Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-09-30
Wooden Comns.

1AS bA1kutoo vi NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
wooden collins has fully kept pace with
the advances in other departments Of
woodworking Years ago every neigh
borhood and village had its local un-
dertakcr. VINO kept small stock Of
coffin stuff. and made collins for his
customers when ordered. As a gener-
al rule in this country the best collins
were made Of black walnut. finished on
The outside simply with beeswax and a
hot sadiron. The cheapest coffin was
made of pine, poplar, and other light
wood. with fat tops, ndmerely stained
black. An undertaken who could make
a neat walnut coffin with raised lid
was considered ..boss" workman.
During the war the demand for cof-
fins placed the business of their manu-
factufe Id the hands of contractors,
who erected factories and equipped
them with special machinery. The bus
iness was found so profitable that the
factories were not only continued after
the war, but greatly enlarged, and their
numbers have constantly increased
since. There are in the United States
about forty coffin factories. located
principally west of the Alleghenies,
where suitable lumber is more plenti-
ful and cheaper than in the east. The
largest concern is located in Cincin-
natl, and another at st. Louis which
has flooring space of $1,000 square
feet and employs one hundred men,
besides several women, who are emu
ployed in making burial clothes and
shr0uds, business that is of recent
date and which is rapidly growing.
the coffin manufacturers of the Uni
ted States are banded together under
the name OF the National Burial asso-
citation. They meet four times year
In different cities, and probably they
can control the price of their products
better than any other similer organiza-
ton. A few years ago there was quite
a rage for metallic burial cases, but of
late the preference is for wooden cof-
fins A considerable number of Amer
lean collins are shipped aboard, mostly
10 England, South Africa, Cuba, and
the south African States. Those made
for export are the "linock-down' style,
and are put together at their places of
destination. except those shipped to
England. They are made OF white oak,
perfectly air-tight, tongucd and grooyed,
an,l the lid fitted with rubber nan re.
Walnut is mostly used for the best
class collins, but some very finely poll
ished ones arc made of swect-gum.
When finished up finely it resembles
cherry somewhat, and is called satin
walnut. Poplar is used TO q greater
extent in the business than any other
wood. 1t is cheap. easily worked, and
adapted to the requirement. OF the bus
iness.
Neither tho kind of wood of which
collin is milde nor its probable durabil-
ity affects rs price to much extent. for
the price depends upon tile style of i'm
ish. and rslnsfes from S2 or So up to the
full extent ofNlie customers ability 10
pay. Much of the wealth aud labor of
tho country is annually bur.ed in the
soil through fashion that calls for
ridiculouslv expensive funerals. An
impression prevails that the coffin bus
mess is free from the fluctuations that
affect other lines, but it is erroneous.
Like allsothers, il Is good when times
are good. aud dull when times are hard.
Neirhur dies s. .'1IRe u boom when
cholera, yeliDw fNp4f a0r other epinom-
les prevail. Us might NATURALLY be ex-
pected The demand for childrcn's
collins is greater in the summer, but
the seasons have very little effect upon
tile dc nand for adults collins. During
hard times. when money is scarce, the ]
trade III high-priced c0flins fails of.
but, on the whole, business is governed
pretty much by the same rule rs 9TH
ers. The coffin factories are among
4 ~. hs.ot ..t,,.l ,anek ralfal lila oucf cfs.ar,
the lumbermen have, and use Il very
part of the poplar cut of
southern milis.-- iS0uihern LstatlberAltsn.8