﻿54 BULLETIN 12, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



MANUFACTURING. 



With the settlement of the country and the multiplication of indus- 

 tries, the native maple was more appreciated. At the present time 

 the largest demand for the wood comes from furniture factories and 

 planing mills which make flooring. Veneer cutters manufacture a 

 panel, glued together three or five ply, which is employed by furni- 

 ture makers or for the interior finish of houses, offices, stores, and 

 halls. Veneers of cheaper kinds are worked into fruit and vegetable 

 baskets, boxes, and crates. The abundance and cheapness of soft- 

 woods prevent much use of maple for merchandise shipping boxes, 

 yet there is some demand, particularly for crating machinery and 

 vehicles. Boat builders on the Pacific coast make finish of the native 

 maple for cabins, railing, frames, doors, and stairways. It serves as 

 counter tops, table tops in butcher shops, show cases in dry-goods 

 stores, and desks in bank and office buildings. 



It is a favorite wood for school desks and other furniture, appa- 

 ratus, and appliances of the schoolroom. KolJers for sawmills, par- 

 ticularly for offbearing lumber, are often of this wood; also large 

 rollers employed in moving houses. 



It is selected for molding, particularly the kind used in making 

 picture and mirror frames, carved work, such as pedestals and capi- 

 tals, newel posts, and various ornaments, grills, spindles, and dowels. 



It is considered one of the best handle woods of the Pacific coast, 

 and ax handles are among its uses of that kind, though inferior to 

 hickory and several other eastern woods. Trunk makers use maple 

 slats to reenforce their products, and the wood is good pulley mate- 

 rial in machine shops. The pulley maker procures some of his 

 material from the left-overs of furniture factories. 



On the Pacific coast maple is considered, next to alder, the best 

 material for broom handles, but it does not appear that the total 

 amount demanded by that industry is large. Its chief commenda- 

 tion is its light color and the good polish it takes, though its com- 

 paratively light weight is also in its favor. It is serviceable for 

 pack saddles and tent toggles, and in the mountain regions for 

 snowshoe frames, but the total requirement is small. The western 

 maple is sometimes stained in imitation of white oak and mahogany. 



It is not likely that the available supply of broadleaf maple wood 

 will increase, since the natural growth is disappearing, and planting 

 is seldom undertaken. 



BOX ELDER. 

 (Acer negundo.) 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. 



Weight of dry wood. — 26.97 pounds per cubic foot (Sargent). 



Specific gravity. — 0.4328 (Sargent). 



Ash. — 1.07 per cent weight of dry wood (Sargent). 



