Waterbury Democrat., 1901-02-19
.-iGNUM VITAE SCARCE.

within a short time you are going to see bowling balls take q Jig jump in price," said one of Indianapolis $ al ley owners recently. The only wood suitable for bowling balls is GSnum vitae,' he continued, and the game has increased in popularity so rapidly In the last few years that the supply of the wood that is easily available has just about been exhausted. Either new lignum vitae forests must be dis covered or some better method of get ing the wood to market must be found.
 The best lignu1n vitae in the world is in Venezuela. but one must go miles into tho 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 near CT the coast. or where the wood is more accessible. larger logs can be handled. Another danger is in ship ping the wood. Sam karpf, tlle bowl ing authority. told ne the other day that vessels do not like to take lignum vitae as even part of their cargo When a ship loaded with the wood gets to rocking or pitching in q heavy
 
 ing. The record of lignum vitae car goes tEat have been lost in this man ner Is worsa than the record of any sort of freight.
 "The lignum vitae that is the most easily reached now is that of Africa African li:gnnm vitae is yellower than any other kind. l use an African wood ball. The wood checks badly and for that reason the wood turner's dislike to handle il. as there is; danger oi the turning lathe getting caught in one of the checks antl breaking the ball to pieces. The African ball sells for S33O, 30 cents less than that of the other grades of the wood. I believe the African wood is harder if anything than any other. and ball made of tha African wood will not become lrp sided as soon as one :ilatie of other wood.
 '.The Dutch East Indies yield good quality of lignum vitae. but such heavy demands have been made in the for cts there that the wood is getting scarce The big trees are all far in land San Domingo vitae is more glu ish than the East Indian kind and more brittle.
 Tt is impossible to l>cep bowling ball from getting loD-sided. The cause of this lies in the finger holes. When the ball has no finger holes the bowler never threw ball twice in succession the samp way. Now a bowler holds the ball the same way every time and the same part of the ball strikes tha alley first every time. As the ball slides for a few feet before. taking q rotary motion the ball is gradually tiattenah on one side.
 "A fellow came here tlIa ether day and said: why must snch heavy balls be used in bowling? Why can't some other kind of wood be used? 1 have Il bowling ball made of mahogany here and I handed it to him. It felt as light as paper after he had been han ding one of the regular balls. l told him if he would bowl score of 100 with the mahogany ball I would make him a present of the finest baE that could be bought. You can't bowl with a light ball. That's why l think one can make better scores with the Afri- can wood ball. It is heavier. George SeidensticEer has a yellow ball that weighs seventeen pounds and 200 scores are getting common as dirt with him. I understand that new com- position ball is about to be put on the market. It is claimed for the new ball that it answers the purpose as we'll as if not better than the wooden ball, though I have never seen it. It has weight, it is claimed. and elastici- ty. and the additional advantage of not wnrping or chipping. But 1t will cost much more than the lignu1n vitae ban.-IndlanGpons Press.
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 you a,,eht to sep those lovely So I1l