New Orleans, L?., June 15, 1912.] 



THE LUMBER TRADE JOURNAL 



37 



BOXES AND CRATES, PACKING. 

 TABLE IV. 



The Texas oak usually passes as red oak, and the 

 white oak goes by its own name. Doubtless a num- 

 ber of other oaks go to the furniture factories, but 

 no manufacturer listed them for Table VI. Several 

 white woods are made into drawers and shelving, 

 among such species being cottonwood, magnolia, 

 black gum, elm and ash. 



The mountain juniper and one-seed juniper were 

 reported for no other industry. They grow in the 

 mountainous and arid regions of the west, and are 

 not sufficiently abundant to give them much impor- 

 tance, but the peculiar mottled appearance of the 

 wood is an attractive quality. 



The mahogany reported was of unusually high 



price, due to the small quantity and the good qual- 

 ity. The two woods next highest In price were the 

 two western cedars already mentioned. Black gum 

 was cheapest of the twenty-three species. 



Agricultural Implements. 



Agricultural implements in Texas consist largely 

 of such cotton machinery as gins and presses. 

 Three-fourths of the wood used in this manufacture 

 is longleaf pine; the most expensive is hickory, and 

 the cheapest is loblolly. , 



All of the cypress appearing in Table VII is made 

 into windmills. Well-boring machinery is placed 

 with this industry, though all wells are not for agri- 

 cultural purposes. About 200,000 feet of white and 

 Texas oak are manufactured Into beams for plows. 

 These three classes of commodities cotton machin- 

 ery, well-boring apparatus and plows make up the 

 agricultural implement Industry as reported in 

 Texas. Handles for rakes, hoes and shovels are 

 manufactured in considerable numbers, but they 

 properly belong in the handle Industry. 



It is apparent that Texas might do mofe in the 

 way of manufacturing the farm apparatus which its 

 people need. 



Fixtures. 



The average cost of the wood manufactured into 

 fixtures is higher than for any other industry In 

 Texas. The reason is that the best grades are de- 

 manded even when cheap woods are employed. 



Fixtures are closely related to furniture. The line 

 separating the two industries is often difficult of 

 definition. Fixtures are generally made for a partic- 

 ular room or place, while furniture is not so re- 

 stricted. Fixtures are adjuncts of banks, offices, 

 stores, saloons, halls and hotels. They consist of 

 showcases, counters, presses and cabinets, window 

 seats, wall benches, soda fountains, exhibition racks, 

 bars, fixed seats, shelving and many others of simi- 

 lar kind. They differ from interior finish which is 

 made fast to walls, ceiling or floor, and can not be 

 removed without considerable injury to the finish 

 and the room. 



Fixtures are made in much the same way as fur- 

 niture; similar materials ar"e used, and similar ef- 

 fects are produced by selecting and grouping woods. 

 Veners are as largely employed in furniture, and 

 shelving and panels hold the relative place which 

 they occupy in furniture. 



The wood bought by fixture makers comes about 

 half and half from in the State and out. Mahogany 

 is the only foreign species listed in Table VIII. In 

 most States a considerable percentage of the mate- 

 rial used by fixture makers is foreign wood. 



Tanks. 



Considering the large area of Texas and the need 

 there is for tanks, cisterns and reservoirs, the tank 

 industry as shown in Table IX does not seem large. 

 The principal kinds are for oil wells, water wells, 

 and those to collect and hold rain water. Large 

 cattle ranches use many fifty or more in some 

 cases. The oil business in the State demands numer- 

 ous large tanks. Rain water cisterns are not so gen- 

 erally used in Texas as in Louisiana, .because well 

 water in the former State is usually satisfactory. 

 Only three woods are employed, and 96 per cent is 

 cypress. Makers of tanks claim that the best cy- 

 press for their purpose grows in the Louisiana 

 swamps so near sea level and at such short dis- 

 tance from the Gulf of Mexico that the winds and 

 tides occasionally drive salt water over the surface 

 of the ground where the trees grow. Wood from 

 trunks so situated is said to be stronger, -tougher 

 and more durable than that from districts more dis- 

 tant from brackish waters. Every foot of the cy- 

 press reported 'by tank makers in Texas came from 

 Louisiana. Much of the work of the tank makers 

 is done by hand. Those who work that way insist 

 that the machine-made tanks lack the proper bulge 

 in the stave to give best service. 



The tank market in Texas is largely in the south- 

 eastern part, but some are shipped to all sections 

 and a few find their way to Mexico. Galvanized 

 iron tanks have taken the place of wood for many 

 purposes. 



Vehicles and Vehicle Parts. 



It is probable that Texas does not manufacture 5 

 per cent of the vehicles used in the State. Twelve 

 woods are bought by vehicle makers, the highest in 

 price being osage orange and the cheapest longleaf 

 pine. Yellow poplar, second highest in cost, is for 

 light wagon and carriage bodies where smooth pol- 

 ish and good painting are wanted. It has no supe- 

 rior for that purpose, and though sheet metal some- 

 times becomes a substitute for yellow poplar, few 

 or none insist that metal has any superiority over 

 the wood. Ash constitutes the framework of busi- 

 ness wagon tops, but some longleaf pine is employed 

 in the same way. Hickory makes the shafts, poles, 

 spokes, gears and rims of buggies, and it has no 



