32 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Jiiui' 'Ij. lUlS. 



Hardwoods for Smokiug Meat 



While there are no nvnilnlilo hIiHIkIIcs cf Uio lutnl ninuunt of wood 

 used aonunlly In (be I'Dlted States (or smoklni; ment. It probably exceeds 

 86,U0U cords. The amount used by the Dieutpacklni; esIabllKhments Is 

 known to be about .'iS.OUO cords. Jlore than twenly-Ove dllTerent kinds 

 of woods are consldiTed more or less suitable for the purpose, but the 

 most preferred Is hickory, which makes up nearly threo-llfths of the total. 

 Next In order Is maple, a very poor second, followed by miscellaneous 

 species of oaks, and by beech. Coniferous wootls are not f^ultable for 

 smoklni; meat because of the resinous fumes which laint the products. 



The Ideal meat-snioklni; wood should emit a ^reat volume of smoke with 

 little heat : Impart a pleasant flavor : give (he meat a bright, clear, yellow 

 color uniform over (he entire surface ; burn slowly and thus cure the 

 meat tborouEbly, and occasion the least possible amount of shrlnkaKC In 

 the meat. No wood fullllls all the requirements completely, but hickory 

 comes the nearest to doing so. In order to reduce the shrinkage of meat 

 during the curing process It Is a common practice to sprinkle the burning 

 wood with sawdus( which Increases the amount of smoke without In- 

 creasing the shrinkage, and at (he same (Ime prevents parllcles from 

 rising and Injuring (he taste and color of the products. 



Packers prefer cordwood split ln(o four-foot lengths and thoroughly 

 «easoned. Only a small amount of was(c Is employed for the purpose. 

 This Is particularly unfortunate In the case of so valuable a wood os 

 nlckory where a large amount of waste occurs In manufacture. It Is from 

 the cull and slab pile, from tops, defective and Inferior kinds of hickory 

 (such as pecan) that wood for meat-smoking should come, leaving the 

 high-grade material for the exacting uses for which there are no satis- 

 factory substitutes. 



Black Forest Log Chutes 



There appears to lie a chance for e.vcHcinent t»ccasluiKilly in (lerman 

 logging operations. 



On some of the mountains in the BInck Forest, where timber is cut at 

 a very high nitilude and has to be conveyed down to the hard roads 

 In the valleys below, it is a common practice to employ timber slides for 

 (he purpose. They are all made of local timber, and where the trees 

 are sent down the chutes are so constructed that the timber roaches the 

 ground at a comparoliveiy slow rate and without injury. But where 

 these slides are provided for the purpose of getting down the logs cut 

 up for pulpwood purposes, and where no damage to the wood can occur, 

 the main thing in (he luislness is to send the logs as quickly ns possible. 

 For this purpose the slide Is constructed .lust as strongly, and the main 

 principle is to reduce the friction as much as possible. One such chute 

 conveyed logs from a heivht of about 1,!)00 feet. It was constructed in 

 a direct line up tlit mountain side, of a snfllciint width and depth to keep 

 the logs within it. and at the bottom the slide ran down to the level 

 and (hen was slightly raised, with a sheet of metal at the end where the 

 principal wear and tear came. Some idea of the force with which these 

 logs come down may be gathered from the fact that when they arrive 

 at (he foot of the slide they usually take a leap of some thirty to thirty- 

 five feet, and in some cases, after ricocheting, travel that same distance 

 again before coming to a standstill. Every time a foot passenger or 

 vehicle approaches a warning is given with a horn which stops the delivery, 

 and after the road is cleared a shout is suflicient to intimate that the 

 process can be continued. 



It is interesting to note that the time from the shout which announces 

 that the road Is clear until the arrival of the first log averages twenty 

 seconds, which probably means that the log's journey down the slide 

 takes some fifteen or sixteen seconds. 



Oldest Woodworking Machine 



The London Timber Trade Journal says that the lathe was undoubtedly 

 the "oldest form of machine for working wood, its invention being 

 attributed to Talus about 1240 B. C. The earliest form was probably 

 the pole lathe, in which the stick of wood was suspended on two centres. 

 and the power applied directly to it. the cutting tool being broughc in 

 contact with the rotating wood. The Tarpathians are said to have used 

 from ancient times a pole and treadle lathe, in which the work was 

 suspended on centres between two trees or uprights, and was rotated 

 by a cord which connected the end of a spring pole with a treadle, the 

 cutting chisel being arranged to rest on a bar." 



It depends upon what is meant by "machines' as to whether 1210 B. C. 

 can be placed as the earliest date for their use. Egyptian coffins, from 

 one to two thousand years earlier than that, show the marks of saws, 

 boring apparatus of some kind, and the use of dowels. Marks of planes 

 are also visible. However, the boring may have been done with sand 

 and a revolving stick, and the planing may have been done witii a 

 rubbing stone. 



Wood Used in Bread Making 

 Some French bakers have been experimenting with wood flour instead 

 of wheat flour for ycist in baking bread, with results which are said to 

 be satisfactory. The flour of ground wood is somewhat cheaper than 

 that of wheat, and it is said to possess certain other advantages, but 

 also some disadvantages. The wood article Is more easily contaminated 

 by microbes than the other, unless the wood is fresh and is ground to 

 flour under sanitary conditions. Beech and Cottonwood are reported to 

 have given the best results in Europe. No one claims that the wood 

 possesses any food value. It is used only for yeast. 



Oums and Beslns 



Trees are the most Important source of gums and resins. The varloui 

 products of turpentine from pine trees and camphor from the camphor 

 tree are well known. Many others are not so well known, though widely 

 used for a few purposes. The jiupidar notion that costly resins come 

 from semi-desert regions Is due to the fact that some wiilch have been 

 longest known are producls of trees and plants which thrive best In hot. 

 dry countries. Frankincense, which is frequenlly referred to in (he writ- 

 ings of the ancient Jews, Is b<ileved to be ldi>nlical with a gum now 

 obtained in southern Arabia and In llritlsh Somnlilatul. It Is now known 

 as olibnnum and Is derived from a balsamic tree (lloawcltia catlirii). 

 The gum has been In the marki-t for ,'1,U0U years. (Jum arable, gum myrrb 

 and gum benjamin come from .\rabta. Gums very similar are produced 

 in the Soudan, Africa. They llnd luie of their best markets In the L'nitcd 

 S(ates. For some years there has been sharp cotnpetltlon between the 

 .\rabs and Soudanese to secure the American market. The Soudanese 

 thus far have iK-en most successful In selling their wares. 



Frankincense Is still used, as it was .'1,000 yi'ars ago, In religious cere- 

 monies ; but it has a more modern use as a disinfectant. There are three 

 or four grades, ranging In price from about three to seven cents a pound. 



Gum arable is the product of a locust tree (.tcocfo scitcijal) wblcb 

 grows In eastern Africa, Arabia and India. The highest grades of thil 

 gum are used in the manufacture of candy, and lower graibs are used 

 in making mucilage. Tin- best quality comes from the Soudan. The 

 prices in the countries where It Is produced range from three to ten ccnta 

 a pound. 



Gum myrrh Is a basis in perfumery. It Is a resin produced by a shrub 

 (Balsatnodcndron mt/rrlin) which grows in Arabia. Prices range from 

 eleven to thirteen cents a pound in the region where It Is produced. It 

 bos been on article of commerce for thousands of years. 



Gum benjamin, also an Arabian product. Is procured from the benzoin 

 tree (Styrax benzoin), which seems to be closely related to the red gum 

 tree of this country. 



Allanttaus for Excelsior 



The allanthus tree was brought to this country from Asia for orna- 

 mental purposes, and it liked tlic climate so well that It is running 

 wild in various localities. It grows rapidly, produces soft, white wood, 

 and flourishes in different kinds of soil, but does best in fertile land. 

 In a few Instances boxes have been made of the wood, but It possessea 

 no properties particularly recommending it for that use. The tree seems 

 to he fairly abundant in some parts of Indiana, and concerns In that 

 state are experimenting with it to ascertain its value for excelsior. 

 The state forestry board is making a study of the allanthus and com- 

 paring its rate of growih with other trees. It is said to grow four times 

 as rapidly as white ash. 'I'rees reach diameters of a foot in twenty- 

 five years, on soil so thin that many other kinds of trees will do no 

 good in it. Its ability to grow in poor ground Is being turned to account 

 in some parts of Indiana where denude<i bills have washed badly. All- 

 anthus takes root there, fixes the soil, prevents washing, and in course of 

 time it may be expected to restore fertility. If experiments now under 

 way prove that the wood can be profitably manufactured Into excelsior, 

 it will open the way to derive profit from many poor tracts wiicre all- 

 anthus will be the best crop. 



Seasoning Furniture Wood in Germany 

 Beech is a common fiiriillure wooil in Germany and the better grade 

 of logs are sawed through and through and the planks of each log kept 

 together. One or two slabs are first removed and the planks or boards 

 are taken off one at a time and laid down in the order in which they 

 grew. Strips are placed at the ends and in the middle of long pieces to 

 allow the air to (ireulate. Sometimes the material is placed in the open 

 and sometimes in airy sheds. In the former case it is customary to 

 fasten strips or cleats across the ends to prevent undue checking and 

 splitting. The planks are left with waney edge until they reach the 

 factory, thus permitting the greatest possible economy in working them 

 up. This method allows uniformity in the choice of woods which would 

 not be possible where the stock is cut into squares at the mill and sold In 

 indiscriminate mixture. 



America as a Shipowner 

 The lamentations so frequently heard concerning the poverty of the 

 Vnited States In ships have been somewhat overdone. Great Britain 

 alone excepted, the Fnited States has more tonnage in ships than any 

 other nation in the world. That includes shipping of all descriptions. 

 The third nation in tlie world list is Norway. It has a ton of shipping 

 for every man, woman and child in the country, and no other nation 

 has a higher pro rata. 



Uses of Beech in England 

 English and American bee. lies are not the same botanlcally, but the 

 woods of the two trees are so nearly alike that the differences are few. 

 In England 2.000,000 chairs a year are made of beech, and other articles 

 produced in large quantity are brush backs, malt shovels, spindles, shuttles 

 for cotton mills, shoe lasts, children's spades, hoops, and golf club heads. 

 In that country beech forestry is highly profitable. The tree reproduces 

 freely from seeds and sprouts. It is supposed that the beech tree was 

 not growing in England two thousand years ago, because Caesar did not 

 mention it there when he wrote his "Commentaries," though he mentioned 

 almost everything else. 



