UTILIZATION OF DOGWOOD AND PERSIMMON 
25 
drying of blocks under these conditions is very unsatisfactory. 
The largest economies in shuttle making may be attained by proper 
handling of the raw material, the shuttle blocks. 
EXPORT OF SHUTTLE BLOCKS 
Of the 5,000,000 to 7,000,000 dogwood and persimmon shuttle 
blocks produced annually, it is estimated that about three-fifths 
are exported. Most of the smaller-sized shuttle blocks of dogwood 
and the larger-sized blocks of persimmon are exported. The larger- 
sized dogwood blocks and the smaller-sized persimmon blocks are 
made into shuttles for domestic use. 
Blocks for export are generally packed tightly in burlap bags, 
the number per bag depending upon the size of the blocks. One 
Fig. 17. — Shuttle blocks packed in bags for export 
concern packs one hundred and forty-four 15-inch blocks in a bag. 
(Fig. 17.) 
Blocks are exported chiefly to Great Britain, France, and Ger- 
many. Lesser quantities are exported to Italy and Switzerland. 
Shipments are made from New Orleans, New York, Mobile, and 
Jacksonville. Thirty-five years ago, when the center of the block 
industry was nearer the Middle Atlantic coast, the chief exporting 
point for shuttle blocks was Norfolk, Va. The dogwood and per- 
simmon in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana had then hardly 
been touched. 
The first shipments of dogwood and persimmon to British manu- 
facturers in 1865 were in the round, but this was not long continued 
as a general practice, for it was soon found to be more economical 
to export the manufactured blocks, thus saving cargo space, cost in 
handling, and freight on bark, slabs, edgings, and defective mate- 
