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Musical Instrument Exports -XiV 



The export of pianos, organs, and otber musical instruments to for- 

 eign countries for the United States makes a creditable showing. 

 Instruments go to every important country in the world. Persons who 

 suppose the American instruments have no foothold in European coun- 

 tries should revise their conclusions. Last year manufacturers in the 

 United States shipped 7,608 pianos to various parts of the world and 

 Europe took 1,631 of them. Italy was the largest purchaser, I'inland 

 second, Germany third and Franco fourth on the continent; but Eng- 

 land bought more than all the rest of Europe combined. The sales 

 of piano players were likewise large in Europe. 



Canada is the largest purchaser of musical instruments niadi> in the 

 United States, and Mexico is next after England, but Cuba comes 

 pretty close to Mexico. Brazil is the largest buyer in South America, 

 followed by Argentina, with Uruguay third. Panama purchased more 

 of our pianos than all the rest of Central America together. Egypt 

 bought more than all the rest of Africa. Australia and T;ismania 

 are large purchasers of American pianos, but they buy far more ex- 

 tensively from Germany. All Asia buys only seventy-four pianos from 

 the United States, and Africa but tliirty. 



Our export of organs in 1913 amounted to 5,729 instruments, and 

 nearly half of them went to England. Next to England, Germany 

 ■was the largest purchaser, and the Netherlands third. Scotland was a 

 large buyer. The whole continent of South America, with Mexico 

 and Central America added, did not buy as many American organs 

 as the little state of I'anama. This gives a hint of what would prob- 

 ably happen if a little more Anglo-Saxon enterprise could gain a 

 foothold in Spanish-America. 



The total value of all musical instruments and supplies exported 

 from the United States in 1913 was $.5,851,610. That represents an 

 increase of exactly 200 per cent over the exports in 1909, a period of 

 four years. 



FiGUKEs ON Manufacture 

 The latest complete figures on the manufacture of nmsical instru- 

 ments are for the year 1909. It is known that an increase has taken 

 place since but it can not L-e stated how great the increase is. 



In that year there were 294 piano factories in the United States, 86 

 organ factories, and 127 factories which made parts of instruments 

 only. 



The piano factories employed 28,415 persons; 2,754 made organs, 

 and 10,713 were engaged in manufacturing parts. 

 These establishments use 41,623 horsepower. 



The piano factories are capitalized at $81,544,094, the organ fac- 

 tories at $4,553,609, and the factories which make parts at $17,136,598. 

 Expenses, including salaries, wages, and services, amount to $59,833,- 

 694 a year for the pianos, $4,097,384 for the org.ans, and $16,819,447 

 for the parts. 



The piano makers pay $32,818,770 for materials, organ makers pay 

 $1,722,923, and the part makers pay $9,223,044. Other expenses add 

 about one-fourtli as much more. 



The output of the piano factories is valued at $66,569,273, organs 

 $4,745,655, and of parts $18,474,616. The total is $89,789,544. 



The value added by manufacturing — that is, over and above the 

 raw material — is $33,750,503 for pianos, $3,022,732 for organs, and 

 for parts $9,257,572. 



Rank by States 

 New York leads all other states in the manufacture of pianos and 

 organs, judged by the value of output, the persons employed, and estab- 

 lishments. Rated by the number of establishments only, the following 

 table shows the rank of the leading states: 



State EatatHshments 



New York 184 



Illinois 68 



Massachusetts 59 



Ohio 30 



Pennsylvania 30 



New Jersey 18 



Connecticut 17 



Michigan 17 



—28— 



Indiana 15 



Wisconsin 11 



California 11 



Maryland 7 



Kentucky 



Minnesota 5 



Iowa 4 



VernioDt 4 



Maine 3 



All others 18 



Total 509 



In 1909 there were 365,413 pianos manufactured in the United 

 States, and of these 330,918 were uprights. Of the 509 establishments 

 manufacturing instruments, ten exceeded a business of $1,000,000 

 each. 



Other Musical Instruments 



There are many mus?cal instruments other than organs and pianos, 

 but is is not practicable to enter much into details of their manu- 

 facture and export, because of the manner in which statistics are kept. 

 Most of the figures concerning manufacture are four years old, having 

 been compiled in 1909 ; but the export statistics are for 1913. 



Last year 1,258 piano players, valued at $287,720, were exported 

 from the United States, and 1,374 player pianos, worth $388,293. 



The exports of phonographs and supplies were worth $2,805,978, 

 and all other musical instrument exports were valued at $754,099. 



There are in this country 187 establishments which make musical 

 instruments other than pianos and organs, and New Jersey leads all of 

 the other states in capital invested and value of products. For the 

 whole country the persons engaged in the industry number 2,268; capi- 

 tal, $3,297,669; expenses per year, $2,647,477; value of products, 

 $3,228,108. 



Demand for Wood 



The manufacturers of musical instruments in the United States re- 

 port the use of forty-one woods to the amount of 260,000,000 feet a 

 year. Only ten industries of the country use more. Maple leads all 

 others in amount and its annual total is 4.'3,482,775 feet. Yellow poplar 

 is second in quantity with 5,000,000 feet a year less. Chestnut stands 

 third with 38,000,000 feet, with spruce fourth at 29,000,000 feet. 

 Much of the spruce is made into sounding boards. Following are the 

 musical instrument woods of the United States, arranged in the order 

 of importance, from those demanded in largest amount to the least: 



Maple, yellow poplar, chestnut, spruce, oak, elm, birch, basswood, 

 white pine, red gum, mahogany, black walnut, beech, ash, cottonwood, 

 yellow pine, sugar pine, hemlock, Douglas fir, tupelo, cherry, sycamore, 

 redwood, Circassian walnut, balsam fir, butternut, West Indies box- 

 wood, cypress, ebony, rosewood, cedar, Spanish cedar, buckeye, satin- 

 wood, prima vera, holly, eucalyptus, camphorwood, tulip wood, hickory, 

 Turkish boxwood. The woods in the above list which follow sugar 

 pine are used in amounts less than one million feet each a year. 



Cherry is the wood most used as a backing for the metal plates from 

 which illustrations are printed in magazines and periodicals. It is 

 chosen above all others because it holds its shape, does not warp or 

 twist, works smoothly and docs not split. 



Two governors, those of Oregon and Massachusetts, have suspended 

 the hunting season this year because of increased danger of forest 

 fires wlien the woods were exceptionally dry. 



The position of city forester is now offering a new field for men 

 with a technical training in forestry. Fitchburg, Mass., is one of 

 tlie latest towns to secure an official of this sort. 



Because of extreme drouth, the fire risks on the national forests 

 in the Northwest have been greater this season than in any other 

 since 1910, the worst year since the forests were created. Much less 

 damage was done this year because experience in fire fighting was 

 gained in the fires of 1910. 



