UTILIZATION OF BASSWOOD. 25 



timber grows find it increasingly difficult to get supplies. Even in 

 southern Wisconsin and Michigan there is little now obtainable, 

 and firms in northern Wisconsin, which is probably the region in 

 which the best supplies are located, find it necessary to use mainly 

 other woods. 



Wood for the making of excelsior is used in the form of the bolt, 

 from which the excelsior is shaved by a special machine. The surface 

 of the bolt is first scored by means of a series of steel teeth set the 

 same distance apart as the width of the excelsior strand. The slicing 

 knife then shaves off the excelsior in the finished form. Basswood 

 bolts for making excelsior generally go into the machine 18 inches 

 long, and the bolts are therefore purchased in lengths which are 

 multiples of 18 inches with about an inch allowance for trimming 

 the ends. 



Basswood bolts are purchased either with the bark, or peeled, a 

 somewhat higher price being paid for the peeled. In unpeeled bolts 

 the wood is marketed in the green condition. The bark must be 

 removed while the timber is green in order to peel thoroughly. 

 Peeled basswood should be well seasoned before it goes into the 

 machine. Manufacturers prefer not to buy excelsior wood which 

 has air-seasoned for more than two years, however, because it may 

 become brittle. Kiln-dried wood is apt to be brittle if it has been 

 subjected to too high temperatures, and for this reason the air- 

 seasoned wood is preferred. 



Specifications for basswood for excelsior generally call for 37 and 

 55 inch lengths, either green and unpeeled or dry and peeled, the 

 sticks to be sound, reasonably straight, and free from large knots. 

 Sticks must be not less than 4 inches in diameter at the small end. 

 Sizes up to 6 inches in diameter are left round; sizes from 7 to 12 

 inches are split in halves; pieces over 12 inches are split into four or 

 more pieces. 



The average yield of excelsior from a cord of basswood is about 

 1,600 or 1,700 pounds, depending on the dimensions of the bolts 

 and the coarseness of the strands. This is below the average for all 

 woods, which is about 2,000 pounds. 



Waste. — The weight of a cord of air-dry basswood free of bark 

 compared with the weight of its yield in excelsior shows a waste of 

 approximately 30 per cent in manufacture. This waste results 

 chiefly from squaring the bolts, trimming off knots and other defects, 

 and from the loss of the small slab or "spalt" by which the dogs 

 hold the bolt during the operation of slitting and slicing the excelsior. 

 Even this small piece is often utilized by cutting it into paper-roll 

 plugs, which go into the ends of rolls of wrapping and roofing papers. 

 Uses. — Excelsior is used largely for packing glass, earthenware, 

 and other commodities for shipment. It is also used for mattresses, 

 64281°— 22— Bull. 1007 4 



