26 



BULLETIN 1007, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the upholstery of furniture and vehicles, kennel and stable bedding, 

 for decorative purposes in shop windows, stuffing dolls and toy 

 animals, as a substitute for absorbent lint used in surgery, for filtra- 

 tion purposes, and to a limited extent for woven floor coverings. 

 Basswood excelsior sells for the highest prices and serves mainly 

 for the higher class of uses, such as the better grades of excelsior 

 upholstery. Basswood makes a very good grade of wood wool, 

 which is the name applied to excelsior composed of very fine strands, 

 and in this form it is useful as absorbent lint and for packing fragile 

 articles. 



Table 15. — Consumption of basswood for paper pulp for different years. 



Data. 



1920 



Average cost per cord f. o. b. mill. 



$9.57 

 Cords. 



$8.95 

 Cords. 



Maine 



New York 



Pennsylvania... 

 All other States . 



976 



10, 405 



100 



3,698 

 109 



$13. 81 



Cords. 



1,017 



8,922 



171 



2,000 



$16.13 



Cords. 

 734 

 4,629 



Reduced by: 



Soda process 



Mechanical process . 

 Sulphite process.... 



11,481 



12, 089 

 21 



9,201 

 479 

 119 



Total used. 



11, 481 



$18. 39 



Cords. 

 1,594 

 4,666 



10, 469 



9, 799 10, 469 



PULPWOOD. 



Statistics on the use of basswood for paper pulp are available for 

 the years 1916 to 1920, inclusive, and are given in Table 15. These 

 figures show a wide fluctuation in the use of basswood, both by 

 States and for different years. The amount of basswood converted 

 into paper pulp is very small in comparison with both the total 

 amount of wood used for pulpwood and the total annual consump- 

 tion of basswood for all purposes. 



Basswood is peeled free of bark before being sent to the pulp mill. 

 It is converted into pulp almost entirely by the soda process and 

 produces a high-grade product, principally book, magazine, and writ- 

 ing paper. It is well adapted for pulp manufacture, because of the 

 softness and light color of the wood and its freedom from resin, 

 which enable it to be bleached readily into high-grade stock. 



SLACK COOPERAGE. 



Basswood is well adapted for the heading of slack barrels, because 

 it holds its shape well and is easily worked. Its light weight and 

 light color also make it desirable for this purpose. Basswood is not 

 suitable for barrels designed to hold heavy contents, such as castings 

 and cement; it is used mainly for containers of food products. It is 



