The sun., 1894-04-29
NEW YORK'S KINDLING WOOD
OF KIND rHAT rs PECULI<R TO
HARD COAL CITIES.

Sources OF the City's Supply aua what
It Costs-HeginninE and Growth OF ths
Basiuess and How It - ARestsa ~
on snd cas- srd by Outside Cor-pe'ittou.
Forty years aao when citizen wanted wood
for household uses he bought IL By the cord
With the cartman came a man with sawbuck
and bucksaw who sawed and split the wood
on the sidewalk and carried IL into the cellar.
About the rear 1855 there was invented a
machine for splitting wood into kindlnes.
This machine was q modification Of the old
match machine. The use Of this machine so
extended the business Of manufacturing
kindllng wood that at the outbreak OF the
civil war in 1891, ,three-ouarters Of the Kind
ling wood used in New York was
being sawed and split in the wood
ysrda At that time. also. msnufactur-
ers had Just begun to put kindling
wood up Into bundles or punches. The
primary reason for this was to put unsold
spit wood into moro compact shape to store.
The many advantages Of putting up wood in
bundles for the market became. however. at
once apparent. In this shape wood could be
retailed in small portions. and II made pack
age convenient to handle. which could be sold
out OF any grocery like any other necessity.
During the war there was almost q wood
famine In New York. The supply OF Virginia
pine wood. the wood princlp ally used here
was practically cut OF; It sold up to SIS
cord By the cargo. During that period the
bundle trade did not grow very much. After
the war the entire kindlinR wood industry
took great start upward and grew rapidly.
In 1870 there were probably sixty firms en-
gagged In the manufacture OF kindlinE wood
sold In bulk or In bundles. The bundle trade
had then increased largely. There were atthat
time remaining in the city only two or three
yards In which cordwood only was sold In
1870 appeared. following closely the building
Of the first apartment houses the oil stove.
stove had been before that In somewhat lin
tied use, but Il was now applied to the more
End gas stoves Increased steadily and Serv
ssdos sns tos, TSSs Sss. s ThS S:s q oil and
wood began 20 be-, affected further By the In
PRODUCTION OF bundle wood made from the ref
use Of spruce and hemlock lumber mills.
These mills are numerou:in Connestieut. New
bundies Used Ths wood pas up the
s ss sse aass nfsS to sns
and other dealers; That has nov largely taken
a i6' y h sls sPs tsn D 30 sqnSs sss Uss 81 ss
Sgnd' usss ;ss hsTs ssaow Sw the ms
SSd bulk { 2, v,ffp!a D pIn: ,h The
.
:of q e
sns Sc Is .h
inches by nine inches In diameter: II retail:
tn the bur bundls % wood In this city & Of the sprues
$siy S o ma Az p the Virginia pine bundles about
While the growth Of the kindling-wood busi-
ness has been retarded for the reasons stated,
that the business has actually increased In
volume. and more kindling wood Is sold hero
however. is decreasl1g slightly; as is The city
manufacture of kindling wood. But the kim
large and active busine ess here. There are are
now about twenty factories In the city
their 'ssinis namSer is' hss 90 IN m.sr, OSs si
there are now more large Establishments. The
kindlne.wood factories Of the city use engines
total t value Of all the Finding wood oonsumsd
absas sit5y SH1'a Sa9 prices Is
There are engaged in the business Of bring
%
the schooners employed In the wood business
sssss a92 n the o HooS
sitle from the rivers and almost all the original
growth from near the water courses has been
here is cut back from the water and brought
to river landings by railroad-
sort 10 used almost syerywhsre. but kindling
wood SUCH as 70 used here Is used only where |
OF kindllng wood searched for two |
days In London without finding any ybody In the |
business. A rich London house II older said that |
he had kept house for forty years and had never |
paid penny for kindling wood. Tho sweepings |
and crates with q little paper would sufice to |
ignite the coal used there. OF the worlds |
great cities New York is the only one using |
practically none but anthracite coal. There |
arc in this country. taking them all togstheI. |
many cities and towns that burn hard coal and |
use substantial kind ling WOOD but this city is |
much the greatest OF all consumers. and here |
naturally is the homo Of kindling wood In it's |
highest development |