The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1897-05-15

GIN to turn broad sharp knife as long as
the logs comes up and slices the log spir-
ally into one immense ribbon of wood As
tie ribbon glides over the knife, rollers
catch it and feed it under fixed knives
which slice it into the right widths for
basket parts Other knives, set so as to
cut but part way through it, make the
marks upon which the parts are afterward
folded Other knives set in the faces of
the rollers cut the ribbon into proper
lengths. These pieces of veneer still have
to be shaped, and this is done by passing
them between other rollers set with knives.
The work of the men ends with the
turning out Of the veneers. Now girls
take the formed pieces Whether they
are making berry or peach baskets, the
next process is about the same. Each girl
has before her a wooden form, shaped like
the baskets she is to make and banded with
iron where the tacks or staples are to be
driven. She defly folds strip of tough
birch or elm about the form for the inner
band, bends over this the pieces which
form the body and over these another band
Of tough wood IF she is making tackled
baskets, she already has her mouth full Of
tacks, and she takes these one by one and
drives them through the veneers, where
they clinch against the iron bands Of the
form. Those baskets which are fastened
with staples are tackled by machine which
carries coil of wire which it bends and
cuts into staples and drives into place al
most as rapidly as a sewing machine stitches
while the girl holds the form under it,
Some girls will make 3, 900 berry baskets
in day, and the average worker can make
about 2, 600 They get 85 cents thou
sand for the work. For peach baskets
they get rs cents hundred. The bottoms
of these baskets are round pieces of wood,
and the machine which cuts these is a
clever piece of work. 1t is saw made of
a cylinder of steel with the teeth on its
bottom edge Boards are piled up dozen
or more high and passed under the saw.
Each time it cuts down it cuts clear through
the pile, and soon turns the whole pile into
round blocks.
In other parts of the factory crates are
being sawed out and nailed together.
Each wellmade crate will have sixty or
seventy nails in it, be fitted with hinges,
and hasp for the cover, and yet one of
these with thirty-two quart berry baskets
in it sells for only twenty-six cents. Better
crates, which are meant to be returned to
the farmer, and are provided with metal
corner pieces for strength and are made of
heavier material, sell for few cents more.
Few of the baskets are ever used a second
time, and it is estimated that 200, 900, 900
berry baskets alone are used in this coun-
try every year
The 16-quart peach baskets, which are
also used for vegetables, sell for cents
each. They find their way into use mostly
from the peach orchards of Delaware, New
Jersey, and Georgia, and in good peach
years the number that is sold is enormous.
1t runs into millions The neat crates and
baskets in which grapes are sent to market
are another form of package of which many
thousands are used, These usually consist
of the crate and 8 baskets, the whole hold
ing 40 pounds of grapes. Crate and
baskets can be bought complete for IA
cents. Verbena baskets, with double wire
handles, are used in great quantities by
florists. These are more expensive. They
cost about $14 thousand or nearly Il
cents each. OF butter dishes, ranging in
size from the 1-pound to those holding 8
pounIs each, it is estimated that 200,
600, 900 year are used, and these cost
from 65 cents thousand for the smaller
ones to $225 thousand for big ones
bound all along the two ends with tin.
Pie dishes are used, too, by the million,
and they do not cost as much as the sweet
ening in the pies.
There are many forms of baskets and
crates and some attempt has been made to
make even larger packages or veneers.
One of these, half barrel covered basket
for peas and such light articles, has proven
successful. These are sold for IL cents
each. A barrel is also made of veneers,
the sides in two pieces, hinged upon metal
hoops. The parts are shipped fiat. One
thousand five hundred OF more barrels can
be got into car and it is easy to set them
up into form. Having no bilge, the filled
barrels pack closely together and look
shapely, but the lack of bilge leaves them
weak and they do not carry heavy fruits
without working and bruising the fruit
Another kind of package formed an i'm
portant article of manufacture in Maine
before the great frosts destroyed all the
orange groves in Florida few years ago.
Florida at that time used 2, 500, 600 orange
crates year. The sides of these came
from the Maine woods and the ends were
from Florida native woods. Next winter
it is expected that new growth of trees
will begin to bear in Florida, and another
demand will come for orange crates.