UTILIZATION OF BASSWOOD. 31 



to get sufficient quantities. Recently box manufacturers in the 

 Lake States have been using aspen, commonly called "popple," in 

 place of basswood. The aspen must be used in narrow widths. 



Box makers use the grading rules of the various lumber associa- 

 tions in the purchase of lumber. For box shooks, however, grading 

 rules have been drawn up for different woods by the National Asso- 

 ciation of Box Manufacturers. There are four grades for basswood 

 shooks — clear, No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, as follows: 



Clear grade. — Lumber in the clear grade of boxes must be prac- 

 tically free from knots, and must be of good color, running largely 

 to white basswood. This grade may contain, however, 15 to 20 

 per cent of red color, but must not contain black or brown. 



Grade No. 1. — Lumber in grade No. 1 of boxes must be good, 

 sound material of mixed colors, light and brown, and should con- 

 tain at least 50 per cent of reasonably light-colored basswood. 

 Small, sound knots are allowed in this grade, and some stain. 



Grade No. 2. — Lumber in grade No. 2 of boxes must be reasonably 

 strong but shall not be graded as to color. Brown basswood can 

 prevail in this grade; small knots and shake can prevail, but not in 

 sufficient quantities to materially weaken pieces. Some stain is 

 allowed in this grade. 



Grade No. 3. — Lumber in grade No. 3 of boxes is not graded as 

 to color. Black knots and stain are allowed in this grade. 



Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, and Minnesota use bass- 

 wood in largest amounts for box manufacture. 



Baskets, mainly those for holding grapes and berries, are often 

 made of basswood. The splints are sometimes of this wood because 

 of its good working qualities and good appearance; more often, 

 however, the sides are of some tougher wood, as birch or maple. 

 The covers and bottoms of such baskets are quite commonly of 

 basswood, because it is light in weight and nails easily. These 

 parts, since they are small, can often be made from waste in the 

 manufacture of other basswood articles. Low-grade basswood is 

 often used for crates. It is well suited for light crating, and narrow- 

 width material can be used very advantageously for this purpose. 



PLANING MILL PRODUCTS, SASH, DOORS, BLINDS, AND GENERAL MILLWORK. 



Basswood has been a favorite wood for many years for planing 

 mill products, sash, doors, blinds, and general millwork, particularly 

 for inside finish, becasue it machines to a smooth surface when 

 seasoned, keeps its shape well, and takes finishes extremely well. 

 It is one of the best woods for enamel work because of its uniform, 

 clear, light color, smooth finish, and even texture, which absorbs 

 and holds the paint evenly and well. It also finishes well with other 

 paints and varnish. There is a greater demand for figured wood 

 for these products, such as that of red gum, birch, and oak. Much 



