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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. é MISCELLANEOUS. SPECIAL REPORT No. 10. oe eee —— # A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF MANUFACTURES FROM NATIVE WOODS, AS SHOWN IN THE EXHIBIT OF THE U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ar THE WORLD'S INDUSTRIAL AND COPTON EXPOSITION AT NEW ORLEANS, LA. by ‘ec CHARLES RICHARDS DODGE, ————— + ~@ip>r o—-- —__ — WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1886. 15751 N W LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Washington, D. C., May 14, 1886. Srr: I have the honor to transmit herewith, for approval and for publication, a report on “ Uses of American Woods, ” based upon ma- terials and information collected by this Department in connection with its exhibit at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, New Orleans. The interest in the collection was so manifest and practical that it was deemed advisable to make an investigation by special interrogatories addressed to manufacturers and others relative to the practical uses of woods in their own experience, the results of which are printed below, in the report of Mr. Charles Richards Dodge, who was authorized to con- duct the inquiry. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, WILLIAM SAUNDERS, Representative of the Department of Agriculture , at the Exposition, New Orleans. Hon. NORMAN J. COLMAN, Commissioner of Agriculture. Boston, MASs., January 30, 1886. Siz: I have the honor to transmit herewith, for publication, a de- Scriptive catalogue of manufactures from native woods, which form a portign of the exhibit of the United States Department of Agriculture at the New Orleans Exposition. Appended to this catalogue will be found some facts and figures relating to wood-manufacturing industries, which, with the opinions of prominent manufacturers regarding the future supply of timber for manufacturing purposes, it is hoped will add something of value to the literature of economic forestry. - Tremain, very respectfully, CHARLES RICHARDS DODGE. WILLIAM SAUNDERS, Esq, Representative of the United States Department of Agriculture at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, New Orleans. 3 USES OF AMERICAN WOODS. INTRODUCTORY. One of the most interesting collections in that portion of the New Orleans World’s Fair known as the Government building was the ex- hibit of the Department of Agriculture, showing the uses of American woods, which was chiefly made up of manufactured articles in all stages of manufacture representing the wood-working industries of the United States. At the outset it was thought that such a collection would at least prove a novelty, and perhaps serve to call the attention of many people to the importance of the subject of forest protection who had hitherto given it little thought or care; but as the work progressed and the manufacturers became interested to the extent of preparing and donat- ing many valuable exhibits illustrating prominent industries, it became evident that the collection would prove a useful aid in the study of the forestry question from the economic stand-point. The future timber supply of the country is a grave question that be- fore many years will demand the urgent consideration of many who now affect to regard it most lightly. In view of the immense annual de- struction of valuable timber, through carelessness and ignorance, or worse, indifference, it was thought desirable to obtain some knowledge of the extent and value of our timber resources and the legitimate de- mand that is made upon them by wood-working industries. To this end a circular letter was sent to many hundreds of manufacturers with a view to learning what woods are most commonly used, chief resources of supply, value of lumber for different uses, wastage, processes of man- ufacture, opinions as to future supply, &c.- Few manufacturers would give the time for a full consideration of the subject in all its economic bearings, but a sufficient number of intelligent and thoughtful answers were received to show that while, on the one hand, our wood manufactur- ing industries are rapidly using up the best tiinber growth in the country, . on the other, wise legislation and a proper education of the people to the necessity of keeping up the old, or producing new forest growth, will ultimately result in restoring and preserving a balance, especially with regard to the more valuable kinds of hard wood. Many interesting facts are stated regarding the quality of wood used, or the particular parts of the tree required for the manufacture of cer- tain articles, the various stages of manufacture, extent of special in- 5 6 dustries, &c. Itis thought that an interesting study may be made of the facts relating to sources of supply, but in the greater number of cases ‘“‘ home supply” is stated as the chief dependence, though some- times the more valuable woods are brought long distances. The attempt at economic classification is only provisional. At some future date, when the present collection has been augmented and made more fully complete, a better classification of the uses of woods in man- ufacture may be suggested. Until that time the present will suffice. » CLASSIFICATION. I.—In architecture and building. II.—In transportation. - [IJ.—In the manufacture of implements of industry. IV.—In articles relating to trade. V.—In articles for man’s physical comfort. VI.—In articles for education, culture, or recreation. VII.—In miscellanevus uses not included in the foregoing. I.—USES OF WOODS IN ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING. The building industry is probably the most universal of all human in- dustries which make a demand upon the forest supply, though this de- mand relates mainly to the softer and less expensive woods. As the term “ building ” is understood to embrace all framed structures, for habitation or storage, from a fisherman’s hut to a five-story hotel or a grain elevator, so are included in this category not only every kind of building that may employ wood in its construction, but stationary structures such as bridges and trestles, and intimately connected with them the raising of derricks and scaffolding, and fencing. The con- struction of railway and telegraph lines also finds a place in this group, which is illustrated by the following synoptical table of arrangement: A.—HOUSE BUILDING: Including all kinds of architectural structures. Frame: Sills spruce, pine, chestnut, and cypress ; posts, plates, braces, joists, studding, &c., white and yellow pine, spruce, hemlock, and other woods. Outside finish: Sheath- ing of pine, spruce, hemlock, or other woods; clap-boards, pine, spruce, and cedar ; roofing-boards, same as sheathing; shingles, white and yellow pine, cypress, spruce, oak, &c.; sash and blinds, pine, usually ; cornice-brackets, pine, white- wocd, &c. Interior finish: Laths, spruce, pine (white and yellow), and other woods; moldings, pine, whitewood, and hard wood according to taste; panel- ling the same; door and window casings, pine and hard woods; doors, mantels, wainscoting, &c., in various woods, though chiefly pine; stair-rails, balusters, newel posts, whitewood, ash, cherry, oak, and other woods. On the Pacific coast redwood is used largely in house building. B.—BRIDGE AND TRESTLE CONSTRUCTION: Bridges, trestles, derricks, scaffolding, shafts and coffer-dams. Piles of spruce or pine; girders, stringers, beams, plank- ing, &c , spruce, white and yellow pine, and sometimes hard woods; other timber as in house building; staging poles, pine, spruce, &c. C.—CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY AND TELEGRAPH LINES: Ties, switch-frames, sig- nal-boxes, fencing-posts, dc. q A.—HOUSE BUILDING. Beams, joists, and board lumber. (Not shown.) Laths and shingles. Shingles of Michigan white pine, from C. C. Comstock, Grand Rapids; yellow pine, Northrup & Cumming, Wilmington, N. C.; cypress (same firm), hand-made, by negroes in the Dismal Swamp, in sizes as follows: 4 by 18, 5 by 20, 6 by 20, and 7 by 20 inches. Cypress shingles are also exhibited from Gurley & Bro., Norfolk, Va., and A.C. Danner, Mobile, Ala. All qualities of lumber are used for shingles, cut at all seasons of the year. Spruce and balsam fir are largely used in Vermont. In Penn- sylvania, pine and hemlock for: shingles are cut at all seasons, though suitable lumber is growing quite scarce in many parts of the State. In North Carolina the pine lumber is cut in fall and winter, both heart and sap being used, though the cypress is usually cut in the summer months. In the Gulf States, cypress is considered one of the most val- uable and durable of woods, not only for shingles, but for other por- tions of buildings where subjected to extreme dampness. It is also used for door-posts, window-frames, gutters, weather-boarding, &c. Outside of house building, its uses are manifold, as it is employed in vessels, rail-cars, cooperage, boxing, and even for nice interior finish. Drawn or hand-made cypress shingles are usually made 18 inches long, in width of from 3 to 8 inches, and put up in four bunches to the 1,000, by measurement, 4 inches in breadth counting as one shingle. In a. Vermont shingle-mill the timber goes through the following processes: (1) Logs are bolted up into 18-inch blocks; (2) the bark is removed ;. (3) the bolts are placed in shingle-machine, which is self-feeding: (4) taken from the saws to the jointer; (5) the shingles are packed in quarter-thousand bundles. The labor represents about 75 per cent. of the total cost. Sash and blinds. Only a few examples of this manufacture are shown. Estate of James Turner, Mobile, Ala., donated specimens in yellow pine. William H. Pierson, Wil- mington, Del., sent blinds in white pine. In selecting lumber for this use, as well as for doors, only that portion is taken clearest of sap-wood, knots, and heart. Doors. Plain white-pine doors, W. H. Pierson, donor, Wilmington, Del. Exhibits of panels were received as follows: Decorated pine panels, M. P. Mason, Car- thage, N. Y.; ‘curled pine,’ very handsome examples, Nortbrup & Cum- ming, Wilmington, N. C.; panels of pine, walnut, ‘curly maple,” white birch, white ash, and cherry from A. C. Vogler, Salem, N. C.. While every known hard or soft wood is used in manufacturing doors, in one form or another, the principal woods employed are white and yel- low pine, and whitewood or poplar, the best of lumber being requisite. In making an ordinary beveled door the principal machines are, first, the double surfacer or planer, rip and crosscut saws; the material for sash and doors, after being planed, is then ripped or sawed to the re- quired widths, afterwards cross-cut for the length, going next to the 8 mortise-machine or tenoning-machine, as some parts have to be both mortised and tenoned, while others need but the one operation; next through the molding-machine, which takes the pieces to the required width and at the same time grooves and molds the edge; then put to- gether and placed in the drying-kiln, subject to a temperature of 150 degrees for three or more days, according to the previous state of the material; then ready to be glued and clamped together, after which it is planed, smoothed on both sides either by a planer or hand-plane; then to the sand-papering-machine, and itis ready for sale. In making panel doors, after leaving the saws, the material goes to the panel-raiser, which works a molding around the two sides. There are a number of other machines, such as the band-saw, scroll-saw, boring-machine, shaper, turning-lathe, tenon-machine, &c. A fine sliding or folding door, in hard wood finish, requires different handling, however. Thestiles and rails are glued up from common pine strips thoroughly kiln-dried, faced to the thickness of one-half inch less than the intended thickness of the door. They are then covered or lipped with such hard-wood as specified and then represent hard-wood stiles or rails, which are now properly mortised or dovetailed together and the panels filled in with the same or other hard wood in’ the solid as desired. The moldings are now mitered and glued around the panels on each side of the door, after which everything is nicely cleaned off and sandpapered, and the door is now ready for the polisher. The component parts of a door pass through several machines before they can go together, such as a sur- facer worth $800, saws $50, jointer $200, molding machine, $500, mor- tising or boring machine, either worth about $125, sandnaperer, $550, besides other machines. Door knobs. , In black ash, black walnut (Ohio and Indiana), white birch, cherry, elm, “curly maple,” oak, and apple. Presented by the Union Door-Knob Company, De- troit, Mich. These articles are manufactured from knots or gnarled roots, the wood being purchased by the pound, the wastage amounting to 75 per cent. | Gutters, or eaves-troughs. Water-conductors in cypress. Also ane sample of “ anti-freezing and non-burst- ing eaves-trough,” from U. F. Moulton, Burlington, Vt. Cornice-brackets. A series in carved or scroll-saw designs, from pine and poplar lumber, presented by Palmer, Fuller & Co., Chicago, Ill. Flooring, plain. Example of across-the-grain patent yellow-pine floori ing from New Haven Steam Saw-Mill Company; no description accompanying. Dressed and matched flooring in yellow pine is usually classified as clear flooring, heart on the face side, and free from all defects; first and seconds free from all knots, shakes, and “ blue,” but may contain all the bright sap; standard flooring 50 per cent. of first and seconds; 50 per cent. of common, and common flooring of sound timber, though it may 9 have knots or other defects, but not to be badly “blued.” In sawing flooring strips three grades are usually made: clear rough strips that shall be all heart, with one side free from defects; first and second strips that are free from knots and shakes, but: shall contain all the bright sap; standard, 50 per cent. of first and second and 50 per cent. of common, containing no blue that planer will not remove. In meas- ° uring, flooring strips and boards run from 3 to 6 inches wide, and are usually sawed an eighth of an inch thicker than wanted, an inch thick- ness being in reality one and one-eighth inch. Tn the New England States white-pine, spruce, and hemlock lumber is used for different kinds of flooring, and to some extent hard woods, though these are described below. ) Flooring, ornamental. There are several beautiful exhibits of parquet flooring in ornamental designs, the handsomest and largest series coming from Messrs. Baker & Benedict, Chicago, Ill. This series embraces all the hard woods in common use. Two panels were also received from William Hannam & Co., New York City. These are chiefly Indiana white oak, though other hard woods are used from the same State and from Michigan. There are quite a number of manufactories of * parquetry ” mosaic floors, wood carpet, &c., where wood ceilings and wainscoting are also turned out in considerable quantity. A single Eastern firm produces annually near 100,000 feet of 3-inch parquet floor, and nearly half as much of §-flooring, besides 1,000 feet each of wainscoting and ceilings. The woods used are oak, white ash, black walnut, maple (of different kinds), white birch, sycamore, white holly, and cherry, yellow pine be- ing also employed in each part made. Of course only first-quality lum. ber is used. It should be mentioned, also, that about 10 to 15 per cent. of imported lumber is used, being chiefly red and white mahogany, rose- wood, amaranth, tulip, English oak, and ebony. The labor represents about two-thirds of cost, as each article passes through ten hands and twelve to fifteen machines; besides the wood has to be both air and kiln dried, and finished with shellac or wax, or often highly polished. In wood mosaic, where the blocks are made to sizes 13, 1-8,, 144, &c., and jointed and grooved to form the mosaic, a greater number of oper- ations are necessary, besides the use of special machines. An alter. nate jointing and grooving machine turns out twelve blocks per minute. After completion the blocks are assembled in various designs, making Sections about 16 inches square, held together by lead. Maple and cherry are frequently ebonized, to avoid use of the foreign wood. Sap- wood and wood from young growth are always objectionable, the ‘heart and more solid portions always being used in parqueting. Moldings and interior finish. A fine series of machine-made moldings in walnut, white oak, white pine, but- ternut, white wood, gum, and cherry. From Palmer, Fuller & Co., Chicago, - Ill., chiefly from first-growth timber. A second series was received from John J. McNutt’s Novelty Wood Works, Boston, Mass. The same woods are em- ployed, the examples being very beautifully polished. 10 Stair rails and stair balusters. A large and interesting series of stair rail sections and stair balusters in white ash, cherry, white oak, whitewood, and black walnut are exhibited from Palmer, Fuller & Co., Chicago. A second series was donated by the New York Wood Working Company, 134th street, New York. Balusters in blue ash were sent by Requarth, Hessler & Co., and Purvis Company, New Orleans, La., sent samples in cypress. Newel posts. A series in walnut, oak, white ash, and other woods. Palmer, Fuller & Co. These articles, as well as other manufactures by this firm, are made from lumber obtained in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana chiefly, and largely of first-growth timber. Pew ends (church interiors). The same firm contributes a series cf six pew ends employing white oak, Michi- gan birch, Indiana black walnut, ash and black walnut in combination, oak and black walnut, and ‘calico ash” from Indiana, in combination with cherry. Weather strips. In cherry, black walnut, ash, and enameled pine, from 8. Roebuck, Fulton street, New York City. Window screens. ‘‘ Dowling’s patent adjustable,” in walnut, George C. Wetherbee & Co., Detroit, Mich. B.—BRIDGE AND TRESTLE CONSTRUCTION. This group was not represented. Pine and oak, however, are usually employed in bridge construction, either in combination with iron or alone. Joists and flooring of iron highway bridges are commonly of white oak; used also for ties and guard rails of railroad bridges. Creosoted Southern pine is sometimes used for flooring. A large bridge-building company states that Michigan white pine, and white pine grown