Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-05-27
NAMES WHITE BIRCH.
Made into Spools and Used All Over
the World.
The Product Will Average $4,000. 900
Feet Each Year.

Women all over the world arc nm
winding thread from spooIs turned from
the white birches that grow upon the
high ridges of Northern Maine where
once stood big pines or spruces. Not
many years ago the white birch was
regarded as a sort of nuisance. and
everyone regretted that such a wood had
taken the place of the better trees. the
spruce and pine that had alwsvs been
the States best resources, but now that
a great industry has been built up from
the birch forests, the silver barked
tree is looked upon as a treasure to be
priced among Names best. A great
variety of things are made from white
birch timber, but spools and spool bars
are the chief products and of these the
State turns out more than q million
dollars worth every year.
The manufacture of spools in Maine
began soon after the passage of the
Morrill, tariff bill, in 1861. The bill ad-
vanced the duty on wound threads.
and was, without doubt, the reason the
Scotch manufacturers of thread came
TO this country and built mills in New
Jersey and Rhode Island. Then other
American companies were formed.
The white birch area is wide belt
that extends entirely across Maine. No
estimate has yet been completed of the
number of acres of white birch timber
in the State, but under the direction
of the forestry commissioner an esti-
mate of the acreage of the different
kinds of Maine woods is now being
prepared.
i,.n q nr ~ 60
tories in Maine: Piscataouis county
Willimantic Willimantic Thread Com
pany, ]. S. Runnels; Lake View Thread
Company, +. w. Hamlin; Foxcroft, L.
Ii. Dwelly. Franklin county-Phillips
Harry p. Austin; Carrabassett, Il. II.
Huse; Pennington Falls, George H.
Stinchfield. Kennebec county-Bel-
grade, Harry w. Colder. Androscoggin
county-LeWiston, James Baldwin
Company, II. E. Skinner. oxford
county-kezar Falls, j. NJ. Merrifield &
Sons; Locke's Mills, f. l.. Tibbetts &
Co.: Bryant's Pond, j. f. Dearborn;
Bethel. j. z. Skillings: Dixfield, John
s. Harlow; DiXtield. George i. Merrill
& Co: South Waterford, Elliott &
Bartlett. Pcnobscot county-South Lin
coin, John McCircGor. Franklin county
Wilton, COggeswell & Moulton.
The Maine spool factories turn out
now about SOO,OOO,OOO spools 20O-yards)
in II year, worth about 81 100000. The
price varies from cents to 60 cents Il
gross, according to size and quality. The
market for Maine spools is extensive.
including most of the" great thread
making companies of New England and
the Middle States. All of the factories
are operated by steam.
Besides the manufacture of spools, an
extensive industry is carried Oh in the
saving of spool bars for shipment to
Europe and to various parts of this
country. Twenty to thirty concerns
are engaged in cutting birch and saving
it into spool bars. From 13,00O,0O0 to
Il, 900 600 feet annually are exported to
Europe, chiefly to Scotland, about one
half the total being shipped from Ban
gor Almost all of the spool bar ship
ments are made in steamers. The
average price paid to the manufac-
turer is $3.50 a thousand. The guam
tity Of spool bars exported about equals
that made into srools here, and. be
sides. several million feet are sent an
nualIy to other states to be made into
apoos Altogether, about 10000 cords,
or 81, COG, 900 feet of timber, are taken
lnnually from the white birch woods of
Maine for the spool business, and a
large additional quantity is cut for the
use Of the so-called novelty mills, where
are manufactured pill boxes, candy
boxes. toys and other articles in great
variety.