AMERICAN FORESTRY 



185 



HICKORY IN DEMAND 



Hickory timber, although held in seem- 

 ingly vast amount by the forests of the 

 country, may soon become insufficient to 

 meet American manufacturing and wood- 

 working needs. The increasing demand 

 for this valuable species, together with 

 the scattered character of its growth in 

 the forest, has resulted in merchantable 

 stands becoming more and more inacces- 

 sible and difficult to log. 



The Forest Service, United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, puts the coun- 

 try's present supply of hickory, distrib- 

 uted through 200,000,000 acres of for- 

 ests, at 15,784,000,000 board feet. Of this 

 the Central States have 6,791,000,000 

 feet, the lower Mississippi States 5,171,- 

 000,000 feet, the South Atlantic and East 

 Gulf States 3,183,000,000 feet, the Middle 

 Atlantic States, 412,000,000 board feet, 

 the Lake State 187,000,000 feet, and the 

 Xew England States 40,000,000 feet. 



One of the uses to which hickory is 

 put is in the manufacture of spokes for 

 automobile wheels. The yearly demand 

 upon the hickory reserves by this indus- 

 try alone is tremendous, as there is 

 much waste in getting the select stock 

 necessary not only for spokes but also 

 the rims of wheels. 



For the most part vehicle and agricul- 

 tural implement industries compete with 

 the handle industry for hickory and ash. 

 These are located mainly in the Middle 

 West, but now derive most of their wood 

 supplies from the South. A large number 

 of far-sighted organizations purchased 

 more or less extensive hardwood tracts 

 some years ago, from which they are now 

 able to draw at least a part of their wood 

 supplies. To secure hickory, which grows 

 scatteringly over large areas, the ve- 

 hicle and agricultural-implement indus- 

 tries originally maintained extensive 

 buying, logging, and milling organiza- 

 tions in the South. They draw upon 

 every conceivable source farmers wood- 

 lots, small mills, large sawmills, and 

 even specialized operations designed to 

 secure hickory alone. These concerns 

 in general carry in stock about a two 

 years' supply of special-dimension stock. 



Makers of automobile wheels say that 

 they can still get the material required 

 if they make sufficient effort and pay the 

 price, but it is necessary to go farther 

 and farther away for it. Many inquiries 

 received by the Forest Service from ve- 

 hicle implement makers, requesting in- 

 formation on possible substitutes for the 

 woods used in vehicle making, is merely 

 another indication of the difficulties in 

 getting adequate supplies at the present 

 time and of uncertainty as to the future. 



Hickory is often referred to as if it 

 were a single species, like red gum or 

 yellow poplar. In reality there are 10 

 different kinds of hickory trees. For 

 hickory-handle purposes those known as 

 true hickories are most valuable. The 

 pecan hickories include the water, nut- 

 meg, and bitter nut varieties. The true 

 hickories comprise shagbark, pig shell- 

 bark, pignut, and mocker nut. The han- 

 dle industry is largely dependent on this 

 last group of trees for its raw material. 



The annual consumption of hickory by 

 the handle trade is something over 120,- 

 000,000 feet board measure. Little, if 

 any, of this material passes through the 

 sawmtLls, for ft [ is ordinarily cut and 

 shipped to the handle factories in the 

 form of log bolts or billets. All hickories 

 do not give the same service when made 

 into handles. The various parts of the 

 same tree may show different properties, 

 and the quality of the wood near the 

 center is quite likely to differ from that 

 nearer the bark. 



The wood of the butt of a young 

 hickory tree is of greater average tough- 

 ness than it is when the tree is old. The 

 wood of butt cuts of both old and young 

 trees is tougher than that cut higher up 

 the trunk. The handle manufacturers, 

 for the most part, demand second-growth 

 hickory, which consists of young stock 

 of rapid growth. 



Hickory is the best known material 

 for certain classes of tool handles, such 

 as the ax, adz, pick, hammer, and hatchet. 

 There is a certain strength, toughness, and 

 elasticity to hickory which nature has de- 

 nied to other commercial woods. Some are 

 stronger, many are harder, but the rare 

 combination of the qualities mentioned 

 is lacking in all of them. 



The raw material for handles in the 

 form of short log bolts is sometimes split 

 into handle blanks in the woods, but the 

 usual practice is to rip-saw the bolts into 

 blanks at the factory. The split-handle 

 blank is considered superior to the sawed 

 blank in that it insures a straight-grain 

 handle. On the other hand, sawed blanks, 

 though they are likely co show more cross 

 grain, are more economical in the use of 

 timber. 



Hickory, due to its unrivaled properties 

 of great strength, elasticity and resilience, 

 is used almost exclusively in the manufac- 

 ture of handles for golf clubs. The con- 

 stantly increasing popularity of this sport 

 has placed another demand on the hickory 

 supply. 



Evergreen Memorials 



"After reading the October, November 

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Chas. L. Clark. 



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TREE EXPERTS 



Orchard Pruning, Tree Surgery 

 SHADE TREE PRUNING 

 Our Specialty. Advise us at once of 

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C. F. BAPTISTE, 

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