110 



lighter weight than ordinary solid trunk box material it is also more sub- 

 stantial and, therefore, in most cases, does not require slat reinforcement. 

 The trunk maker does not buy veneer and make panels. He buys panels 

 already glued together in various thicknesses according to his varied needs. 

 Red gum appears in the table in only small quantities. In other states the 

 demand for it for trunks seems to be increasing and, like cottonwood, is 

 purchased mostly in the form of built-up lumber. 



White pine is a favorite wood for trunks made of solid lumber. It is 

 purchased surfaced two sides and edged in thicknesses ranging from f inches 

 to | inches according to the size and purpose for which the trunk is designed. 

 In quantity the Pennsylvania trunk makers demanded white pine next to 

 basswood. In the country at large loblolly pine is probably called on for 

 solid trunk boxes ahead of any other wood. Lumber from second growth 

 trees is preferred because of the large proportion of sapwood, its freedom 

 from pitch, its light color and light weight. It goes for making the cheaper 

 grades. As little of the wood is visible in the finished product, being covered 

 with leather, cloth, and metal, the figure or color of the wood is not 

 essential. 



To save weight, a light wood, cut as thin as the maximum stress will 

 allow, is demanded for trays and inside compartments. Basswood met the 

 largest part of the demand in Pennsylvania while in other states yellow 

 poplar, cotton gum, buckeye, and cottonwood were the species principally 

 employed. 



Table 67. Wood for Trunks and Valises, year ending June, 1912. 



BRUSHES. 



Pennsylvania surpasses all other states in the production of brush blocks 

 and for their manufacture the factories consume over four million feet of 

 wood annually. Of this material the forests of the state furnished over 93 

 per cent, of the total, a fact which should appeal to this class of manufac- 

 turers when giving consideration to the source of future supply of raw ma- 

 terial and what measures are to be taken when the present timber stand is 

 gone. Each kind of the almost multitudinous variety of brushes that are 

 manufactured requires a block of special size and shape, and a wood pos- 



