The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1903-10-03
ouTPuT u TooTAPlck.Ial...


SaalAaona Manufactured iii Amersc.
aiad More Imported.
There Ia one article OF manneoo+,,,.
that q used SO extensively in the I'M.
ted States that no one has an Idea 81
she annual quantity consumed. namely
wooden toothplcks. According T. AZ
expert. the number ID simply Incalcul.
able. Millions upon millions Of the tiny
wooden slivers are turned out every
year fron1 American factories alone
and On top of this tremendous outpnt
come importations from Portugal ana
Japan and other countries nearly an
large 40 the domestic product.
Most OF the American toothpicks. &C.
cording to the New York Times, come
from Franklin County, In Maine, near
the forest home Of the white birch. ont
Of which 95 per cent Of the domestic
toothDicks are made. This wood il soft
ana pliable and OF admirable resistance
ZOE the purpose for which 1t IL used,
Whole mills In Maine are devoted ia
supplying the country with toothpicks.
and in the industry Il to be found some
OF the finest and most intricate of ma.
ehinery. So tremendous is the output
OF these machines that in brief sea.
son, during the spring, enough tooth.
picks can be made to supply the mar
kets Of the entire country for the wear
to come.
a further idea Of the capacity Of the
machines may be had from the fact that
only 100 men are necessary to operate
ana run all the mills In Franklin Coun-
". Other mills of this kind are scat
tered throughout Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts, and western New York.
but the real home Of the toothpick Ia
Maine.
White birch is not the only wood used
Tor the domestic toothpick; maple and
poplar are employed as well, but birch
mas tine property Of retaining Its forest
odor and sweetness.
The Telling Of toothpIck trees Is only
Incidental to the regular lumber work
Of the Maine foreaters. No especial
men are sent out to hunt up suitable
trees. But whenever the foreman Of a
gang Of woodsmen comes across tree
especially adapted to toothpicks he Or
degs 1t felled and laid aside. The
branches Of the tree are then trimmed
and only the trunk itself Ii transported
to the mills. There the bark Id skinned
and the naked trunk 10 run through q
machine which sewers it into veneers,
"Eeneers' is the technical expression
for thin strips Of wood no thicker than
piece Of plotting paper and no wider
than the length Of toothpick. Once
the trunk has been cut into these sheets
Of wood, only one process remains to
turn out the toOthpicks at for packing
and shipping to market. The veneers
are fed into a second machine supplied
with sharp, rotary knives that whirl at
tremendous high speed, shipping the
veneerG into toothpicks at the rate Of
hundreds Of thousands an hour.
1t IL only the so-called fancy" tooth
pick that 10 not made in this country.
In Portugal, from where most Of the
orangewood picks are imported, the
sticks are sharpened by young girls
who, in return for turning out "picks'
sharp as needles and smooth as ivory
are paid 8 cents a day.
The japanese tOothpicks are made Of
nne reeds, and are distinct from those
sent to this country by the Portuguese
manufacturers. A japanese toothpicH
Is delicate and thin as tissue paper, and
nevertheless strong and pliable. The
japanese toothpick-maker earns ever
less than his Portuguese fellow crafts
man, his remuneration being a Fraction
more than cents a day. In short, 9
thousand toothpicks may be bought IL
Japan for as much az 1t costs to pacA
and box 5000 Of American make.
! international Food Exhibit.