602 INDUSTRIAL USES OF WOOD. 



The pieces used for the purpose are 6 to 15 feet long, 4 to 5 

 inches broad at the flat end, and 2J inches to 3 inches square 

 at the other end. 



Large spars also, to stretch the large nets used by English 

 fishing-boats, may be included here. The wood used is in 

 round or split pieces of slender ash-stems 24 to 30 feet long, 

 and 7 to 8 inches in diameter at the top. Oars for light river 

 boats are made of split sprucewood of best quality. 



3. Broad split Pieces. 



Thin pieces of wood are used for making boxes, sheaths for 

 swords or knives, by the bookbinder, shoemaker, etc. ; they are 

 chiefly of coniferous wood (spruce), but also wood of beech, 

 aspen, and birch is used. They are split out of butts, or straight- 

 fibred split billets. These pieces are made by planing-machines 

 worked by water-power, the planes being fixed and the wood 

 pushed against them. Sapwood of beech is split into sheathes 

 for swords and hunting knives. 



Wood-Tapestry of the thickness of ordinary paper is used 

 for coating the walls of rooms, up to three feet broad and 60 

 to 100 feet long, it is prepared from the wood of all species of 

 trees. This is obtained by supporting the butt on a special 

 kind of turning-lathe, and revolving it against a blade which 

 is constantly pressed further forwards as it peels off the peri- 

 phery of the butt. The same machine may be used for making 

 veneer. 



Straight-grained sprucewood also is split and used for 

 making plaited wooden baskets, which are exported in large 

 numbers from the Erzgebirge. The wood of aspen and lime 

 also is used similarly. In order to prepare the wood for this 

 purpose, it is soaked thoroughly in water and cat into bars, 

 which are split into thin pieces along each of the annual 

 rings. These pieces are extremely flexible. 



Sprucewood is used also for sieve-frames and cheese-moulds, 

 the wood for which is separated from ordinary split billets with 

 the cooper's divider and afterwards planed with the same 

 instrument. These pieces are made in different dimensions, 

 their length being measured in hands (4 inches) : thus there 



