The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-01-23

NEW Uses FOR Gus WOODS.
" Doors. Pests, T.aks, wagon ron~u..
Inbss Pals and Pianss.
Puget Sound Lurnber,uan
- was not very long ago when The
prevailing opinion seemed II be maj
the splendid fir lumber of the psx-sfs.
Northwest WAS only At fer b~idge~
Joasss, ship work and other ,,.rr,aaes 70.
qulrfng extraordinary iena.ts,s z.r,s go,
Isle strength. that spruce was fit
.ais LOT boxes ard shelving. and that
1is greatest merit of red cedar lay in
siisnssess AS a matter 81 fact bold
man was he whe three years ago pre-
ussed that the time would ccsre whe,,
tne mEntTalns shipments TO the East
would consist OF bridge material and
.leavy fimbers and the maximum would
De made UP OF flooring. ceiling. clear
boards and car stills But we win yen-
ture to state that fale bulk OF the luu,-
Der shipped east OF Washington last
year, for instance. consisted of the very
grades that 1T was thought impossible
three years ago 10 insroduce.
TED cedar and spruce siding consfi-
tute the mort important shipments fror,s
This state today. No less than thirty
maaB IN the state Of Washington are
to-day turning out siding for the East
efh trade, against less than a dozen
Two Years ago. Red cedar doors. red
ceuar posts and red cedar tank lumber
Were not ON the list three years ago:
To-Day these commodities fins. f.ledr way
as Tar east as New York and Boston.
spruce Tor sounding boards and wagon
boxes were not shipped East three years
ago. Fir flooring had a very snail sale
and fir windmill material, sucker rods.
wagon tongues. hol.owbark flooring.
derrick tssnbers, spars, wooden cutters
aud boat material were first sold last
year. Cedar and spruce siding have a
foothofd in the East, SO have cedar
posts, and cedar tank stuff is in grow
ing demand. Fir wagon tongues, hoi-
0sTback flooring and wooden cutters
are just being introduced, while spruce
wagon boxes. spruce sounding boards
and cedar doors have not been widely
enough introduced to speculate on the
probable demand. But there is no ques-
tion about the future OF these grades.
The clear, handsome. light and durable
cedar doors are selling well where they
have been introduced, and bid fair In
The next two years to cut a wide swa,th
in their particular field Cedar and
spruce siding is invading the white
pine fied, and fir flooring is making
friends everywhere The peculiar quail
tiles OF durability under trying condi-
tons. together with its ciearness and
length, makes cedar a valuable wood
for tank stock, and 1t viii not he long
before 1t is in general use among the
Eastern tank makers. Fir wagon
tongues. being cheap strong and dur
able. WEI aaso find a ready market
But one of the most important uses that
fir will be put to Is in the manufacture
OF wooden caves and cutters White
pine Is high priced and hard to get in
suitable lengths, and the ortiars now
being filled in Tacoma mark the be-
ginning or q large trade
There are however, fields for other
grades and varieties of native woods
which have not been thought Of Take
the matter of butter tubs and pals, for
instance. The spruce native TO this
country cannot be excel.ed for wooden
packages. Being light and possessing
the popularity OF not communicating
the odor or taste of the wood to the
contents. 1t is an ideal butter tub wood.
There are several small factories now
in operation in the Pacific Northwest
which supply the local trade with tubs
and packages. but the future of the in
dustry lies In the California and Eastern
demand. The former state consumes an
Immense amount OF butter tubs yearly
which should bc supplied from here.
Regarding the Eastern market. a tub
maker informs the Lunberznan that
spruce tubs can he laid down at Chi
cage cheaper than tubs manufactured
in Wisconsin and Michigan. This Is
rather bold statement. but the kernel
OF the matter lies in the fact that raw
material is 50 much cheaper here than
tn the East that the high freight rates
do no4 cut much of figure. SO it l..
probably. with cedar pals and buckets.
This suggests a thorough Investigation
into the matter.
The unlp weed shipped from the Pa
eiffc Northwest 10 the musical instri-
ment factories of the East is spruce.
which is used for piano sounding
boards. The only objection found Is
that II Is ysoarser III grain than that Of
tho Atlantic ccast states, but 1t is prob
abb, that finer grained spruce can be
obtained ON higher grounfi--the crdf-
nary variety growing on the tide lands
Yet there Is no denying the fact that
native spruce produces a finer tone In
the musical instrument. There is on ex-
Aioitson at the music store of \. A.
Tay.or x Co, Tacoma. a guitar with a
spruce sounding beard. It was made
by n young man who Is not a musician,
asggi IL ia said the tone is extremely
sweet. \ large Chicago firm last year
experimental with California redwood
FIR zither sounding boards. but was
obliged To discontinue its use Oh ac-
cou.t ~ it's shrinking trec,ivisies
These facts led the E.usuhernan 10 in
vestigate the feasibility Of using atgVe
woods IN the manufacture ~ musical
instruments, The results 81 this lnves-
tiga;fon ought 60 lead tn sales.
yy.tnu,. Mara pxnHtahta Than What