26 
BULLETIN 1007, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
the upholstery of furniture and vehicles, kennel and stable bedding, 
for decorative purposes in shop windows, stuffing dolls and toy 
animals, as a substitute for absorbent lint used in surgery, for filtra- 
tion purposes, and to a limited extent for woven floor coverings. 
Bass wood excelsior sells for the highest prices and serves mainly 
for the higher class of uses, such as the better grades of excelsior 
upholstery. Basswood makes a very good grade of wood wool, 
which is the name applied to excelsior composed of very fine strands, 
and in this form it is useful as absorbent lint and for packing fragile 
articles. 
Table 15. — Consumption of basswood for paper pulp for different years. 
Data. 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1920 
Average cost per cord f. o. b. mill. 
$9.57 
Cords. 
Maine 
New York 
Pennsylvania... 
All other States . 
976 
10, 405 
100 
$8.95 
Cords. 
'"'3,'698' 
109 
$13. 81 
Cords. 
1,017 
8,922 
171 
2,000 
$16.13 
Cords. 
734 
4,629 
$18. 39 
Cords. 
1,594 
4,666 
4,436 
4,209 
Reduced by: 
Soda process 
Mechanical process . 
Sulphite process... 
11,481 
3,807 
9,201 
479 
119 
Total used. 
11,481 
12, 110 
9,799 
10, 469 
PULPWOOD. 
Statistics on the use of basswood for paper pulp are available for 
the years 1916 to 1920, inclusive, and are given in Table 15. These 
figures show a wide fluctuation in the use of basswood, both by 
States and for different years. The amount of basswood converted 
into paper pulp is very small in comparison with both the total 
amount of wood used for pulpwood and the total annual consump- 
tion of basswood for all purposes. 
Basswood is peeled free of bark before being sent to the pulp mill. 
It is converted into pulp almost entirely by the soda process and 
produces a high-grade product, principally book, magazine, and writ- 
ing paper. It is well adapted for pulp manufacture, because of the 
softness and light color of the wood and its freedom from resin, 
which enable it to be bleached readily into high-grade stock. 
SLACK COOPERAGE. 
Basswood is well adapted for the heading of slack barrels, because 
it holds its shape well and is easily worked. Its light weight and 
light color also make it desirable for this purpose. Basswood is not 
suitable for barrels designed to hold heavy contents, such as castings 
and cement; it is used mainly for containers of food products. It is 
