USES OF COMMERCIAL WOODS. 9 



Beech is an important handle wood, though not in the same class 

 with hickory. It is not selected because of toughness and resiliency, 

 as hickory is. and generally goes into plane, handsaw, pail, chisel, 

 bundle, and fiatiron handles. 



Woods lighter than beech are preferred for the sides of ladders, 

 but beech is frequently taken for rungs and steps. In the manufac- 

 ture of step chairs — a kind of low ladder — beech is sometimes the 

 only material used. 



The manufacture of wooden shoes in the United States has reached 

 considerable proportions. Several factories make them, and a num- 

 ber of woods are employed. The two principal qualities insisted 

 upon are lightness and imperviousness to water. Beech lacks light- 

 ness, but it so admirably meets the second requirement that it sup- 

 plies much of the wooden-sjioe material. A pair costs from GO to To 

 cents, and is good for two years' wear in cold or wet places, such as 

 tanneries, bakeries, livery stables, street cars, breweries, and laun- 

 dries. They are also used by farmers. Sometimes the soles only 

 are wood, the uppers being leather or felt. Shoes of this kind are 

 intended for steel mills and glass factories where the workman must 

 walk on hot grates and floors. 



Saddle trees, whip handles, trunk slats, boat oars, and mine rollers 

 are among articles made of beech because the wood is stiff, strong, 

 and cheap. It is listed as shoe-last material, but an examination of 

 statistics of output from many last factories shows that its use for 

 this purpose is very small. 



The hardness of beech early recommended it for paving blocks, 

 but untreated material proved unsatisfactory because of its speedy 

 decay. 



In 1000 the pulp mills of the United States bought 31.300 cords 

 of beech. Several other woOVls rank above it in quantity, but its 

 place is not unimportant. 



Statistics for 1009 show that in the production of slack-cooperage 

 slaves, only two Avoods, red gum and pine, stood above beech in quan- 

 tity, while for heading, pine alone exceeded it. 



PRESERVATIVE TREATMENT. 



In 1000 the railroads of tlie United States bought 195,000 beech ties. 

 Statistics do not show how many of these were treated with preserva- 

 tives to check decay, but many of them were, for in an untreated state 

 the wood lasts only a short time when laid in tracks. Beech mine 

 timbera are often given treatment, otherwise their life in the damp, 

 spore-laden air of underground galleries is short. If it is to be em- 

 ployed in damp situations, effective treatment lengthens this wood's 

 perio<:l of usefulness three or four fold. Its hardness qualifies it for 



