Veneer 



Cooperage 



The veneer industry was represented by 14 active 

 mills in 1949; 11 in west Tennessee (concentrated 

 largely in the Memphis area), 1 in the central region, 

 and 2 in the east. Some 21 million board-feet of 

 veneer logs were consumed, of which 10.8 million 

 board-feet was drawn from outside the State. Vir- 

 tually all the veneer was hardwood for containers, 

 paneling, plywood, and furniture. 



Tennessee's forests supplied 12.8 million board-feet 

 of veneer logs and bolts during 1949, slightly 

 less than 1 percent of the volume of all timber 

 commodities. The 14 active mills used 82 percent 

 of the production. The rest went to plants in Ken- 

 tucky and Indiana. Almost seven-tenths of the hard- 

 wood was from sweetgum, black and tupelo gums, 

 cottonwood, and yellow-poplar. Softwood, which 

 accounted for less than 2 percent of the total veneer 

 production, was mainly cypress for battery separators. 



Production of cooperage bolts totaled 28.2 million 

 board-feet in 1949. More than half of this was from 

 the central and west regions. Tight cooperage bolts, 

 all of which were white oak, made up 83 percent of 

 the total. Elm, hackberry, and oak provided six- 

 tenths of the slack cooperage although various other 

 species, including southern pine, were used. 



The 38 active plants consumed 41.6 million board- 

 feet in 1949. About 13.4 million board-feet of this 

 was imported, chiefly from Kentucky and Mississippi. 

 The 30 tight cooperage plants are widely distributed 

 in all regions. Several are owned by distilleries that 

 wish to assure themselves an adequate bourbon barrel 

 stave supply, and most of the others have their entire 

 production contracted for. Slack cooperage plants 

 are concentrated in Dickson, Houston, Stewart, and 

 Montgomery Counties. These plants are largely 

 engaged in turning out hogsheads for the State's 

 tobacco crop. 



Figure 29. — Implement handles manufactured in Tennessee are shipped to all parts of the country. (Tenn. Conservation Dept. photo.) 

 Tennessee's Timber Economy 27 



