USES OF WOOD. 



81 



shrinks less than any other pine; it is durable, insect proof, and suited to a much greater 

 number of uses than the wood of other pine... / 



The following table exhibits the position of White Pine as to weight and strength: 



Weight and strength of White Pine compared with other pines. 



Of the several columns, that on specific weight being at once the simplest and most truly 

 representative of the entire stem of mature timber, illustrates probably the relative position of 

 these five pines most perfectly. The Southern pines, if only the saw timber is considered, will 

 prove even heavier and stronger by several per cent than appears from this table. 



USES OF WHITE PINE. 



There is no wood in the United States, perhaps in the world, of which there is a greater 

 quantity used, nor one which is put to a greater variety of uses thau that of the White Pine. At 

 present the great mass of White Pine, probably not less than 95 per cent of the entire output, is 

 cut into even lengths, usually 12 to 18 feet long, preferably 16 feet (full 75 per cent being 16 feet), 

 and is converted principally into boards, plank, and " dimension stuff," 1 to 4 inches thick and 

 4 inches and upward in width, the widths varying always by an even number of inches. 



In all the better mills the slabs are cut into laths, pickets, etc., while the thickest slabs and 

 the sound portions of very defective logs are cut into shingles. JPhese " shingle cants "are of 

 variable sizes, usually containing knots and decayed portions; these defects in the shingle are 

 cut out subsequently by the knot sawyers . y Shingles of regular widths are rarely made. In the 

 sawing of the great mass of lumber the main saw merely cuts slices of various thicknesses from N 

 the logs, and their conversion into certain widths, as well as the removal of uneven edges, is left 

 to the edger, on whose knowledge and skill much of the success of the mill depends^ftlsually' 

 the clear stuff, whenever possible, is left in broad and thick planks; the rest is cut into different 

 widths so as to insure the greatest value, in most cases boards of extra width and select boards, 

 for siding, etc., receiving preference and determining the conversion. The clear stuff, or "uppers," 

 rarely forming over 15 per cent of the cut in our times, are used by manufacturers of sash, doors, 

 and blinds, and by furniture men, and the most select portions by model makers and other special 

 manaEggturers where the price of the material is of secondary cnnsidera{jmi^jTnrTTin.tf-ria,l of this \ \\ 

 ] kind the consumer generally pays over $50 per 1,000 feet B. M.. and in some cases it is retailed at 

 over $100^ Of the remainder, the great mass is used in the construction of frame houses, where~~ 

 commonly everything of wood, from cellar to roof, is made of this material. Of the inferior 

 grades, enormous quantities are used for boxes, and much also is used as fencing and barn lumber. 



For box shocks, straight-stave cooperage, pails, tubs, etc., a great deal of small sapling pine 

 is employed. Smaller quantities of better-grade White Pine are used in mill constructions (for 

 chutes, elevators, etc.):, also in the manufacture of farm implements, for large surfaces, panelwork, 

 etcT, and in boat and ship building for decking, in fitting up cabins, for all kinds of spars, where 

 its lightness, stiffness, and durability, together with its tine form and dimensions, render it a 

 special favorite. 



Considerable quantities of hewn and round timbers are still brought to market for export, 

 but on the whole this trade is insignificant when compared to the entire output. 



White Pine is universally seasoned in the yard ; most of the lumber does not reach the consumer 

 until a year after manufacture. The ease of working induces the consumers to do a great deal of 

 20233 No. 22 6 





