OUTLOOK FOR FUTURE SUPPLY. 59 



position of the tree; the second lies in the hands of the forest owners, 

 and will consist in the proper care of the tree in the forests with a 

 consequent increase in the quantity and betterment of the quality 

 of the crop. User and producer must act together, for without a 

 reduction of waste there will be too severe a tax on the hickory 

 resources to produce enough timber even with special attention given 

 to the production of a greater supply. Without an improvement in 

 the economic position of the tree, no attention will be paid to the 

 production of new supplies, and hickory will still be cut out to make 

 room for faster-growing trees. The problem therefore lies primarily 

 in the hands of the hickory users, and it will be necessary to secure 

 closer cooperation among them through such organizations, for 

 instance, as the National Hickory Association. 



ECONOMIC MEANS. 



For the prevention of waste, the following recommendations are 

 made: 



1. Grading rules should be revised to stop unjust discrimination 

 against heartwood and birdpecks. This will do away with most of 

 the waste, and if such new rules are put in operation and made 

 effective, they should reduce the annual cut at least 15 per cent. 

 Fortunately, steps have already been taken toward this end by the 

 National Hickory Association. 



2. Overproduction should be prevented, because hickory wood is 

 so quickly attacked by borers that material which is not immediately 

 disposed of is almost invariably subject to heavy loss. Manufactur- 

 ers' associations have already taken some action along this line. 



3. There should be less specialization in the manufacture of hickory. 

 For instance, skewers, small handles, and dowel pins could and should 

 be manufactured only as by-products in the making of spokes, ax 

 handles, rims, and shafts, and spokes and handles can be made in 

 connection with rim or pole and shaft operations. This will not 

 only permit a closer utilization of material at the mill but will make 

 it possible to utilize more closely in the woods. Economy of this 

 sort* is now practiced by many companies, but it should be carried 

 much further. The best example of the wastefulness of the present 

 methods is the riving out of spoke billets and handle blanks in the 

 woods. The superior quality of rived billets and spokes is due 

 largely to the fact that only the best material is taken and the rest 

 is left or, perhaps, sold as firewood. Sawing should be substituted 

 for riving, because, by sawing, many more often twice as many 

 spokes and handles can be gotten out, and much of the present waste 

 can be utilized for hammer and hatchet handles, skewers, dowel 

 pins, and other uses. 



