36 BULLETIN 12, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



in 1777, when thej made their cannon of a maple log and wrapped 

 it with chains. They fired it only once, however, for it burst with 

 disastrous results.^ 



No sharp historical or geographical line separates the primitive 

 and local uses of maple from the employment of the wood for manu- 

 facturing j^urposes, as the term is now generally understood. The 

 change was gradual and went on in many places until what was 

 a century ago a material whose very abundance often made it a 

 nuisance has become one of the most important woods in American 

 factories. It began to enjoy a high place when special commodities, 

 manufactured by machinery, found general sale. 



FLOORING. 



The making of matched flooring by planing mills may be con- 

 sidered as the beginning of the flooring industry. Between 1870 and 

 1880 attempts were made to introduce floors of maple and black 

 Avalnut in alternate strips. When well finished the effect is pleasing. 

 The rich black of the walnut and the clear white of the maple were 

 attractive, but the floors were not satisfactory when subject to severe 

 use. The walnut was softer and wore more rapidly than the maple, 

 and the floors became uneven. Wainscoting of the same kind had 

 been introduced to match the flooring, and though not subject to 

 wear, it lost its popularity when the combined walnut and maple 

 floors went out. 



Soon after this the roller-skate craze struck the country, and maple 

 flooring was instantly in demand. It was the best obtainable mate- 

 rial for rink floors. Its permanent place ir the lumber industry 

 may be dated from that time. Its good service in rinks led to its use 

 for other floors, and also for finish, and then for furniture. At the 

 present time half the maple output is for floors. Care in seasoning 

 and laying it is necessary, for if placed green it shrinks badly, or if 

 dry when laid and later allowed to become damp it swells up in 

 ridges. But when properly managed it is one of the very best of 

 floor woods with lasting qualities of the highest order. Instances 

 have been cited, apparently well authenticated, where maple has 

 given longer service under excessively trying conditions (stair land- 

 ings inJarge stores) than marble. 



The modern manufactured flooring is much narrower and often 

 much thinner than the old-style flooring turned out by sawmills 

 generations ago. Modern flooring varies in width from an inch to 

 2J or 3 inches and in thickness from three-eighths of an inch to 

 thirteen-sixteenths of an inch. It is dressed true, and the tongues fit 

 into the grooves almost perfectly. The three-eighths-inch flooring 



1 Chronicles of Border Warfare, Alexander S. Withers. 



