24 



THE LUMBER TRADE JOURNAL 



[New Orleans, La., May 1, 1912. 



blocks to be finished later and fitted for service in 

 cotton and woolen mills. Formerly nearly all shut- 

 tles were made of Turkish boxwood, as it is the best 

 known material for this service, but for more than 

 twenty years the price of 'boxwood has 'been so 

 high that the buyers of shuttles cannot afford it. 

 The sapwood of dogwood and persimmon are the 

 most satisfactory substitutes that have yet been 

 found, though trials have been made of numerous 

 other woods. The shuttle used in the power looms 

 must stand violent jars as it is thrown back and 

 forth in the process of weaving. Many woods which 

 have been tried have splintered in a short time. 

 Others wear rough and become useless. Still oth- 



ers, because of softness, wear out too quickly and 

 are rejected on that account. The usual shuttle is 

 about seventeen inches long, and it is expected to 

 give 2,000 hours of actual service. The shuttles are 

 used in pairs and both must have nearly or exactly 

 the same weight, or they can not do the work re- 

 quired. They must not be too heavy or excessively 

 light. It is, therefore, not an easy matter to find 

 all the required qualities in one wood. Though 

 shuttles, spools, and bobbins are usually grouped 

 as one industry, no spools and bobbins were re 

 ported in Alabama; ibut 50,000 feet of hickory was 

 made into picker sticks which are employed in 

 weaving to assist in throwing the shuttles 'back and 

 forth. 



Kinds of wood 



TABLE 9. 

 BOXES, TOBACCO. 



Quantity used amnually. Av. cost Total ost 

 % per 1000 ft. f . o. b. factory. 



Tupelo . . . 

 Red cedar. 



Feet B. M. 



3,100,000 

 100,000 



Grown in Grown out of 

 Ala., ft. B. M. Ala,, ft. B. M. 



96.87 

 3.13 



Totals. 



3,200,000. 100.00 



$9.10 

 20.00 



$9.44 



$28,200 

 2,000 



$30,200 



3,100,000 

 50,000 



3,150,000 



50,000 

 50,000 



TABLE 10. 



Kinds of wood- 



AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 



Quantity used annually. Av. cost Total cost Grown in Grown out of 

 FeetB. M. % per 1000 ft. f. o. b. factory. Ala., ft. B. M. Ala., ft. B. M. 



Longleaf pine. 

 Shortleaf pine. 

 Yellow poplar. 



Red gum 



White oak 



White pine 



Cottonwood . . . 



Hickory 



White ash 



1,100,000 



1,000,000 



180,000 



100,000 



60,000 



30,000 



20,000 



20,000 



10,000 



43.65 



39.68 



7.14 



3.97. 



2.38 



1.19 



.80 



.79 



.40 



$20.00 

 16.90 

 25.00 

 22.10 

 35.00 

 40.00 

 31.00 

 40.00 

 35.00 



Totals. 



2,520,000 100.00 $20.11 



$22,000 



16,900 



4,500 



2,210 



2,100 



1,200 



620 



800 



350 



$50,680 



Kinds of wood 



TABLE 11. 

 FURNITURE. 



Quantity used annually. Av. cost Total cost 

 Feet B. M. % per 1000 ft. f. o. b. factory. 



Ixmgleaf pine 



White oak 



Yellow poplar 



Red oak 



Willow oak 



Post oak 



Red gum 



Hackberry 



Tupelo 



Persimmon 



Evergreen magnolia. . .. 



Sweet magnolia 



White elm 



Green haw 



625,000 



340,000 



251,000 



167,200 



165,800 



100,000 



55,000 



50,000 



50,000 



25,000 



15,000 



10,100 



10,000 



9,900 



33.35 



18.14 



13.39 



8.92 



8.85 



5.34 



2.94 



2.67 



2.67 



1.33 



.80 



.54 



.53 



.53 



Totals. 



1,874,040 



100.00 



$12.22 

 15.96 

 16.51 

 13.98 

 14.02 

 12.00 

 11.36 

 15.00 

 11.00 

 15.00 

 15.00 

 14.85 

 15.00 

 15.15 



$I3.!0 



$7,640 



5,426 



4,145 



2,338 



2,324 



1,200 



625 



750 



550 



375 



225 



150 



150 



150 



$26,048 



TABLE 12. 

 HANDLES. 



Kinds of wood Quantity used annually. Av. cost Total cost 



White ash 



Hickory 



Yellow poplar. 

 Shortleaf pine. 

 Red gum 



Totals. 



Feet B. M. 



915,000 



765,000 



15,300 



15,000 



14,700 



1,725,000 



% per 1000 ft. f. o. b. factory. 



53.04 



44.35 



.89 



.87 



.85 



$17.87 



13.86 



9.80 



10.00 



10.20 



$16,350 



10,600 



150 



150 



150 



$27,400 



Kinds of wood 



Hirkory ... 

 Persimmon 



100.00 $15.88 



TABLE 13. 

 SPORTING AND ATHLETIC GOODS. 



Quantity used annually. Av. cost Total cost 

 Feet B. M. % per 1000 ft. f. o. b. factory. 



99.91 $23.26 $26,775 



Totals. 



1,151,000 

 1,000 



1,152,000 



.09 25.00 



100.00 $23.26 

 TABLE 14. 



25 

 $26,800 



Kinds of wood 



Dogwood . . 

 Pirsimmon 

 Hickory . . . 



SHUTTLES, SPOOLS, BOBBINS, ETC. 



Quantity used annually. Av. cost Total cost 

 Feet B. M. % per ] 000 ft. f. o. b. factory. 



750,000 68.18 $14.20 $10,650 



300,000 27.27 15.00 4,500 



50,000 4.55 20.00 1,000 



Totals. 



1,100,000 



1,000,000 



180,000 



100,000 



20,000 



20,000 

 20,000 

 10,000 



2,450,000 



40,000 

 30,000 



70,000 



Grown in Grown out of 

 Ala., ft. B. M. Ala., ft. B. M. 



597,500 



199,000 



251,000 



56,200 



54,800 



100,000 



55,000 



50,000 



50,000 



25,000 



15,000 



10,100 



10,000 



9,900 



27,500. 

 141,000 



111,000 

 111,000 



1,483,500 



390,500 



Grown in Grown out of 

 Ala., ft. B. M. Ala., ft. B. M. 

 450,000 



465,000 



765,000 



15.300 



15,000 



14,700 



1,275,000 



450,000 



Grown in Grown out of 

 Ala., ft. B. M. Ala., ft. B. M. 



1451,000 



1,000 



1,152,000 



Grown in Grown out of 

 Ala., ft. B. M. Ala., ft. B. M. 



300,000 



1,100,000 100.00 $14.68 



$16,150 



450,00* 



300,000 



25,000 



775,000 



25,000 



325,000 



Fixtures. 



The manufacturers of fixtures pay more for the 

 rough material which passes through their wood- 

 working machines than is paid by any other manu- 

 facturers of wood commodities in Alabama. High- 

 class lumber is demanded and much of it must be 

 in extra wide pieces. Fixtures, as considered in 

 this report, consist of counters and showcases for 

 stores, bars for saloons, desks and counters for 

 banks, cabinets and shelving for stores, partitions 

 for offices, and certain kinds of furniture built in 

 place and not intended to be moved about as ordi- 

 nary furniture may be. The wood for counter and 

 desk tops and for panels being frequently of unusual 

 width, is often worked into the desired form by 

 hand. It usually reaches the manufacturer in the 

 rough form, but it has 'been carefully kiln-dried. 

 Large cabinets, perhaps occupying the entire side 

 of a store, are built by measure and in sections in 

 the factory, and in that form they are taken to the 

 place intended for them and are there set in posi- 

 tion. They are too large to handle except in sec- 

 tions. No very cheap wood was reported in this 

 industry in Alabama, but some, as black walnut, 

 birch, and mahogany, cost much more than red gum, 

 chestnut and pine. The beautiful and expensive 

 woods are outside material that is visible in the 

 finished articles, while cheaper and plainer woods 

 go into braces, shelving, drawer bottoms, and other 

 interior parts which ordinarily are not visible. Near- 

 ly one-third of the wood reported was not grown in 

 Alabama. 



Refrigerators and Kitchen Cabinets. 



A few refrigerators are made, but nearly all of 

 the material shown in Table 16 goes into equipment 

 for the kitchen, the principal commodities being 

 safes, tables, and shelving, and half of all the wood 

 used is longleaf pine. Many articles are wholly 

 made of this wood, but in others the shelving and 

 other interior parts are of red gum, yellow poplar, 

 and tupelo. The three oaks listed in the table were 

 employed for outside parts in some of the better 

 class articles made. Some of the red gum and yel- 

 low poplar was made into panels, and in some in- 

 stances such panels were built up of thin sheets of 

 veneer. The table shows that nearly all the wood 

 employed in this industry was grown in Alabama, 

 and that it was all purchased at a low price. It 

 may 'be noted that ash is not reported in this in- 

 dustry. In most states it is an important wood in 

 the manufacture of refrigerators and kitchen and 

 pantry furniture. 



Caskets and Coffins. 



Few coffins and caskets are manufactured in Ala- 

 bama, particularly the better and expensive kinds, 

 but are shipped into the state from outside facto- 

 ries. The rough lumber listed in Table 17 was 

 nearly all manufactured into boxes in which caskets 

 are placed. 'Without this explanation, the table is 

 misleading. The only woods made into coffins and 

 caskets were longleaf and Shortleaf pine, and cy- 

 press, the total amount being only 70,000 feet, not 

 ten per cent of the whole quantity shown in the 

 ta'ble. Woods reported in the coffin and casket in- 

 dustry are generally expensive, and their cheapness 

 in Alabama is explained by the fact that most of 

 that reported was manufactured into rough boxes. 

 In rural communities many of the coffins in which 

 the dead are buried are made by local carpenters 

 and cabinet makers, and statistics covering that part 

 of the business can not be collected and included in 

 a report, like this. In quantity chestnut is the lead- 

 ing wood in Table 17. It is the leading casket wood 

 in many regions, for custom has given it the place, 

 though there is no reason other than the demand of 

 custom why chestnut should hold that position. 



Ship and Boat Building. 



The boat-building industry in Alabama is not 

 large, considering the abundance of good timber 

 that may be drawn upon, and the long lines of navi- 

 gation which the rivers afford (about 1,500 miles). 

 Mobile, with its fine harbor, is favored by nature as 

 a ship-building point. The wild China which is re- 

 ported in this industry in a small amount, is recom- 

 mended as finish for yachts. It is not, however, a 

 tree that promises any great development for its 

 form is poor, and comparatively few trunks are of 

 sufficient size to make even an indifferent saw log. 

 The wood of different trees varies much in color 

 and also in grain, the difference -probably being due 

 to the rate of growth. Wood of light color has 

 much the appearance of ash, though if the growth 

 has been slow the texture of the grain is not so 

 coarse as that of ash. The popular belief that the 

 tree came originally 'from China and has spread in 

 this country does not appear well founded, for the 

 species grows in a wild state from Georgia and 

 Florida westward to Arizona and Northern Mexico. 

 The tree is sometimes confused with the China tree 

 (Melia azedarach .), to which it bears as much re- 

 semblance in appearance as in name. All the wood 

 used by Alabama boat builders grew in the state. 



