Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-12-24
An Immense Industry Has Been Built
on Small Things.
RESULT OF IMPROVED MACHINERY
Introduction of the SIcer Has Rev.
oIutionized the Trade.
CUTS LOGS INTO RIBBONS
From the New York Times.

the outskirts or the forests, Wflere tHe
whirring machinery, propelled by primi-
tive water power, seemed solely intent up
on chewing up all the lumber that was fed
to 1t and in return for this kindness it
spit out at the other end the greatest
quantity OF little sticks, splints and square
and circular pieces of wood. 1t may not
have occurred to the visitor then how
important the products of these novelty
mills were or how variously they con-
cerned his comfort and convenience in his
daily life in the city. There is scarcely an
hour in the day that one does not use IN
some way the products of these queer nov
city mills, and if attention is directed to the
subject a good deal of queer information
may be cleaned from examination of the
list.
In the first place, the tOothpicks which
We So extravagantIy use and throw away
every time we eat luncheon at a downtown
restaurant come from these novelty mills.
There are several mills engaged in making
toothpicks, which are literally turned out
by the million. One factory in Maine aver
ages 5n.G00,oo0 tooothpieks a year, besides
numerous other small novelties. Most OF
the toothpick factories manufacture also
the wooden skewers used by butchers and
the housewife, and it Is not unusual for one
mill to turn out four or five million OF these
little articels of common use every twelve
months.
" hitc oA
Most of the white birch of the Maine
woods are utilized for making spools. There
are seventeen spool factories in Maine, and
together they turn out nearly 309,OO0,O0O
srools. They are shipped to all parts of the
country. and some 10000, 100000 yards of
thread are wound upon them Enormous
quantities of the white birch are also ship
ped to England and Scotland, where it is
turned into spools for the English thread
mills. The forests of white birch are
limited, and the mills cut the lumber and
shape it into spool bars before it is export
ed This timber IS worth several dollars a
cord. for, besides making spools. 1t is of
value in many other ways, and the novelty
mills find plenty of use for all that the
lumber men cut. Checkers are turned out
by these novelty mills in the same whole
sale fashion One may gain faint idea of
the popularity of checkers in this country
from the fact that novelty mill re-
ceived an order recently for S,OOO,O00
checkers.
Checker boxes, dice boxes, swings, wood
en- sleds, bicycle rims, cheap desks, tables,
cycle stands and thousand and one things
are manufactured in these Ecvelty mills.
The timber unused in the mills is generally
considered almost worthless, and the fac
tories annually try to find new novelties
that can be made out of the lumber reject
ed by the ordinary lumber man. 1t requires
a special sort of machinery to make the
various novelties but after the machinery
Is once built the products can be turned
out by the millions at q merely nominal
cost.
One remarkable feature of these novelty
mills Is the manufacture of veneer goods.
When veneers We're hand-sawed for cabinet
work, expensive woods only were consid-
cred fit for the purpose, and skilled labor
ers made the delicate strips of wood with
the utmost care. Then machinery was in
vented for saving out veneers, and SO well
Gid this perform its work that thirty or
forty reneers could be cut Of an inch-thiek
board of mahogany or walnut. There was,
however. a certain amount Of necessary
waste in the shape of saWduSt, which in
the aggregate. when dealing with wood
that sold by the pound, amounted to con-
siderable in the course of a year. To do
away with this waste somebody invented
the slicer, which is huge knife for cut
ting out veneers faster than the buzz saws,
and without any waste at all. Some Of the
most delicate woods cannot be cut into
yeneers. and must be sawed out, but others
will submit to the operation of the siicer
with remarkable readiness
Wonderful SIfcer.
The invention of the slicer has revolu-
tioniZed certain lines Of trade, and the re-
suits of it are to be seen in all of our ordi-
nary market and household products.
When We purchase a pound of butter our
grocer puts it in little wooden box for
us and wraps thin paper over the top.
Likewise the baker sends home the pies
and cakes in thin wooden plates or dishes.
Pickles, cottage cheese and many other
dairy and grocery products come to US in
wooden boxes or plates. Grapes are put IN
boxes of the same material, and berries.
vegetables and fruits of all kinds are
packed in crates or baskets manufactured
of the wooden veneers-
All of these novelties of the trade We
burn in the fire without thinking of their
cost. Ten years ago they were unknown.
Farmers then had to have their boxes and
crates for fruits and vegetables returned
after they had been emptied, and there
was constant disagreement between the
producers. the commission merchants and
the railroad companies in regard TO missing
empty boxes and crates. Now the whole
trade IS revolutionized by the introduction
of the simple veneer packages. Millions
upon millions of these packages are manu-
featured every year. The work goes on the
year round. and in the novelty mills of
Maine the demand for these various
articles never ceases.
A gigantic trade has thus been built up
in the last five years through the invention
of the veneer packages. Over 5000 peo-
pie are engaged in the industry. 1t is not
an exclusive Maine industry, either, al
though more such packages are manufac-
tured in that state than any other New
York. Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Michi-
gan and New Hampshire have factories
where the fruit baskets, boxes, crates and
dishes are made. In fact. wherever there
is sufficient timber of the right quality, and
a nearby market, a factory is very apt to
be erected. especially if located in "a large
fruit district
Under the knife.
The process of manufacturing these pack
ages of veneer is the result of long expert
ence and combination of several inven-
tons When the logs are cut and barked
in the woods. they are hauled TO the mill,
where they are first steamed or boiled for
twenty-four hours. This method of soften
ing the wood SO that it will not split is the
result of experiments made at the paper
pulp mills While laden with the moisture
that has been applied to them by jet of
live steam or by soaking in boiling water,
the logs carried by crane to the sharp
knives. The knives of various sizes.
come of them are several feet long, but
always exactly as long the logs to be cut
up. The log revolves before the powerful
slicer. and as the rollers slowly slide toward
the sharp edge there Is a sudden whirr and
scraping noise. An immense ribbon of wood
quickly rolls up over the knife, and the log
is disposed OF for another. This soft pill
able ribbon of wood passes into rollers
which carry 1t to another set of knives.
These knives are capable Of adjustment to
suit the operator. When the ribbon of wood
or veneer comes up to these knives, one