Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-25
OARS AND SPOONS.


From the New York Sun.
This is the oar market of the world" the
genial head of a large South street house said.
land few persons not In the business have any
adequate comprehension of its magnitude 1t
Is not at all an uncommon thing for US to send
abroad an entire ships cargo OF oars-nothing
but oars OF course 1t isn't laundering big
ship. but pretty good lump of a schooner, for
instance. Why another firm and our firm-we
divide the business between US on the staple.
selected white ash Oars-handle together about
$50 car loads of oars per annum. say about 5000
600 feet. worth at least $1,000 on an average
of cents per foot. which is none too high an
estimate We have one contract on hand now
for the French government that will take 500
coo feet of ash logs to fill it. AS you will readily
understand the consumption of white ash. which
Is by no means SO abundant as many other woods
OF less value, has made itself seriously felt and
our oar factories are all the time forced to move
further and further away to reach new fields
OF suitable timber. Time was within my
remembrance, when nearly all the oars were
made in Pennsylvania, but white ash is
so scarce there now that the factories are few
and small. The bulk of the oars come now from
Michigan and Ohio. though one factory has re-
Gently been started as far west as Arkansas. We
have four factOres-at ST. Marys and MOntpe-
licr, Ohio. and CarrOllton and Breckenridge.
Michigan. And don't suppose I'll have to live
to be very old to see them showed out further
toward the wilderness to find material All this
applies only to the standard whteash oars. Two
thirds of those we make are shipped abroad.
England is our principal consumer. Those that
GO to the French government, which buys enOr-
nous quantities. are sent in the rough; that is.
the form of the oar is barely outlined in a rough
squared stick of timber. The superannuated
marines and soldiers are employed to finish
them Icy hand.
ID we make them by hand?' Bless you,
no. Hand work is too slow for Americans The
ash logs are first sawed into planks from two
and half to four inches thick. according to the
sizes OF oars to be dressed out of them. Then
those panks are sawed in strips and cut off in he
proper lengths, which vary all the way from six
to thirty feet. The short ones are for little
boats. and the very long ones for large barges
and the floats used in some parts of the West
Indies and South America. The square sticks
go to the BLADDER, which automatically cuts the
blade of the oar to the required form and size.
Then they pass to other machinery that shapes
the handle and loom of the oar. A planer of
peculiar form smOOths the blades The finish
ing is done by hand, but on ordinary rough oars
that amounts to very little. Our American ma
chinery enables us to turn out smoother hand
sOmer. more uniform, better and cheaper oars
than can be made in any other part Of the world.
We have Just sent over an exhibit of oars to the
great marine exhibition in Amsterdam. which
will take the cake away from all other countries.
'For fancy rowing, spruce oars and spoons
are made. The only recommendation spruce
can have is that 1t is light. 1t is by no means
so tough and serviceable as ash, and oars made
from 1t are classed not as standard but as
fancy Spruce oars are principally made in
New York state. and spruce spoons on the Har-
lem river mainly. The latter are worth an aver
age OF about $3.50 or "a pair-say for
those twelve feet long, the size generally
used by scullers-when sold down town in
regular business way But the young
fellows who go up to Harlem river and
buy them from the makers. old
boatmrn who white them out, innOcently pay
from 50 to so pair for them. Those spoons
are pretty mach all hand work. however and
If prettily made. scraped. sand papered, var
nished, and fitted with fancy feathers and but
tons to keep them in place on the outriggers,
look as if they ought to be worth good deal
Eastwood makes tolerably fair oars but after
all, there Is no wood that ever have heard of
that is so good as white ash; ana the time will
come when people will wish they had started
plantations of that timber to replace what is
DOW being DESTROYED and to supply want that
will ALWAYS exist"