MASSACHUSETTS WOOD-USING INDUSTRIES. 9 



by the fact that the present cut of this wood greatly exceeds the com- 

 bined cut of all others in the State. Manufacturers last year used 

 133,276,000 feet of home-grown white pine, and only 33,172,923 

 feet of all the other State-grown species, 4 to 1 in favor of white 

 pine. Yet Massachusetts is not now producing half the pine de- 

 manded by home factories. Fifty-six per cent, of the total quantity 

 conies from other States, some of it from as far west as Michigan. 

 Large areas of vigorous young growth are coming on, and, with better 

 protection from fire than formerly, there is promise of substantial 

 gain. 



The State grows only two woods in sufficient amounts to supply its 

 manufacturers, and these are little-used species, yellow oak and 

 applewood. Pitch pine makes the next nearest approach to supply- 

 ing the home market, and falls 17 per cent, short. But this is not an 

 important wood ; rated by quantity, it is twentieth on the list. 



The amount of black walnut reported is disappointing, and of 

 the small quantity used the State grows only 1 per cent., less than 

 8,000 feet. It was once a popular wood for furniture, but available 

 statistics indicate that Massachusetts now puts more of it into brush 

 backs than into furniture. Its principal uses now are for musical 

 instruments and gun stocks. 



INDUSTRIES. 



The articles made wholly or partly of wood are so many that a 

 complete list is practically impossible, but a general division into 

 industries is practicable. It becomes necessary, however, to decide 

 somewhat arbitrarily at times as to the divisions in which certain 

 commodities belong, and under what industry a certain manufacturer 

 should be placed. For example, the distinction between " finish " 

 and " fixtures " is clear enough at times, and at times not ; and the 

 dividing line between other industries is occasionally obscure. It is 

 necessary, however, if figures are to be presented and useful com- 

 parisons made, that the division of the whole into separate parts must 

 be insisted upon. 



In the present study the wood manufacturers of Massachusetts 

 have been listed under twenty heads, the twentieth being " miscel- 

 laneous," which includes everything not clearly belonging elsewhere. 

 Care was exercised to make the divisions as distinct as possible, but 

 doubts as to the proper listing of a commodity were not always cleared 

 away. Table 2 names the industries, and likewise shows the average 



