The Republican journal., 1906-04-19
SLACK COOPERAGt WOODS AND
THEIR MANUFACTURE.
The Species Used for Barrels, Kegs and
Tubs Studied by the Government with a


Tubs Studied by the Government with a
View to Economy.
Three hundred million barrels, ac-
cording to trustworthy estimates, are
manufactured every year. OF these,
proba bly, the greater number are used
to hold solid contents, such as -four
sugar, cement, lime, and potatoes or
other farm products. and are called
slack barrels, as distinguished from
tight" barrels, which are used for oil,
liquors, wines, and other fluids. Woods
suitable for slack cooperage are COM
moner and cheaper than those used for
tight barrels, which were once made
almost exclusively from the finest
white oak obtainable, and which must
always require material of a high
grade Nevertheless, slack barrels of
the better grade, notably flour barrels,
require material which, like elm, is
rapidly becoming Scarcer. With the
enormous drain on supplies, manufac-
turerS are already feeling the need of
economiZing in the use of the rarer
woods and of finding seryiceable sub
Stitutes among those more plentiful.
Ii the past, the cooperage industry,
which is highly faStidious in it's choice
of woods. has culed the best large
trees OIL hundreds of thousands of acres
of forest, from which it can not again
obtain material for a long period.
Moreover. the amount of wood discard
ed III slack-cooperage manufacture is
necessarily very large, ranging from As
per cent. of the timber i'll slaves to "a
per cent. i'll headings. This discarded
wood is in large part not disable for
cooperage, but some of it could, in
MANY cases, be used for the manufac-
ture of Small-dimensiOn stuff and other
similar products. Here again, as in
the case of numbering, lumber manu-
facture, and wood working industries
iii general, the question OF the utlliZa-
ton OF waste assumes prime import
ance. The necessary consumption of
all wood products not only must con-
tinue, but must contiue to grow, and
conservation of resources must largely
take the form of substituting use for
waste. To convert the great waste of
the slack-cooperage mills into salable
products, and thus to restrain needless
forest destruction, merits, therefore,
careful study.
In consequence Of this tWo-fold drain
upon supplies, first, in the exploitation
of the forest and, second, in the high
percentage of loss at the mill, slack
cooperage must now depend on small
holdings for supplies. In the North
ern States it is, like the vehicle indus
try, commonly forced to go to the
farmers woodlot to secure timber of
the needed dimensions and quality.
Even as it is, the average life of hoop
mill in Ohio is only about four years,
after which the manufacturer either
goes out of business or moves to fresh
fields. Throughout that State and
Michigan the large number of aban-
doned cooperage mills and the con-
slant shutting down of expensive mod
ern plants indicate the exhaustion of
the region. Under the pressure of
these conditions the industry is SHIFT
ing steadily southwark.
Manufacturers of slack-cooperage
woods are well aware, from their long
experience, of the difficulties which be-
set their business, and are ready to
profit by any principles which broad
study of its conditions may bring out.
Such a study, however, they do not
feel in position to carry on individual
". For this reason the United States
Forest Service has taken up the suo-
ject, with view to ascertalnlng what
improvements and economies in manu-
facture are practicable; what WOODS
can be added to the present list of
cooperage woods; what woods are best
adapted for each purpose in cooperage;
and what are the amounts of wood con-
sumed in the industry.
A preliminary study of slack cooper
age problems has already been complet-
ed for the North Central, Central, and
some of the Eastern States. This has
cnrva1 n cl1uppCt Sauoral 1nAS nf cnppia1
investigation which are to be taken up
in turn by the Service, and, in addition,
has brought out in some detail the re-
quirements which cooperage woods
must fill.
For barrel slaves the best woods are
those which are pliable, strong, clear of
imperfecuions, of light weight, and
preferably of bright appearance. In
the best grades of barrels, such as -four
barrels, slaves combining all these
requisites are demanded. Elm is one
of the few woods now used which
possess them. Where foodstuffs liable
to be tainted with foreign flavor are
packed, as in the case of butter, none
but tasteless woods are suitable. These
requirements narrow the choice of
woods to snch species as spruce and
white ash for butter tubs, and white
pine for brine and pickle packages.
Hoops for slack barrels are of three
kinds" patent" hoops, made by cut
ting up sawed boards of elm; tracked"
hoops, made by splitting black ash; and
"half-round" hoops, made by dividing
young saplings of such tenacious woods
as hickory, birch, or beech. The fancy
for split saplings, which still prevails,
! is believed to be largely due to preju-
dice. The attempt to substitute wire
hoops for wooden ones on slack barrels
has been successful thus far only as re-
CARDS the "bilge' or central hoop; the