UTILIZATION OF ELM. 
19 
be placed on the bottom to protect it from injury. Occasionally the 
slaves are of elm, which makes the most serviceable basket. 1 
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 
manufacture 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 all 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. 
i 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 in 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; 
b, splints or staves; c, center post which keeps fruit 
from being crushed. Cover not shown. 
