AMERICAN FOREST TREES 519 



It is recorded that the "small wheel" of the pioneer cabins was 

 occasionally made of persimmon wood. The wheel so designated was 

 the machine on which wool and flax were spun by the people in their 

 homes. Spinning wheels were of two kinds, one large, with the operator 

 walking to and fro, the other small, with the operator sitting. It was 

 the small wheel which was sometimes made of persimmon. There is 

 no apparent reason why it should have been made of that wood in prefer- 

 ence to any one of a dozen others. 



The demand for persimmon in a serious way began with its use as 

 shuttles in textile factories. Weavers had made shuttles of it for home 

 use on hand looms for many years before the demand came from power 

 looms where the shuttles were thrown to and fro by machinery. Up to 

 some thirty years ago, shuttles for factories were generally made of 

 Turkish boxwood, but the supply fell short and the advance in price 

 caused a search for substitutes. Two satisfactory shuttlewoods were 

 found in this country, persimmon and dogwood. The demand came 

 not only from textile mills in America but from those of Europe. The 

 manufacture of shuttle blocks became an industry of considerable 

 importance. 



Persimmon wood is suitable for shuttles because it wears smooth, 

 is hard, strong, tough, and of proper weight. Most woods that have 

 been tried for this article fail on account of splintering, splitting, quickly 

 wearing out, or wearing rough. The shuttle is not regarded as satis- 

 factory unless it stands 1,000 hours of actual work. Some woods which 

 are satisfactory for many other purposes will not last an hour as a 

 shuttle. 



The manufacture of shuttles, after the square has been roughed out, 

 requires twenty-two operations. Probably more shuttlewood comes 

 from Arkansas than from any other section, though a dozen or more 

 states contribute persimmon. The total sawmill cut of this wood in the 

 United States is about 2,500,000 feet, but this does not include that 

 which never passes through a sawmill. 



The wood has other uses. It has lately met demand from manu- 

 facturers of golf heads. Skewers are made of it in North Carolina, and 

 billiard cues and mallets in Massachusetts. 



The heartwood is dark and shuttle makers and golfhead manu- 

 facturers will not have it. Until recently it was customary to throw it 

 away, because no sale for it could be found. It is now known to be 

 suitable for parquet flooring and for brush backs, and the demand for 

 the heartwood is as reliable as for the sap wood. A little of the dark 

 wood is cut in veneer and is employed in panel work, and other is used 

 in turnery. 



