The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1908-01-29
FOREST SAVING NEED.
Match F.iaI<ers Much Concerned
Over Woad Supply Question.
WITtiift y IT OF A SHORTAC-

eSPSS'~iy N0eStSo way ~
Made-Best Grade Of Wood Needed.
How to Make Industry Permanent.
The civilized nations Of the world
strike 3.O0O,0 900 matches every minute
of the twenty-four hours. Nearly one
half Of these are ignited in the United
States. Americans use up the enor-
nous total Of O0.000.0 100000 a year
and have a larger match bill than any
other nation in the world.
Hundreds Of factories over the coun-
Try are engaged in this industry about
which the general public knows 80 lit
tie. Some Of the plants are very large,
one on the Pacific coast covering 24O
acres, with thirty-two miles Of rail
road, which supply the match ma
chimes with 100000 feet Of sugar pine
and yellow pine logs a day.
A statement of the number Of cubic
feet Of wood which actually Is con-
verted into matches each year would
convey only an inadequate idea Of the
number Of trees required for the in
dustry. For the manufacture Of the
match the best grade Of wood is neces-
sary. Sapwood, knotty or cross grain
ed timber will not do. This makes 1t
necessary to search the best forests and
pick out the choice trees only, and moth
ing but the choice portions of III choice
trees goes to the match machines.
Seldom is the little splinter tipped
with sulphur or some other substance,
to be ignited by friction, given even
scant mention in the consideration Of
the depletion of the worlds finest for
ests, vet 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 In
dustry whose welfare depends on the
use Of forest products.
1t might be supposed that because
matches are small the makers Of them
would utilize scraps II leftovers.
This Is never the case. Matches are
not byproducts. The match machine
takes the finest timber, and what it
rejects goes to the %byproduct yard, and
the byproduct end Of the match bust
ness becomes the largest end, SO far as
bulk is concerned. Among the by
products turned out by the large Pa
cifc coast factory just mentioned are
1000 doors and 800 sashes daily.
AS a matter of fact, 1t would be i'm
possible to carry on the match bust
ness at all at present prices If the re-
jected lumber We're not worked into
something else. The room where
matches are made is frequently the
smallest department of a match fac
tory. The larger portions contain the
sawmills and planning mills. where
doors, sash, shingles, laths, siding,
posts, cord wood and many other sala-
BILE commodities are made ready for
market.
The United States Ices not manu-
facture enough matches to supply the
home market. Thousands of dollars
worth are annually imported from
Germany, Austria, France, Sweden
and other countries. The imports are
largely safety matches, which can be
struck only on the box or other special
~ prepared surface.
Wood for matches is a much more
serious problem in some of the Euro
pean countries than it is in the United
States. The most suitable match tim
Der is pine, linden, aspen, white ce
dar, poplar, birch and willow. 9th
ers, however, are occasionally used
Germany imports willow and aspe1
from Russia. Some time ago the Ger
man match manufacturers petitionet
the minister of agriculture to aus
the foresters to plant aspen in thu
state forests to supply wood fo'
liar petition to their government was
presented by the French manufactur
ers of matches who wanted n hom'
supply. At the same time the Russian
manufacturers of matches asked thef
government to take measures to checl
the export Of match wood to foreigl
countries because the material wa
needed at home.
In the United States as well as Il
Canada a diligent search for choic
forests is maintained, and very larg
tracts have been bought by compa
MES in the match business not only t
meet present demands, but to provid
for years to come. In a single yea
one match company cut 225,0OO,00
board feet Of pine In the lake region
The cut, however, In that instance wa
exceptionally large in order to say
the timber. which was at that tim
threatened by the ravages of a bar
beetle. There are more than Is
match manufacturers In the Unite
States and about half that number
Canada.
Matches are manufactured in man
ways and with numerous kinds {
machines. Nearly every manufactu
ing company has machinery made sp'
cially for its use and covered by pa
ents, and it also employs processes Iii
covered or devised by It's " chen
fists and mechanics and kept secret
prevent rivals from obtaining and pro
tting by them. A single machine hf