26 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



pense of the alley. Steel clamps, similar to 

 those used in the approach, are employed 

 here to insure greater strength and firm- 

 ness. 



The usual method of installing alleys is 

 to ship the strips previously manufactured 

 directly from the factory to the place of 

 installation, trained mechanics being em- 

 ployed by the alley company to perform 

 the work. 



SECTION OF BED. SHOWING TONGUE AND 



GROOVE CONSTRUCTION AND 



METAL CLAMP 



All material for gutters or troughs at 

 either side of the bed is cut to proper di- 

 mensions and prepared. It consists of white- 

 wood and pine strips put in proper shape so 

 that no difiSculty whatever is experienced 

 in placing them in position. Before laying 

 the gutters are grooved and kept in a mold 

 from one to six months. 

 The balls are made of 

 one piece, lignumvitae be- 

 ing commonly used. It 

 is readily understood why 

 exceptionally hard wood 

 is necessary for bowling 

 balls. Wood in this con- 

 struction is being super- 

 seded by a composition 

 that is known as "min- 

 eralite." Balls made of 

 this material are claimed 

 to be faster and harder, 

 and in many ways give 

 more satisfaction. It is 

 said that they last prac- 

 tically forever. 



The pins are made of 

 absolutely clear maple. 

 After felling, the trees 

 are cut into blocks of ap- 

 proximate dimensions of 

 .jx.5xl8 inches, in which 

 shape they are seasoned 

 before manufacture. After being shipped 

 to the factory they are roughly shaped down 

 preparatory to being subjected to the same 

 re-seasoning process which all the other ma- 

 terial undergoes, and are then turned to the 

 required shape. Experiments have been made 

 from time to time with a view to the sub- 

 stitution of some other material or com- 

 position for maple in the construction of 

 bowling pins. As yet nothing has been 

 discovered which will even approach it in 

 this line of manufacture. Special lathes 

 are used in turning out the pins. 



After installing, the alleys as well as the 

 pins, balls and other accessories are finished 

 with shellac and enamel polish, the only 



method which seems capable of giving the 

 required smoothness. Maple seems to be 

 the only hardwood which will take and hold 

 a proper finish, although experiments in this 

 line have been made with various other 

 woods, such as oak. In using enamel and 

 shellac the natural color of the wood is 

 preserved. 



Only young or slow growth of maple an- 

 swers the requirements of manufacturers 

 of alleys, and it is always cut according to 

 the grain, a method necessitated by the 

 manner in which the strips are laid. In 

 the case of balls and pins the cuts are at 

 right angles to the grain, or through the 

 heart of the tree, this being necessary to 

 get the strongest possible fiber. 



Before re-drying in the factory kilns, all 

 stock is carefully examined and is placed 

 on small shelves, which allows of a com- 

 plete circulation of air and hence more 

 thorough seasoning. Xotwithstanding the 

 fact that lignumvitae is of exceptional 

 hardness, particular care is taken in season- 

 ing. With the increasing use of "mineral- 

 its ' ' balls the abandonment of lignumvitae 

 for the manufacture of bowling balls is 

 probably a matter of the near future. 



THOUSANDS OF TEN PINS IN THE ROUGH BEFORE 



SEASONING IN THE KILNS OP THE BRUNSWICK- 



BALKE-COLLENDER CO., CADILLAC, MICH. 



Teak Forests of Siam 



Vice-Consul-General Carl C. Hansen of Bang- 

 kok has prepared the following account of the 

 management and production of the teak forests 

 of Siam ; 



The total export of teak from the port of 

 Bangkok, Siam, for the year ended March 31. 

 1009. amounted to 7,693,037 tons, valued at 

 .?4,259,907, being a decrease of $546,358 as 

 compared with the previous year. The great 

 teak forests of Siam are in Payap, or northern 

 Siam, and in the upper parts of the Nakonsavan 

 and Pitsanuloke provinces. The survey of these 

 forests was begun in 1907 and is not yet fin- 

 ished. Britain has two consular officers stationed 

 in northern Siam to care for her commercial in- 

 terests there, which chiefly consist in teak 

 forests. One of these officers states : 



The teak industry in northern Siam is prac- 



tically monopolized by European firms. The in- 

 terests concerned are four British firms and one 

 Danish firm. A French firm also obtained a 

 concession early in 1909, but does not appear 

 to have yet started operations. The forests that 

 are leased or owned fay Laos and Burmans are 

 in almost every case worked under some form of 

 contract or agreement with one or other of the 

 live firms referred to. The actual amount of 

 teak delivered at Kado, the Salween duty sta- 

 tion for Siam teak, exceeded the deliveries of 

 1907 by 1,925 cubic tons, and of the five-yearly 

 average by 1,387 cubic tons, though the value of 

 the timber shows a decrease in both cases of 

 .$10,000 and $4,280, respectively. This may be 

 accounted for by the presence of a larger per- 

 centage of small wood than formerly, and also 

 possibly by the general depression of trade. Ow- 

 ing to an exceptionally good floating season the 

 number of logs that passed the duty station at 

 Paknampho greatly exceeded tlie deliveries of 

 the previous year. The official returns for the 

 year ended March 31, 1909. show a total of 

 121,367 logs. 



These valuable teak forests arc now under 

 the supervision of a well-organized forestry de- 

 partment, based on the India-Burmese system, 

 witii trained European officers in charge, and the 

 former wholesale denudation of the teak forests 

 is prevented. Only trees of 76.5 inches girth 

 can now be girdled or barked near the ground, 

 which causes them to die, and a certain num- 

 Ijcr of trees must be left untouched within a 

 given area to seed the ground for the future. 



After being girdled the tree soon dies, and is 

 Ii'ft standing, to season, for about two years, is 

 then cut down, dragged by olophants or buf- 

 faloes to the nearest stream and floated to Bang- 

 kok or Moulmain, according to the location of the 

 forest. The teak industry forms one of the 

 most important resources of the country, and 

 thousands of people are engaged In cutting, 

 linuling and rafting the teak logs to the Bang- 

 l<ok market and sawmills. Teak wood ranks 

 .second in the exports from Siam. The revenue 

 from royally on teak and other wood was esti- 

 mated at $412,943 for the year ended March 

 31, 1909. 



The world's supply of teak comes from Siam, 

 Burma, India and Java. Teali wood is not 

 attacked by the "white ant,*' which is so 

 destructive to other wood in the tropics, and 

 teak is thus largely used in Siam for the build- 

 ing of the better class of wooden houses. The 

 main uses of teak wood are for the shipbuild- 

 iug. furniture and rolling-stock industries, as 

 aside from other qualities, such as hardness and 

 durability, it contains an oil which prevents the 

 rusting of iron or steel imbedded in It, and 

 therefore makes it especially useful for these 

 purposes. 



The teak tree (Tcctona grandis) is not found 

 in Siam in the forests composed of its kind 

 alone, but grows scattered among trees of many 

 other species at an elevation not exceeding 2,500 

 I'ect, and prefers the hillsides and comparatively 

 dry land in districts where the average annual 

 lainfall does not exceed 50 inches. 



The direct exports of teak to the United 

 States from January to October, 1909. amounted 

 to $5,610. In Germany, Great Britain and 

 other countries large quantities of teak are used 

 for naval construction. 



Forestry in Siam is by no means limited to 

 teak, as many other valuable woods are found 

 in the extensive forests, both in the north and 

 in the south of Siam. An English company has 

 lately taken over a concession for the working 

 of some of these forests In the province of 

 Siracha. but this industry has hardly been 

 touched yet. The total value of the export of 

 wood, outside of teak, amounted to only $60,727 

 for last year. Among the woods other than 

 teak may be mentioned "padoo." a valuable fur- 

 niture wood, ebony, rose, iron and box wood, 

 and many others, the value and use of which has 

 not yet been ascertained. 



