THE USES OF WOOD 



1211 



CARVED HEAD OF AN OVAL CASK 



California wine makers take much pride in their oval casks which are 

 of large size and great strength. The carving on the one here shown is 

 a work of art. It is in the cellar of the Beringer Brothers, St. Helena, 

 California. It was on exhibition at the San Francisco world's fair. 

 Photograph by H. F. Stoll, secretary of the California Grape Protective 

 Association. 



to view whenever a prospective buyer appeared, and 

 afterwards replace the staves and put on new hoops. 



The hoop pole business was once active in nearly all 

 the eastern and middle western communities, and the 

 name "Hooppole" is carried by more than one county to 

 perpetuate the memory of an early flourishing business 



A TYPICAL MOUNTAIN STAVE MILL 



Small plants like the one here featured are located near the source of 

 timber supply, and after working up what is in easy reach, move on to 

 another location and there repeat the process. The bolts are usually split 

 in the woods and hauled by teams, or on cheap tramways, to the mill 

 that saws the staves. It is an Arkansas scene. 



in this branch of cooperage. A number of woods, be- 

 sides birch and hickory, are good for hoop poles. 



Extensive use is made of barrels and kegs as shipping 

 containers, and in some places they compete with boxes 

 while in others they hold the field to themselves. The 

 life of a barrel is put down at one year by the trade, but 

 that is not enough. A majority of barrels are used many 

 times. They begin as sugar or flour barrels, and are then 

 sold to the farmer for shipping his produce to market. It 



may be said that they are returned to him several times, 

 carrying potatoes to the market on the first trip, and 

 tobacco or lettuce on the next, each cargo being lighter in 

 weight than the previous one, owing to the weakened 

 condition of the barrel. Finally the barrel may serve 

 out its life work as a trash receptacle, and in the end can 

 be used for fuel. Thus it may be said that a barrel fills* 



HOUSE MADE OF BARRELS 



Empty barrels may serve purposes never meant by the makers. Above 

 is a picture of a human abode constructed of barrels, near Evanston, 

 Illinois. It was occupied by junk dealers as a home during several 

 months, including winter weather when the thermometer fell to 19 below 

 zero. Tarred paper served as a roof and a stove furnished heat. 



as useful a career as almost any other manufactured 

 article, and its life is much longer than a season. 



The demand for barrels is constantly growing, because 

 modern machinery has made it possible to make them for 

 the trade cheaper than almost any other form of durable 

 package. That it is the most convenient form of pack- 

 age' has long been acknowledged. 



The heaviest demand comes from the cement business, 

 and flour ranks next, closely followed by sugar and salt. 



WHY BARRELS OF WHITE OAK DO NOT LEAK 



Alcoholic liquors seep through the staves of most woods but not those of 

 white oak, because its pores are plugged by a growth called tylosis. 

 The above picture is from a highly magnified photograph of this growth 

 in process of plugging white oak pores, preparing the wood for "tight 

 cooperage." The illustration is by Miss Eloise Gerry in the Journal of 

 Agricultural Research. 



