UTILIZATION OF SYCAMORE. 1 i 
SEWING MACHINES. 
Sewing-machine cabinets are often made of sycamore. It is used 
chiefly in the form of quartered wood for the outside finish. This 
makes an attractive cabinet because of the striking figure, and its 
appearance is generally admired. Plain-sawed wood is also used, 
which is usually finished like oak and birch. The average price re- 
ported for sycamore by manufacturers of sewing machines was $18 
per 1,000 board feet. 
WOODENWARE AND NOVELTIES. 
Under woodenware and novelties are included a large number of 
small articles that can not be properly classified under the other 
industries. Important among these articles are paper-roll plugs (fig. 
3). They are connected in pairs by a stick and are used for hold- 
Fig. 3 —Paper roll plugs of sycamore connected by a cylindrical piece of softwood. Used for holding 
rolls of wrapping paper. 
ing rolls of paper, chiefly wrapping paper, for grocers, druggists, and 
others. Of all the woods commonly used for this purpose, sycamore 
is said to be the most suitable because it readily takes a smooth 
finish, has a clean appearance, and is very cheap. Maple is also a 
t r good wood for this use, except that it is more expensive. Gum, elm, 
and ash are also commonly used. Slabs are cut into squares, which 
are run through a machine. The ends of the squares are rounded 
and tapered, bored out, and cut off by this machine. The plugs are 
dried and polished by being rolled against each other, the friction 
giving them a smooth finish. They are turned out in carload 
quantities. The other articles included under this heading— cheese 
supports and stereoscopes — are made only occasionally of sycamore. 
A low average price, $13 per 1,000 board feet at the factory, was 
reported by manufacturers for these uses. 
OTHER FACTORY USES. 
Sycamore is used in a small way by a large number of other wood- 
using industries. The entire amount reported was only about 1 per 
cent of the total. This went into toys, brush blocks, vehicles, ships 
and boats (chiefly for the inside finish), saddles and ox yokes, sporting 
and athletic goods, picture frames and molding, and washing-machine 
parts. Sycamore is used to a limited extent for second-grade axles, 
