COMMERCIAL USES OF TULIP OR YELLOW POPLAR 



839 



YELLOW POPLAR USED IN AN ORGAN FACTORY 



In this industry woods which are least liable to warp are desired and for this reason yellow poplar is highly prized for use in the manufacture of 

 wind chests, bellows and other similar parts. The steadily advancing price is, however, compelling manufacturers to look for a satisfactory 

 substitute. 



was preferred for this trade, because it left no taint on 

 the enclosed articles. Confectioners continue its use for 

 candy boxes, and it is a substitute for expensive cedar 

 in cigar boxes. It is in demand for pyrography, and toy 

 and novelty makers draw largely upon it for sleds, 

 wagons, blocks, houses, games, and similar things for 

 children, and for such useful articles as broom handles 

 and small kitchen and pantry utensils, and for fruit and 

 berry crates and baskets. 



Most wagon beds were formerly made of it, and many 

 still are, in spite of increased cost. A difference of eight 

 or ten dollars a thousand feet is paid for poplar for that 

 purpose. It does not easily warp or split, and is light, 

 with good painting qualities just what is wanted for 

 wagon bodies. In laboratory tests of woods for this use, 

 yellow poplar is taken as the basis of comparison for 

 cross-breaking, abrasion, shearing and end-compression. 

 In this line, cottonwood is the poplar's closest competitor, 

 not because it is as good, but because it is fairly good and 

 is cheaper. For small panel work, poplar's closest com- 

 petitors are buckeye, gum and basswood. Boat building 

 formerly absorbed much poplar, but less now, because of 

 increased cost. 



It has long been a favorite material for furniture, 

 though for highest grades it is not in the same class 

 with mahogany, cherry, walnut and maple. Its paint- 

 holding qualities, and the polish which may be given it, 

 have led to its use in imitation of more costly woods, 



and the width of clear stuff which poplar supplies gives it 

 an advantage in furniture making. Billiard table makers 

 use some of the best. The list of articles of furniture 

 and finish into which it enters would include almost every 

 piece in a well-furnished residence, school, office, or 

 church, including chairs, mantels, benches, desks, tables, 

 bedsteads, pianos, organs, bookshelves, trunks, molding, 

 paneling, porchwork, turned posts, columns, shelves and 

 many more. In some of these it is the outside exposed 

 material which receives the polish or paint ; in others 

 it is the framework over which other woods are laid. 

 It is an excellent backing for veneer, because it retains its 

 shape and holds glue well, and is also an excellent veneer 

 in the highest grade work, such as the interior of palace 

 cars and steamers. Broad, thin panels are bent to the 

 required form. They are sometimes made up of two or 

 three layers glued together, and occasionally are 2 feet 

 wide, or more. Bent poplar has been much used for 

 finish in circular rooms. Manufacturers claim that the 

 best grades for fine veneering and finish come from West 

 Virginia. The sap is thinner and the grain finer than in 

 poplar farther south. 



The pattern maker bases his preference for poplar 

 upon its easy-working properties, and its rigidity. 

 Cheaper woods have not lessened its use for that pur- 

 pose. The coffin and casket makers, too, are slow to 

 adopt substitutes for it in their trade, and the excelsior 

 maker finds it good material in his line. 



