above communication is from a leading 

 N'ew Vork jobbing house, and it has been sup- 

 )ilied with the names of several ash producers. 

 If anyone, making a specialty of quarter-sawed 

 ash is interested in this company's require- 

 ments, will advise, tho Record wOl be very 

 glad to supply the address.- — Editor. 



Seeks White Maple Parquetry Flooring 

 Strips 



Amsterdam. Nov. 21. -Editor HabdwOod Rec- 

 oup : Can you give us the name of a reliable 

 shipper of n-hlte maple parquetry flooring strips, 

 ?," wide. !)" long and iy>" thick, planted, 



longued and grooved, ready for laying and with 

 boles lor secret nailing? We require 20.000 

 square feet for prompt shipment, c. i. t. Rotter- 

 dam. 



Company. 



The above letter is from a leading lumber 

 concern at Amsterdam, and the writer has 

 been supplied with a list of leading maple 

 flooring manufacturers of the country. Any 

 others interested in this inquiry can have the 

 address on application. — Editor. 



Wants Tupelo Gtun in the Log or Bolt 

 Toronto. Can., Dec. 1.— Editor n.\nDW00D 

 Recokd ; Can you give us the address of lumber 

 manufacturers who will supply u."; with white 

 gum In logs or blocks, such as is sold to car- 

 riage and wagon makers for the manufacture of 

 hubs? 



& Co. 



The above communication is from a leading 



