INCENSE CEDAR. 



this was not excessive. To-day, however, with the universal use of 

 tie plates, cedar ties are again coming into more general use in 

 regions where they are available. 



PENCIL SLATS. 



Although the use of incense cedar for pencil slats is of recent 

 development it bids fair to become more and more important as the 

 supply of southern red cedar becomes exhausted. As is shown in 

 Table 2, the demand of pencil manufacturers for incense cedar has 

 already surpassed that of all other industries. 



The qualities of incense cedar which adapt it particularly to this 

 use are its softness, its straight grain, and the ease with which it can 

 be whittled. While its color is not all that could be desired, it stains 

 readily and is highly satisfactory for the cheaper grades of pencils. 

 Dry-rot does not affect its usefulness for this purpose except by 

 increasing the necessary cull, for the sound wood between the cavities 

 caused by the rot can be utilized to a great extent. Some trouble 

 has been experienced with uneven shrinkage in kiln drying after 

 staining, particularly when the wood showed rapid growth. This, 

 however, is a minor difficulty, as cedar is characteristically a slow- 

 growing tree. 



Cedar for pencils ordinarily is contracted for by the pencil manu- 

 facturers at so much per 1,000 feet board measure, delivered aboard 

 the cars at main-line points. In such cases it usually is bought direct 

 from timber operators. Occasionally, however, stump age is pur- 

 chased and the logging contracted for. Pencil wood was formerly 

 shipped in the log, the logs first being peeled; but recently this 

 practice has largely been discontinued, the logs now being sawed into 

 planks of the desired thickness locally and shipped to slat factories 

 as rough lumber. This allows closer culling and reduces freight 

 charges. At the slat mills, usually located at some central shipping 

 point, the cedar is first seasoned and then cut into slats of the desired 

 size; these slats are later sorted, stained if necessary, bundled, and 

 shipped to factories in the East or in Europe for manufacture into 

 pencils. 



Cedar suitable for pencil stock brings from $10 to $12.50 per thou- 

 sand feet board measure in the log and $14.50 per thousand when 

 sawn into planks f. o. b. cars at main-line points, which, while low 

 for lumber in general, is an average price for cedar, when the amount 

 of cull is considered. 



POSTS, BAILS, POLES, AND STUBS. 



The durability of incense cedar in contact with the soil, its light- 

 ness, and the ease with which it splits make it particularly desirable 



