STAVES FOR BARRELS. 599 



made of sawn staves are as durable as those made of split 

 ones. In other countries machines are used no longer for 

 cask -making, as they do not exclude subsequent manual labour 

 in finishing the casks. It is stated that, in America, beer- 

 barrels can be made of papier-mache, which material for 

 some time has been used for oil-barrels. 



2. Slack Barrels. 



Slack Barrels are used for non-spirituous liquids, etc., such 

 as those used for the transport of herrings and other sea-fish, 

 for living animals, for oil, bathing- and water-tubs, malting- 

 vats, milk-pails and a number of other articles. 



Herring-barrels were made formerly of inferior oakwood, 

 but more recently of beech, birch, alder, red pine and aspen- 

 wood. Large malting-vats, and other vats used in brewing, 

 are made of oakwood. Oil and petroleum casks are made 

 chiefiy of beechwood, but also of oak and chestnut-wood. 

 Other slack barrels are made almost exclusively of coniferous 

 wood, only smaller drinking-vessels being made of maple, 

 pear and cherry-wood, or in preference, of juniper or Cembran 

 pinewood. 



In splitting wood for staves for slack barrels methods are 

 followed similar to those already described ; the staves, how- 

 ever, are split usually along the annual rings, or made of good 

 sawn material. Freedom from knots, and straight fibre, are 

 here also the first conditions of suitability. 



3. Barrels for Dry Goods. 



Dry Goods Barrels are employed for storing and transport 

 of all kinds of wares, such as salt, colours, cement, gypsum, 

 sugar, currants, figs, butter, lard, chemical preparations, etc., 

 and are made usually of coniferous wood. Staves for these 

 barrels are seldom split, but are usually sawn pieces, J inch 

 thick, 2 to 5 inches broad and varying in length ; poles, 

 4 to 4 J inches in diameter at height of chest are used. Small- 

 sized beech logs are used in Hungary and North Germany for 

 barrels to contain currants, flour, and butter. 



Barrels for dry goods are made chiefly in factories, and 



