16 
BULLETIN 1436, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
in Europe, while the consumption of boxwood in the textile in- 
dustry has dwindled to a very small proportion of the total. 
Manufacturers of dogwood shuttle blocks use bolts that in the 
rough vary from 18 inches to 8 feet in length, and from 4 to 12 inches 
in diameter inside the bark at the small end. Bolts around 4 or 5 
feet in length and 7 to 10 inches in diameter are the most desirable. 
Dogwood hauled by farmers direct to the mills is generally accepted 
in 8-foot lengths, but bolts shipped by freight are desired in 4 
or 5 foot lengths, for these are loaded more easily in freight cars. 
Diameters above 10 inches are not particularly desired because the 
wood being older is more liable to be defective. 
Some manufacturers believe that dogwood from the southern 
limits of its range is not so good as that from the northern limits, 
and that dogwood from Florida, southern Mississippi, and Alabama 
Fig. 
9. — Persimmon logs delivered to a dimension mill. Dimension stock is seen 
stored in open sheds in the background 
is not so desirable for shuttles as dogwood found farther north. 
Some believe that dogwood from certain sections of Tennessee is 
superior to dogwood from other sections of the State. There are 
no mechanical-test data on dogwood to prove any considerable dif- 
ference, although the physical and mechanical properties of the 
w r ood vary to some degree with the conditions under which it grows. 
Manufacturers of persimmon shuttle blocks use logs rather than 
bolts. (Fig. 9.) The logs range in size from 6 to 16 feet in length 
and from 6 to 20 inches in diameter. The larger logs are the more 
desirable, although they contain a higher percentage of heartwood 
than the smaller logs. 
Manufacturers prefer dogwood and persimmon with a high per- 
centage of sapwood in order to get clear, clean-looking blocks. There 
is, however, no apparent reason other than the mixture of colors for 
refusing blocks which contain both sapwood and heartwood. In 
