THE USES OF WOOD 



477 



country's shingles and the industry is concentrated in a 

 few regions which manufacture the bulk of the shingles. 

 The state of Washington meets two-thirds of the whole 

 demand of the United States, while Louisiana, which is 

 the second state in the production of this commodity, 

 furnishes only six per cent of the whole. White pine 

 formerly held a high place in this industry, but this wood 

 is no longer important as shingle timber. Cheaper species 

 have taken its 

 place, particu- 

 1 a r 1 y western 

 red cedar which 

 now furnishes 

 from seventy to 

 eighty per cent 

 of the coun- 

 try's shingles. 

 In this indus- 

 try, western red 

 cedar is of 

 more import- 

 ance than all 

 other woods 

 combined. Dur- 

 ability and 

 cheapness are 

 the factors 

 which have giv- 

 en it that com- 

 manding place. 

 It has taken 

 the trade away 

 from white 

 pine, but the 

 same processes 

 of manufacture 

 are not in use 

 now as in the 

 palmy days of 

 the white pine 

 shingle. The 

 old shingle 

 makers who 

 plied their 

 trade with froe 

 a n d drawing 

 knife valued 

 white pine 

 above all other 

 woods because 

 of its fine split- 

 t i n g qualities 

 and its soft- 

 ness. It was not considered orthodox among shavers of 

 white pine shingles to have any sapwood appear on the 

 finished product, and all such was religiously split from 

 the bolts with axes before the man with the froe began to 

 rive the slivers of wood and hand them over to the man 

 with the drawing knife at the shaving horse. 



CARRYING A CEDAR LOG THROUGH THE AIR 



Here is shown a stage in the work of making shingles. A steam skidder is carrying a log out of the 

 woods and delivering it to the railroad which will convey_ it to the shingle null. Nothing is done by 

 hand that machines can do better and more quickly. 



Roofs made of sawed lumber have always been in 

 use in this country, but they have usually been regarded 

 as makeshifts. They are cheaper than shingles and are 

 more quickly put on. Such a roof may be made water- 

 proof, but often it leaks through knot holes, or through 

 cracks due to the seasoning of the wood. If the sawed 

 boards are laid in two courses, or double, the boards do 

 not dry quickly after a rain, and within a few years de- 

 cay is likely to 

 soften the 

 wood and per- 

 mit rainwater 

 to soak through. 

 The roof planks 

 may be laid on 

 in one of three 

 ways : up and 

 down from 

 eaves to comb, 

 parallel with 

 the rafters ; or 

 they may be 

 put on parallel 

 with the eaves, 

 each board 

 overlapping the 

 edge of the one 

 next below ; or, 

 the boards are 

 laid diagonally. 

 The last meth- 

 od is by most 

 builders con- 

 sidered the best 

 of the three, 

 because the 

 water has two 

 lines of flow. It 

 can follow the 

 grain of the 

 wood, length- 

 wise with the 

 board, or it 

 may take a di- 

 rect course to- 

 ward the eaves ; 

 and in neither 

 case is it liable 

 to find its way 

 through where 

 the edges of 

 the boards 

 overlap. 



The hardest argument that the advocates of wooden 

 roofs have to meet, relates to the fire peril. That danger 

 is considerable, but it is not quite so great as it has been 

 represented to be by those who argue against the use of 

 shingles. Interests which deal with roofing material 

 other than wood have seen to it that the fire peril has 



The scene is near Clear Lake, Washington. 



