16 BULLETIlSr 683, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



SLACK COOPERAGE. 



Elm is one of the most important slack-cooperage woods of this 

 country, being well adapted for slack barrels on account ot its 

 strength and ability to stand rough usage. 



The amount of elm slack-cooperage stock manufactured in 1911, 

 reduced to board feet, was as follows : 111 ,099,000 board feet of hoops, 

 30,871,000 board feet of staves, and 4,984,000 board feet of heading. 

 Statistics showmg the amount of elm consumed in the manufacture 

 of this stock are not available. 



Slack-cooperage statistics for the years 1907 to 1911 show that elm 

 is by far the most used wood for hoops. In 1911 about 94 per cent 

 of the wooden hoops produced (over 333,000,000) were of elm. The 

 figures for 1907 to 1911 show in general a decline in the use of elm 

 for this purpose, which is explained in part at least by the use of 

 metal hoops. 



The usual method of manufacturing elm hoops for slack cooperage 

 stock is as follows: The logs are first cut into flitches 1 ^^ inches thick, 

 and as long as the hoops to be cut from them. These flitches are then 

 steamed; and the hoops, five-sixteenths inch thick on one edge and 

 three-sixte£inths inch thick on the other edge, are sliced lengthwise 

 from them. The edges are next rounded, the width of the hoop being 

 reduced in the process to IJ inches. The hoops are steamed, and 

 then coiled — usually 10 or 12 are coiled together m a bundle. 



The cost of manufacturing hoops in the lower Mississippi Valley 

 region averages about $6.50 or $7 per thousand hoops. It may run 

 as high as $7.50 per thousand or higher, dependmg largely on the 

 cost of the logs. Water transportation is as a rule cheaper than rail, 

 and slack-cooperage manufacturers located on the Mississippi River 

 can usually secure rafted timber at a comparatively low figure. Man- 

 ufacturers who buy stump age and do their own logging also have the 

 advantage of low cost of raw material. 



Hoop makers use more of the white ehn than of the other kinds. 

 Some red ehn and a little cork ehn are used, but the latter is not well 

 liked because it is difficult to work with tools. Ehn grown in moist 

 situations is more porous and bends better than that grown on higher 

 and drier locations and for this reason is better liked by the hoop 

 maker. On the other hand, much of the swamp-grov/n ehn of the 

 South is more brash than the northern ehn. It is also very defective, 

 so that there is more waste in manufacturing hoops from it than from 

 elm grown in the North. 



In 1906 elm was more largely used for staves than any other wood; 

 in 1907 and 1908 it took third place; and in 1909, 1910, and 1911 it 

 ranked fourth and was preceded by red gum, pine, and beech. The 

 per cent of decrease for 1911 as compared with 1910 was greater than 

 for any other important wood in stave manufacture. About 7 per 



