The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-11-06
Three Million NFire.Sticks Sure
Struck Every Minute.
BEST WOOD is IN THE STOCK
roughout the United States There
Is a piliigent Search For For
ests, Story Is Told.

The civilized nations of the world
strike 100000 matches every minute
of the twenty four hours, writes a
Washington statistician. Nearly one
half of these are ignited in this coun-
try Americans use up the enormous
total OF 7OO,0O0,0O0,000 a year, and
have larger match bill than any
other nation in the world. Hundreds
of factories the country over are
engaged in this industry, about which
the general public knows little. Some
of the plants are very large, one
on the Pacific coast covering 240 acres,
with thirty-two miles of railroad,
which supply the match machines with
100000 feet of sugar pine and yellow
pine logs day. I'd
Best Wood Required.
For the manufacture of the match
the best grade of wood is necessary.
Sapwood, knotty or cross-fgured tim
Der will not do. This makes it neces-
sary to search the best forests and
pick out the choice trees only, and
nothing but the choice portions of the
best trees go to the match machines
Seldom is . the little splinter tipped
with sulphtlr. or some other substance
TO be ignued by friction, given even
scant attention in the consideration
of the depletion of the worlds finest
forests, yet the manufacturers of these
little fire sticks are as much concerned
over the timber supply question as
any other class of men engaged in an
industry whose welfare depends on
the use of forest products. 1t might
be supposed that because matches are
small the makers of them would util-
ize scraps and left-overs. This is
never the case; matches are not by
products. The match machine takes
the finest timber and what it rejects
goes to the by.product yard, and the
by-product end of the match business
becomes the largest end, so far as
bulk is concerned. 3@
This country, although it has the
most abundant material and the finest
machinery in the world for the pun
pose, does not manufacture enough
matches to supply the home market
Thousands of collars worth are an
nually imported from Germany, Aus
tria, France, sweden and other coun-
tries, whore they are made by cheaper
labor and poorer machinery, and usu.
ally from high-priced wood, though it
is not. i, better than what is grown
in the American forests. The imports
are largely safety matches, which car
be struck only on the box or other
specially prepared surface. Wood fol
matches is much more serious prob
lem in some of the European countries
than it yet is in the United States
The most suitable match timber is
pine, linden, aspen, white cedar, pop.
lar, birch and willow. Others, how
ever, are occasionally used. Germany
imports willow and aspen from Russia
Some time ago the German match
manufacturers petitioned the minister
to plant aspen in the state forests tC
supply wood for matches without i'm
porting it. A similar petition to theil
government was presented by the
French manufacturers of matches, who
wanted a home supply. At the same
time the Russian manufacturers O.
matches asked their government tt
take measures to check the export O
match wood to foreign countries, be
cause the material was needed a
home.
Diligent Search for Forests.
In the United States, as well as il
Canada, diligent search for choice
forests is maintained, and very larg
tracts have been bought by compane
in the match business, not only t.
meet presenS demands, but to provide
for years to come. In single yea
one match company cut 225,OOO,00'
beard feet of pine in the lake region
The cut, however, in that instance wa
exceptionally large in order to saw
the timber,N which was threatened b,
the ravages of a bark beetle. Their
are more than $50 match manufactur