18 



BULLETIlsr 683, U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ninth place in 1911. Hoop factories of Ohio and Indiana have been 

 forced to go elsewhere for a supply of elm. Hooj) makers in ^Michigan 

 have in many cases moved to the lower Mississippi Valley on accomit 

 of the growing shortage in the Great Lakes region. Memphis has 

 of late years become the principal center of elm-hoop manufactm^e, 

 a large nmnber of factories being located within a radius of 100 miles 

 of that city. Recently, many factories have gone farther south 

 for fresh supplies, since the hoop maker demands a large supply of 

 the best timber. The hoop industry will doubtless be located for 

 some time to come chiefly in Mississippi and Louisiana. 



Over one-fourth of the total amomit of elm staves reported for 

 1911 were from Michigan. Missouri and Arkansas came next in 



importance. These three 

 States produced over 60 

 per cent of the total 

 amount. 



Arkansas and Michigan 

 led in the production of 

 heading in 1911, including 

 all woods. Woods other 

 than elm, however, were 

 chiefly instrumental in giv- 

 ing these States first place 

 in the manufacture of this 

 product. 



BOXES, BASKETS, AND CRATES. 



Fig. 5.— Market baskets with elm rims and handles, a. Elm One of the mOSt impor- 



handle; 6, elm rims — one outside, one inside; c, splints; d, ^^nt USeS of elm is in the 

 metal washer. ' p , p i i j • 



manuiacture oi baskets, m- 

 cluding fruit and vegetable packages of various kinds. Elm is used 

 principally for the outside and inside bands or rims, on accomit of 

 its strength and good bending properties. In the ordinary market 

 basket (fig. 5) the outside and inside bands at the top and also 

 the bent handles are preferably of elm. Two straps of ehn on the 

 bottom outside the basket make it much stronger and protect the 

 bottom. Ehn is in great demand for the bushel and half-bushel 

 baskets (fig. 6), for the outside and inside bands and for the bale, if 

 they have one. Enormous quantities of these baskets, used prin- 

 cipally for shipping fruit and vegetables, are made by special ma- 

 chines. A special form of this type is the grain basket (PL IV, fig. 1), 

 which has a wide band of ehn on the inside at the top and is a strong, 

 tight basket. Its serviceability is further increased by a round bottom 

 of elm often both outside and inside; or a circular rim of ehn may 



