The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-10
LIGNUM VITAE SCARCE.
Some Substitute for Ii Must soon Be
Found.

(FrOm the indianapolis Press. }
within a short time you are going to
see bowling balls take big jump in
price" said one of Indianapolis alley
owners recently. THE only wood suitable
for bowling balls is lignum 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
discovered or some better method of let-
ting the wood to market must be found.
THE best lignum vitae in the world is
in Venezuela, but one must go miles into
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 be handled. Another danger is in
shipping the wood Sam Karpf. the bowl
ing authority. told me the other day that
vessels do not like to take lignum vitae
as even part of their cargo. When
ship loaded with the wood gets to rocking
or pitching in heavy sea there is danger
of the ship sinking. The record of lignum
vitae cargOes that have been lost in this
manner is worse than the record Of any
other sort of freight.
THE lignum vitae that is the most
easily reached now is that OF Africa
African Iignum 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 it. as there is danger of the turn
ing lathe getting caught in one or the
checks and breaking the ball to pieces.
The African ball sells for $3.50. 80 cents
ia- q
the wood believe the African wood is
harder. if anything. than any other. and
a ball made of the African wood will not
be come lop-sided so soon as one made
of other wood.
THE Dutch East Indies yield a good
quality OF lgnum vitae, but much heavy
demands have been made on the forests
there that the wood is getting scarce.
The big trees are all far inland. San Do
mingo vitae is more gluish than the East
Indian kind and more brittle.
1T is impossible to keep a bowling ball
from getting lop-sided The cause 81 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 a 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 slides for a few feet before TAX
ing Il rotary nlOtlOH lhe jail 10 Brduudily
nattened 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?' / have a bowling ball
made of mahogany here and handed 1t to
him. 1t felt as light as paper after he had
been handling one of the regular balls.
told him that il he would bowl score OF
100 with the mahogany ball | would make
him present of the finest ball that could
be bought You cant bowl with light
ball That's why I think one can make
better scores with the African wood
ball Ii is heavier. George Seidensticker
has yellow ball that weighs seventeen
pounds and zoo scores are getting com
mon as dirt with him. | understand that
a new composition ball is about to be put
on the market. 1t IS claimed for the
new ball that It answers the purpose as
well as if not better than tie wooden ball
though | have never seen it. 1t has
weight, it is claimed, and elasticity, and
the additional advantage of not warping
or chipping. But it will cost much more
than the lignum Vitae ball"