UTILIZATION OF ELM. 



19 



be placed on the bottom to protect it from injm'y. Occasionally the 

 staves are of elm, which makes the most serviceable basket.^ 



Basket makers generally get their wood locally in the log, or they 

 may secure the rims from a hoop factory. It is not profitable for 

 them to ship the raw material in any large amounts from a distance. 



One of the most common uses of elm is for all kinds of crating. It 

 can be cut into thin material and in this form can be used in long 

 pieces. Thin elm boards 10 feet or more in length may be bent to a 

 circle without breaking. It is therefore adapted for crating such 

 merchandise as furniture and machinery. Crating is usually made 

 from low-grade lumber. Factories which manufacture vehicles and 

 furniture may buy low-grade elm and make crating from it; or they 

 may buy log run and use 

 the upper grades in the 

 manufactm'e of their prod- 

 ucts. Manufacturers of 

 Michigan and Wisconsin 

 usually buy No. 3 common 

 and cull for crating, for which 

 they pay an average price 

 of about $14 per thou- 

 sand. 



Fruit and vegetable crates 

 of rectangular form are often 

 made of elm. Eggs and 

 butter are occasionally 

 packed in elm crates. Elm 

 wood is said not to be altogether suitable for this purpose, however, 

 because a slight taste is imparted to these products. 



Small fancy boxes are often made of white elm and nicely finished 

 to imitate other woods. This is particularly true of tobacco boxes, 

 for which the elm is finished in imitation of Spanish cedar. The 

 best grade of elm is usually obtained and is less than half as expensive 

 as the cedar. An annual consumption of nearly 2,000,000 board 

 feet of elm was reported by manufacturers for this use alone. 



Of the approximately 65,000,000 board feet of elm consumed 

 annually for aU kinds of baskets, boxes, and crating, it has been esti- 

 mated that approximately 85 per cent is white elm, which is used in 

 largest quantities in Michigan, New York, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana. 



1 For the staves of nearly all kinds of baskets more plentiful hardwoods, such as beech and maple, are used. 

 Beech is sometimes used to a limited extent for rims ia place of elm, but does not bend so well and is not 

 so serviceable. Birch has been tried also with fairly good results. Bushel-basket rims are sometimes 

 made of red gum. They are much inferior to elm rims, but can be made for about one-half the cost of the 

 elm. Hackberry is used in place of elm and is considered just as good, but only a small supply can be 

 obtained. 



Fig. 6. — Bushel shipping basket with elm rims, a, Rims; 

 6, splints or staves; c, center post which keeps fruit 

 from being crushed. Cover not shown. 



