264 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



white elm i^ employed in small quantities only. It i- 

 probable, therefore, that the wood was more important 

 in boat and ship building a century or more ago than it is 

 now. 



COOPERAGE 

 White elm is one of the most important slack cooper- 

 age woods of this country and it has long held that place. 



Tim judd ELM 



This elm on West Main Street. New Britain, Conn., was planted by 

 Morton Judd in 1822 and the bronze tablet on it notes the fact. 

 About 5 feet from the ground it measures JO feet iO l /i inches in 

 circumference and its spread is 10.' feet. A nephew of Morton 

 Judd occupies the house in front of which the tree is planted. 



Vessels belonging in this class of cooperage are intended 

 for commodities other than liquids, and the number of 

 such commodities is very large. Flour, sugar, and 

 cement are among the most important. Formerly flour 

 barrels were made of red oak to the exclusion of most 

 other woods. Then Cottonwood came into use in regions 

 where it was abundant, but white elm later became the 

 prevailing material, and it still holds that place, but is 

 manufactured into barrels of many other kinds. It meets 

 practically every requirement of the slack cooperage 

 industry. It is tough, light, cheap, and possesses the 

 necessary strength. The wood is easy to season and is 

 not difficult to work. It is employed not only as staves 

 but also as heading and hoops. It was one of the first 

 woods utilized in making flat hoops in large numbers. 



Elm staves are produced in a score of states, and the 

 Dumber in 1910 was 130,374,000. Red gum, pine, and 

 beech were above it, and all other species were below. 

 Michigan led all the other states in quantity, and was 

 followed, in the order named, by .Missouri, Indiana, Illi- 

 nois, and Arkansas. The output is declining, and this is 

 apparently due to lessening supply of elm timber near 

 the centers of stave manufacture. 



Elm not only leads all other woods in the production 

 of hoops, but it exceeds twenty-fold all other woods com- 

 bined. Elm, therefore, becomes practically the only hoop 

 wood in the country. There is an apparent tendency to 

 fall off in number, but the loss in elm is not made good 

 by increase in the output of any other woods. The sub- 

 stitution of wire and other metal hoops accounts for the 

 decline in wood. The elm hoops reported in 1910 num- 

 bered 283,029,000 and Ohio ranked first in production, 

 followed in the order named by Michigan, Missouri and 

 Indiana. 



Though red gum is the leading stave wood for sugar 

 barrels, white elm is important; and it is likewise im- 

 portant in the manufacture of apple barrels, butter tubs, 

 candy pails, and buckets for tobacco. Pails and tubs are 

 usually listed as woodenware, but they are none the less 

 in the cooperage class. Many sizes of vessels are made 

 other than those of regular barrel dimensions. 



FURNITURE 



Elm does 

 not hold 

 a place of 

 first import- 

 ance as a fur- 

 niture wood, 

 yet it is use- 

 ful in the man- 

 ufacture of 

 a number 

 of commodi- 

 ties. It was 

 not much used 

 for furniture 

 making in 

 early times, as 

 it was sel- 

 dom mention- 

 ed. Such was 

 naturally the 

 case, for bet- 

 ter woods 

 were plentiful 

 in all regions 

 where elm 

 abounded, and 

 it found 

 place only 

 after others 

 that had been 

 preferred be- 



Photograph by J. R. Simmons. 



THE CENTER OF MASSACHUSETTS 



This elm, near Paxton, Worcester County, Mass., 

 marks the exact center of the State. The cir- 

 cumference is 14 feet 8 inches and the spread 

 before the removal of the largest branches was 

 85 feet. The tree, like many famous elms in 

 New England is entering the last stages of 

 old age and decay. 





