44 BULLETIN 100*7, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



and should also hold the dipping material well. The wood should 

 be practically free from defects and preferably light in color. White 

 pine is the principal match wood in the United States, from which 

 the round match is made by cutting from clear blocks of wood. 

 Basswood is second in importance and is used in much smaller 

 quantities for the production of the square or veneer match. 



For the manufacture of the veneer match raw material is received 

 at the factory in log form. The logs are boiled and cut into veneer 

 the thickness of the match on a rotary veneer lathe. The veneer is 

 then cut into strips in width corresponding to the length of the 

 match stick. The sticks are then split from the veneer, and after 

 they are thoroughly dried the ignition end is paraffined to make 

 them burn better and is headed with the ignition material. 



Aspen is the wood which is used almost exclusively in Europe for 

 manufacturing veneer matches, and basswood has similar pro- 

 perties. Basswood matches are not so attractive looking as those 

 made from white pine, because the basswood does not split so 

 straight, and the match sticks are often very imperfect (fig. 7). 

 Otherwise basswood is a very satisfactory wood for matches. Match 

 factories use only No. 1 or veneer logs 8 inches and over in diameter. 

 They are generally purchased in lengths which are multiples of 22 

 inches if less than a foot in diameter. Larger logs are usually any 

 length from 3^ to 14 feet. The cost of such logs at the factory 

 ranges from about $50 to $55 a thousand board feet. The timber 

 used for this purpose is obtained mostly from farmers' woodlots, 

 since the larger and more desirable timber goes mainly into the 

 manufacture of lumber and high-grade veneer. This small sized 

 timber is frequently defective, with many small knots, and there is 

 much waste in converting it into the clear veneer stock. The logs 

 are utilized very closely and can be cut down to a core as small as 

 2\ inches. 



Farm woodlots in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin furnish a 

 large part of the basswood used for matches. 



REFRIGERATORS AND KITCHEN CABINETS. 



The class of products included under refrigerators and kitchen 

 cabinets might be termed kitchen furniture, since it includes refrig- 

 erators, kitchen cabinets, kitchen tables, and, in fact, all kinds of 

 furniture made for kitchen and pantry use, except kitchen chairs. 

 Basswood is well liked for these articles, because it has a clean ap- 

 pearance in the unfinished state and is odorless. It can also be 

 painted or varnished advantageously, if desired. It is much used 

 for the lining, shelves, drawers, and compartments of kitchen cabi- 

 nets and for the tops of kitchen tables. Such parts are usually kept 

 clean by scrubbing with soap and water, and basswood keeps its 



