USE OF THE FOREST 149 



timber, chiefly lumber for flooring, decking, and the fin- 

 ishing of cabins, etc., is still used ; and occasionally crews 

 of ship carpenters go inland to hew out a few sets of 

 timbers. 



Cooperage and Wagon Stock. — The fine grades of white- 

 oak staves and headino-s for the manufacture of barrels 

 for liquids, and also white-oak and hickory spokes and 

 fellies used in wheels of wagons and buggies are split out 

 of large, sound timber, mostly butt cuts, and many farmers 

 and other people are engaged every year in this kind of 

 work. Though the prices are usually good, this industry 

 is apt to be very wasteful, since so many logs do not split 

 well enough and are, therefore, left unused. Like the tan- 

 bark man, the cooperage and spoke man should be com- 

 bined with the lumberman, so that all the logs unfit for 

 staves or spokes may be sawed into boards and planks. 



Besides the fine barrels and casks for coal oil, turpen- 

 tine, wine, etc., the cooper also makes barrels for sugar, 

 apples, flour, cement, lime, salt, and other dry materials. 

 These barrels are called slack barrels; the staves are 

 sawed, and of late years shaved off with large machines. 



Nearly all kinds of timber, but particularly elm, red 

 oak, ash, beech, birch, and maple for staves, and bass- 

 wood and poplar for the headings, are used in this indus- 

 try. The logs or bolts are brought to the mills by farmers 

 and others and sold by the cord. The logs should be 

 over ten inches in diameter and should be two or three 



