Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-12-27


the Best Wood In the World For
Making Balls For Bowling, Is Get
ting Scarce Reason For UsiEg
Heavy Balls.
within. n short time you are going to
see bowling balls take a big jump in
price" said one OF Indianapolis alley
owners recently to 4 reporter of the In
dianapolis Press. The only wood suit
able for bowling balls is lignum vitsP,"
he continued, "aud the game has in
creased in popularity so rapidly in the
| last few years that the supply of the
wood that is easily available is just
about exhausted. Either new lignum
Vita forests must be discovered or
| some better method of getting the
wood to market must be found.
| The best liguum Vita in the world is
IN Venezuela. but one must go miles in
to the interior before the wood is found.
! The wood is so heavy that the tree
| trunks must be sawed in short pieces,
about three feet in length. These pieces
are then strapped to pack mules and
carried in this way to the coast. OF
| course in those places nearer the coast
| or where the wood is more accessible
! larger logs can he handled. Another
| danger is in shipping the God. Sam
Karpf, the bowling authority, told me
the other day that vessels do not like to
take liguum vitiP as even part of
their cargo. When a ship loaded with
the wood gets to rocking or pitching in
n heavy sea. there is danger of the ship
sinking The record of lignum vitae
carg0es that have been lost in this
manner is worse than the record of any
other sort of freight.
The lignum vitR that is the most
easily reached now is that of Africa.
African lignum VITAE is yellOwer than
any other kind. use an African wood
ball. The wood checks badly, and for
that reason the wood turner's dislike TO
handle it. as there is danger of the
turning lathe getting caught in one of
the checks and breaking the ball to
pieces. The African ball sells for $3.50,
30 cents less than that of the other
grades of the wood. | believe the Afri-
can wood is harder, if anything, than
any other. and Il ball made of the At
rican wood will not become Iopsided so
soon us one ulIuS Oh clueI " Ootl.
The Dutch East Indies yield Il good
quality of hgnum Vita. but such heavy
demands Lave been made on the forests
there that the wood is getting scarce.
The big trees are all far inland. Santo
Domingo vita is more blush than the
East Indian kind and is also more brit
tie.
1t is impossible to keep a bowling
ball from getting lOpsided. The cause
of this lies in the finger holes. When
balls had no finger holes, the bowler
never threw a ball twice in succession |
the same way. Now Il bowler holds the |
ball the same way every time, and the |
same part of the ball strikes the alley |
first every time. AS the ball usually |
glides for a few feet before taking q
rotary motion. the ball is gradually |
fiattened on one side.
"A fellow came here the other day |
and said: Why must such heavy balls |
be used in bowling? Why can't some |
other kind of wood be used?' l have n |
bowling ball made of mahogany here, |
and l handed il to him. 1t felt as light |
as paper after he had been handling |
one of the regular balls. told him that |
if he would bowl n score of 100 with |
the mahogany ball ! would make him |
Il present of the finest ball that could !
be bought. You can't bowl with n light |
bah. That's why l think one can make |
better scores with the African wood |
ball. 1t is heavier. George Seiden- |
sticker has a yellow ball that weighs |
Il pounds. and 200 scores are getting !
common as dirt with him. | under |
stand that new composition ball is 1
about TO be put on the market. 1t is |
claimed for the new ball that II an
swers the purpose as well as. if not bet
ter. than the wooden ball. though / |
have never seen il. 1t has weight. it is
claimed. and elasticity and the addi-
tional advantage OF not warping or /
chipping. But it will cost much more
than the lisnum vite ball"