THE USES OF WOOD 



in their choice of something to whit- 

 tle, are not unreasonable in this de- 

 mand for a soft, brittle wood. Most 

 men enjoy whittling, and if the pen- 

 cil does not cut in a pleasing man- 

 ner, they feel that a cheap, inferior 

 article has been foisted on them, 

 and when they buy another pencil, 

 they will choose another brand. 

 When they finally try out a make 

 that cuts smoothly, has a pleasing 

 smell and a good" color, they buy 

 that brand in the future. Pencil 

 makers are aware how much their 

 sales depend on fad, fashion ana 

 prejudice, and they study the art of 

 pleasing. At the same time cheap 

 and inferior pencils are thrown on 

 the market to be bought by Tom, 

 Dick and Harry, who have no taste 

 and little discrimination and will 

 buy any sort of pencil that makes 

 a mark. 



Pencils have been made without 

 wood. The rod of graphite is en- 

 cased in paper. The claim is made 

 and is duly advertised that such 

 pencils can be sharpened without 

 the use of a knife or other ma- 

 chine, by simply unwrapping some 

 of the paper. Perhaps the fact is 

 not so extensively advertised as it 

 once was because it has been as- 

 certamed that people do not as a 

 general thing object to whittling a 

 pencil when they want a point on 

 It. If the rod of graphite in a paper 

 pencil is of good quality, the i)encil 

 should vvrite as well as one with 

 wooden stock; yet any one who 

 will observe the pencil user in busi- 

 ness will quickly see that the paper 

 article which needs no whittling, 

 and has no odor or color, is not 

 very popular. 



The fact that wood has so much 

 to do with the success and popu- 

 larity of a lead pencil, makes it easy 

 to understand why the search for 

 suitable stock has been so thorough. 

 By pretty general consent, the best 

 pencil cedar is admitted to grow in 

 certain regions only, sav from Vir- 

 ginia souf;hward. That does not 

 nnj)Iy that some good cedar does 

 not grow elsewhere, but the largest 

 supply of the best comes from very 

 hmited regions, particularly fnom 

 lennessee. Information long ago 

 became public that pencil makers 



153 



THE SOUTHERN PENCIL CEDAR 



Here is shown a fully matured red cedar 

 from North Carolina, the kind of which 

 lead pencils are made. Few of the pencil 

 cedars of that size and age remain stand- 

 ing, though they were once abundant 



were buying old fences of cedar rails, 

 barns, cabins, bridges, cribs and 

 other old cedar structures in Ten- 

 nessee, as well as such standing tim- 

 ber as was to be had. 



The soil and climate of Tennes- 

 see happen to be just right to pro- 

 duce large cedar trees, and the best 

 wood comes from such. But small 

 trunks which are knotty and fluted 

 do not offer much encouragement 

 to the pencil manufacturer. Per- 

 haps a larger number of cedar trees 

 are now standing in Texas than ever 

 stood in Tennessee, yet little pencil 

 stock ever comes out of Texas. The 

 trees are usually too small, knotty, 

 and with too little red heart. 



Southern red cedar is not the sole 

 pencil wood to be had in this coun- 

 try. In Florida some of the best 

 stock is cut from a species closely 

 related and called juniper or Barba- 

 does juniper (Juniperus harbaden- 

 sts). It has been pronounced to be 

 the equal of the regular pencil ce- 

 dar; but it is scarce, and is found 

 in certain restricted localities only. 

 P-etween the Rocky Mountains and 

 the Pacific Coast are several cedars 

 closely related to that of which pen- 

 cils are made, and their wood is be- 

 lieved to be in every way suitable 

 for pencils, but not much of it is 

 to be had. Trees are scarce and 

 scattered, and most of them are of 

 poor form and small size. 



The incense cedar of California 

 has met considerable use as pencil 

 wood in recent years, though the 

 claim has not been made that it is ^ 

 in all respects equal to the southern 

 red cedar. In one particular it 

 measures with or above the south- 

 ern tree, that is, the trunk is larger 

 and contains more clear heartwood, 

 notwithstanding the white sapwood 

 is relatively thick. The tree has 

 been called incense cedar, but the 

 name is not due to the smell of the. 

 wood, but to the odor of foliage and 

 green twigs. 



Pencil makers must handle much 

 wood that is not high class, notably 

 the sapwood and the billets which 

 contain flinty streaks. Such ma- 

 terial is usually thrown out in se- 

 lecting pencil stock. It may be 

 dyed and then made into cheap pen- 

 cils, or it may be manufactured into 



