16 BULLETIN 683, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
SLACK COOPERAGE. 
Elm is one of the most important slack-cooperage woods of this 
country, being well adapted for slack barrels on account of its 
strength and ability to stand rough usage. 
The amount of elm slack-cooperage stock manufactured in 1911, 
reduced to board feet, was as follows : 111 ,099,000 board feet of hoops, 
30,871,000 board feet of staves, and 4,984,000 board feet of heading. 
Statistics showing the amount of elm consumed in the manufacture 
of this stock are not available. 
Slack-cooperage statistics for the years 1907 to 1911 show that elm 
is by far the most used wood for hoops. In 1911 about 94 per cent 
of the wooden hoops produced (over 333,000,000) were of elm. The 
figures for 1907 to 1911 show in general a decline in the use of elm 
for this purpose, which is explained in part at least by the .use of 
metal hoops. 
The usual method of manufacturing elm hoops for slack cooperage 
stock is as follows: The logs are first cut into flitches 1-^ inches thick, 
and as long as the hoops to be cut from them. These flitches are then 
steamed; and the hoops, five-sixteenths inch thick on one edge and 
three-sixteenths inch thick on the other edge, are sliced lengthwise 
from them. The edges are next rounded, the width of the hoop being 
reduced in the process to H inches. The hoops are steamed, and 
then coiled — usually 10 or 12 are coiled together in a bundle. 
The cost of manufacturing hoops in the lower Mississippi Valley 
region averages about $6.50 or $7 per thousand hoops. It may run 
as high as $7.50 per thousand or higher, depending largely on the 
cost of the logs. Water transportation is as a rule cheaper than rail, 
and slack-cooperage manufacturers located on the Mississippi Kiver 
can usually secure rafted timber at a comparatively low figure. Man- 
ufacturers who buy stump age and do their own logging also have the 
advantage of low cost of raw material. 
Hoop makers use more of the white elm than of the other kinds. 
Some red elm and a little cork elm are used, but the latter is not well 
liked because it is difficult to work with tools. Elm grown in moist 
situations is more porous and bends better than that grown on higher 
and drier locations and for this reason is better liked by the hoop 
maker. On the other hand, much of the swamp-grown elm of the 
South is more brash than the northern elm. It is also very defective, 
so that there is more waste in manufacturing hoops from it than from 
elm grown in the North. 
In 1906 elm was more largely used for staves than any other wood; 
in 1907 and 1908 it took third place; and in 1909, 1910, and 1911 it 
ranked fourth and was preceded by red gum, pine, and beech. The 
per cent of decrease for 1911 as compared with 1910 was greater than 
for any other important wood in stave manufacture. About 7 per 
