THE STORY OF HEMLOCK 



583 



AN ORDERLY HEMLOCK LUMBER YARD. 



The boards are well piled, assuring that they will air season without warp, curve, split or twist. Care 

 in manufacturing and handling has been largely responsible for the popularity of hemlock lumber 

 The user gets it in good shape. 



not always a criterion, or even an index, 

 of its uses everywhere ; but when the 

 region so selected is large and repre- 

 sentative, it should serve as a reliable 

 guide. If Ohio is chosen it makes a good 

 showing. It is not a hemlock State, but 

 lies near enough to the regions where 

 this timber grows to draw freely from 

 it, and to provide a good market. The 

 following table outlines the market for 

 hemlock in Ohio : 



Feet Used 

 Industry. Annually. 



Planing mill products 13,675,000 



Boxes and crates 1,267,175 



Machine construction 260,000 



Caskets and coffins 250,000 



Agricultural implements... 207,000 



Furniture 202,000 



Ship building 100,000 



Car building and repairs. . . 65,789 



Musical instruments 48,000 



Patterns and flasks for foun- 

 dries 30,000 



Doors and blinds 30,000 



Tanks and silos. 30,000 



Total. 16,164,964 



Each of the foregoing items repre- 

 sents many uses for hemlock. Planing 

 mill products, for example, include 

 ceiling, siding, flooring, and many kinds 

 of interior and exterior finish. This 

 class of articles consist of lumber 

 which has passed through a planer and 

 is ready for use without further work, 

 except such cutting and fitting as car- 

 penters give. It is stuff that is made 

 for the general market, and not for 

 some particular job, and is not made 

 according to some contractor's specifica- 

 tions. The planing mill which turns out 

 flooring, ceiling, and siding is often 

 operated in connection with the saw- 

 mill which cuts the rough lumber ; in 

 fact, the two mills are not infrequently 

 under the same roof. The planing is 

 done primarily to fit the stock for mar- 

 ket, but the matter of lessening freight 

 on the shipments is also duly consid- 

 ered. The shavings removed from such 

 stock decreases the shipping weight sev- 

 eral hundred pounds on a thousand feet. 

 That item is worth saving ; for the stock 

 must be dressed before it can be used. 



