THE STORY OF HEMLOCK 



585 



"ANCIENT OF DAYS," A HEMLOCK BARN 104 YEARS OLD. 



It was built on the Ernest Mathews Farm, Wolcott, N. Y., in 1810. The frame is beech, the roof boards 

 and siding hemlock. The present roof is of hemlock shingles laid 20 years ago. The building has 

 never been painted, and its state of preservation is apparent in the picture. 



livered at the factories after all freight 

 and handling charges have been paid. 



The woods whiteness is one of its 

 chief recommendations to box makers, 

 for painting, printing, and stenciling 

 show finely on the finished box. This 

 property is desired by shippers who 

 place their advertisements on the ship- 

 ping containers which carry their prod- 

 ucts to market. 



The builders of machines find this 

 wood well fitted for the sills, frames, 

 foundations and other wooden parts. 

 Beams of considerable size are in de- 

 mand when heavy machines are being 

 built and installed in flour mills, saw- 

 mills, shingle mills, mining operations 

 and in similar places. Hemlock is stiff, 

 strong, and is sufficiently resistant to 

 decay. 



It is not customary to think of hem- 

 lock as having much of a place in the 

 business of manufacturing coffins and 

 caskets, yet statistics prove that it is 

 regularly employed in a number of 

 States. It has two principal places to 

 fill. The largest quantity is worked 

 into the outer boxes in which the cas- 



kets are placed. It is a fact that more 

 wood is needed for the rough burial 

 box than for the casket itself. This 

 was one of the first places, after farm 

 uses, where hemlock began to displace 

 white pine. In some localities hemlock 

 is the leading wood in the manufacture 

 of burial boxes. 



It is coming into considerable use in 

 the making of the casket itself. It is 

 cut with veneer for cross-banding, and 

 when employed in that capacity it is not 

 visible in the finished article, but is con- 

 cealed by the veneers of cabinet woods, 

 like oak, walnut, and mahogany, which 

 are glued upon it to form the outer and 

 visible part. More frequently, perhaps, 

 hemlock casket stock is seasoned lum- 

 ber upon which the veneers are glued. 

 It holds the glue well, and warping and 

 shrinking give little trouble. 



The use of this wood on the farm, 

 for buildings, fences, and the like, has 

 been mentioned ; and while that is 

 doubtless the largest place filled by it in 

 connection with agricultural operations, 

 it is in demand by the manufacturers of 

 farm implements. It is so reported in 



