THE ST. LOUIS LUMBERMAN. 



75 



cost more than one hundred dollars per 1,000 feet, 

 and four others cost fifty or more. The average 

 cost of the furniture woods In Missouri was $27.05, 

 but the fixtures woods was $37.24. Generally, the 

 manufacturer of fixtures demands pieces of larger 

 size than those going to the furniture factory; and 

 it holds true in most cases that the larger the piece 

 of wood demanded the higher the price will be per 

 1,000 feet. To this fact more than to any other is 

 due the greater cost of fixture material. Nearly 

 nine-tenths of the wood consumed by this industry 

 grew outside of Missouri. That was scarcely to 

 have been expected. Only twelve of the twenty-eight 

 species grew even in part in the State. Douglas fir 

 and redwood came from the Pacific Coast; three 

 species, Circassian walnut, satinwood, and mahog- 

 any were imported from foreign countries; and not 

 one was furnished entirely by Missouri. 



The use of sassafras as backing, or core wood, for 

 veneers is particularly mentioned with approval by 

 a manufacturer. It is light and retains its form 

 in a satisfactory manner under climatic changes. 

 Soft maple likewise receives commendation as a core 

 material when employed in fixtures of large size 

 where wood is put to severe test. Another place 

 where soft maple comes up to expectation is in 

 shelving where tendency to warp or twist would 

 be a serious defect. Sycamore and cottonwood 

 serve with it and with equal satisfaction. 



Results are rather disappointing in the utiliza- 

 tion of waste in this industry. One manufacturer 

 works sweet birch scraps into flatiron handles, and 

 another makes fish bobs of small pieces of redwood. 



FIXTURES. 



Less than 1/100 of 1 per cent. 



Caskets and Coffins. 



The mahogany used in Missouri in the manu- 

 facture of coffins and caskets is of lower price 

 than that demanded by any other industry in the 

 State. Some of it is choice material, but in the 

 making of caskets it is practicable to use what is 

 known Commercially as "wormy mahogany." This 

 is employed in the manufacture of casket shells 

 and burial boxes. It is as sound as any, so far as 

 decay is concerned, but it is perforated with small 

 holes ranging from the size of a pin to a lead 

 pencil. The holes are the work of the teredo or 

 ship worm, and represent a period in the mahogany 

 log's history, on its way from forest to factory, 

 during which it was submerged for a consider- 

 able time in brackish water somewhere in the 

 tropics and was subject to the attack of the de- 

 structive teredo. The mahogany is often cut into 

 logs somewhere in the interior of Mexico or Cen- 

 tral America, floated down the rivers to the sea 

 and is there loaded on ships for northern markets. 

 The worm gets in its work while the logs lie in 

 salt water. The perforated mahogany is similar in 

 appearance to "sound wormy" chestnut, which is 

 a common form of that wood which is used for 

 many purposes. The wormy mahogany is cheaper 

 than sound wood, but for certain purposes it is as 

 good. 



Cypress is used in Missouri for coffins to a 

 greater extent than any other wood. It is hand- 

 some, long-lasting, and cheap. California redwood, 

 which is also of remarkable lasting properties, 

 is working its way into this industry, though at 

 the present time it is in less demand than any 

 other of the ten species shown in Table X. Red 

 cedar holds a place of considerable importance 

 and next to mahogany it is the costliest wood de- 

 manded by the casket makers in the State. It 

 has always been a favorite material for this pur- 

 pose and formerly, when it was less expensive, the 

 demand was greater. It resists moisture, is light, 

 and is handsome in appearance. The red cedar 

 coffin material in Missouri is imported from Ten- 

 nessee, though cedar grows in Missouri. Red gum 

 is more prominent in cheap coffins than in ex- 

 pensive kinds. A large amount of pine is listed 

 In the table which shows statistics of the indus- 

 try. Most of this is manufactured into burial 

 boxes in which the coffins are placed. The same 



article serves, on occasion, for a shipping box. 

 The wood demanded in second largest amount is 

 chestnut. It is not produced in Missouri, but is 

 imported from West Virginia and eastern Ken- 

 tucky. There is no special reason why chestnut 

 should be so largely employed in this industry. 

 It is serviceable and satisfactory, but so are many 

 other woods. Custom has adopted chestnut and 

 manufacturers meet this demand. It is made into 

 burial boxes as well as caskets, and the same 

 is true of cypress, red cedar and several other 

 woods. Only two of the woods listed are pro- 

 duced in part in Missouri red oak and short-leaf 

 pine and they in small quantity. 



CASKETS AND COFFINS. 



seldom exceeding a quarter of an inch, and the 

 veneer is glued upon it before the box is made 

 up. Sometimes the box is lined with veneer and 

 the outside is left uncovered. In that case the 

 cedar veneer is placed to give odor, called "bou- 

 quet," to the cigars. If the veneer is on the out- 

 side of the box also, the purpose is to give the 

 box the appearance of being solid cedar. In many 

 instances the surface of the box, sometimes the 

 outside, sometimes the inside, or both out and 

 in, is covered with handsomely colored litho- 

 graphs. In that case the cedar veneer may be 

 dispensed with. 

 The Spanish cedar employed in this industry 



TABLE x. 



Totals - - 7,698,622 



Cigar Boxes. 



100.00 



* 19.99 



Total 

 cost 

 f. o. b. 

 factory 

 $ 65,999 

 45,344 

 14,500 

 11,900 

 7,400 

 4,783 

 1,824 

 900 

 660 

 550 



i 153,860 



Grown In 

 Missouri 

 feet 

 B. M. 



280,000 



20,000 



300,000 



Grown out 

 of Missouri 

 feet 

 B. M. 

 3,670,294 

 2,148,535 

 570,000 

 600,000 

 285,000 

 78,725 

 21,068 



isTooo 



10,000 

 7,398,622 



Table XI presents statistics of cigar-box manu- 

 facture in Missouri. Seven woods are in demand, 



TABLE IX. 



Average 



cost 



per 



1000 ft. 

 $ 19.83 

 54.14 

 21.52 

 47.42 

 25.01 

 44.04 

 38.29 

 18.89 

 151.63 

 20.31 

 26.83 

 30.00 

 58.00 

 38.79 

 32.35 

 18.00 

 25.20 

 37.82 

 101.22 

 21.18 

 30.00 

 15.00 

 33.00 

 50.00 

 50.63 

 50.00 

 500.00 

 220.00 



Total 



cost 



f. o. b. 



factory 



? 56,615 



95,074 



18,573 



39,399 



18,367 



26,036 



20,369 



7,085 



54,593 



5,166 



6,668 



6,000 



11,600 



4,383 



2,665 



1,080 



1,298 



1,924 



2,389 



360 



300 



90 



165 



250 



81 



50 



500 



88 



$ 37.24 $ 381,618 



Grown In 

 Missouri 

 feet 

 B. M. 

 111,000 

 387,332 

 37,250 

 375,560 

 134,500 

 1,000 

 23,000 

 35,000 



767200 

 66,000 



31,000 



3,000 



1,280,842 



Grown out 



of Missouri 



feet 



B. M. 



2,743,800 



1,368,680 



826,000 



455,320 



599,937 



590,150 



508,985 



340,000 



360,050 



178,200 



182,516 



200,000 



200,000 



113,000 



51,372 



60,000 



51.500 



50,874 



23,600 



17,000 



10,000 



3,000 



5.000 



5,000 



1,600 



1,000 



1,000 



400 



8,967,984 



the two used in largest amounts being red gum 

 and yellow poplar, two and a half million feet 

 each. Next in quantity to them is Spanish cedar. 

 The chief reason for considering the manufacture 

 of cigar boxes as an industry distinct from boxes 

 in general is that those who make cigar boxes 

 seldom make any other kind, and they are manu- 

 factured in a particular way. To be sure, there 

 are different kinds and sizes of cigar boxes and 

 different woods are employed, but there is a same- 

 ness in the methods everywhere. 

 Most boxes in which high-class cigars and cigar- 



CIGAR BOXES. 



is imported from Mexico, Central America or the 

 West Indies. It costs from one-third to one-fourth 

 as much as mahogany, and is rather cheap for an 

 imported wood. Its value for cigar boxes is due 

 to its odor. It is handsome in appearance, but 

 that alone would not give it the important place 

 it holds in this industry; and it is not in much 

 demand by any other industry in this country. 

 It has been imitated by other woods, but instances 

 o! such imitation have not been reported in Mis- 

 souri. Yellow poplar has served as an imitation. 

 One process of preparing it has been to pass thin 

 sheets of poplar veneer between rollers furnished 

 with minute teeth by which the wood is indented 

 to give the appearance of the pores character- 

 istic of the cedar. The veneer is then stained to 

 impart the proper color and the odor is artificially 

 given by treating the veneer with a decoction of 

 cedar shavings and sawdust. 



The cedar veneer is cut very thin, scarcely 

 thicker than sheets of writing paper, and a few 

 thousand feet, log measure, produce large amounts 

 of veneer surface. It is sliced and the waste is 

 reduced to a minimum. 



All cigar and cigarette boxes are not veneered. 

 Many of yellow poplar, cypress and red gum are 

 solid, and are used plain or the wood is covered 

 with litho paper. The presence of black gum In 

 this industry should be noted, for that wood is 

 pretty backward in finding places where it can be 

 of service and any enlargement of its uses are 

 welcome. 



Except red gum, Missouri produces little of the 

 raw material for its cigar boxes. 



Trunks and Valises. 



Of the nine woods listed by trunk manufacturers 

 in Missouri, red gum was cheapest, white pine most 

 expensive, and the average for all was under $25 

 per thousand feet. Much of the wood is bought 

 in the form of veneer. Some of it is in single sheets 

 as it comes from the machine, and other is built-up, 

 three or more ply, ready for use. Generally the wood 

 demanded by trunk and suit-case makers reaches 

 the factory in the form of slats or veneer. The slats 



TABLE XI. 



Totals 



5.756,000 



100.00 



18.85 



Total 

 cost 

 f. o. b. 

 factory 

 $ 47,680 

 40,314 

 14,925 

 3,000 

 1,500 

 600 

 510 



$ 108,529 



Grown In 

 Missouri 

 feet 

 B. M. 



27400,000 



""160,000 

 50,000 

 50,000 



2,600,000 



Grown out 

 of Missouri 

 feet 

 B. M. 

 2,510,000 

 lO^.OOO 

 383,000 

 100,000 

 50,000 



T2,66o 

 3,156,000 



ettes are packed are constructed of two woods, are for the outside to strengthen the trunk. The 



one constituting the core and the other the thin 

 veneer overlying the core. The veneer is nearly 

 always Spanish ceda.r. In Missouri no other wood 

 is reported for that use. The core or backing 

 may be any one of several woods. Those listed 

 for that purpose in Table XI are cypress, black 

 gum, red gum, tupelo, white elm and yellow pop- 

 lar. The preference for the gum woods will be 

 noted, three of the six species used as cores being 

 gum and constituting half of all. The wood on 



metal knobs and reinforcements are usually at- 

 tached to the slats. The box, forming the body of 

 the trunk, is of veneer, three ply or more in thick- 

 ness. The inner sheet is laid with the grain cross- 

 ing that of the sheets on either side. This prevents 

 splitting and lessens warping. Such a sheet may 

 break under sufficient pressure, but will not split. A 

 sheet of veneer built up in that way is much strong- 

 er than a solid piece of equal thickness. Formerly 

 trunks were simply boxes made by nailing boards 



which the veneer is laid is cut into thin lumber together and covering them with cloth, leather or 



TRUNKS AND VALISES. 



TABLE XII. 



Average 



cost 



per 



1000 ft. 

 % 22.95 

 30.61 

 27.00 

 20.00 

 23.47 

 27.33 

 18.00 

 19.44 

 30.00 



Totals , 



4,364,000 



JOO.OO 



Total 

 cost 

 f. 6. b. 

 factory 

 $ 21,799 

 26,297 

 23,172 

 14,100 

 7,980 

 7.515 

 3,600 

 3,150 

 450 



108,063 



Grown in 

 Missouri 

 feet 

 B. M. 

 25,000 



600,000 

 340,000 

 145.000 

 150,000 

 113,500 



1,373,500 



Grown out 

 of Missouri 

 feet 

 B. M. 

 925,000 

 859,000 

 858,000 

 105,000 



130,000 

 50,000 

 48,500 

 15,000 



2,990,500 



