The San Francisco call., 1908-12-02

ON SLACK BARRELS
Last Years Output of Cooper
age Mills Shows Increase
of Sl,569,6SS r
Most of the Commercially I'M
pOrtant Trees in Country !.
Used in Factories :.


WASHINGTON. Dec. The farmer
with his potatoes and his apples. the
miller with his -four and meal, the
hardwareman with his nails. the cement
manufacturer. and the many other
users of the faithful slack barrel THAI
combination of slaves. hoops and head
Ing. which is not intended to hold.
water or something stronger in fluid
form. used forest products last year
having the enormous value OF s15.-
S0O253
The average man would little suspect
that the humble barrel plays so import
ant part in the expense accounts of
the American farmer and manufacturer.
yet figures complied by the census
bureau in co-opera ton with the United
States forest service develop this inter-
esting truth. Moreover. statistics taken
directly from reports from $50 cooper-
age mills in all parts OF the United
States show an increase OF .S1s5S9, SIS.
or IL per cent in the. value of last
years product over that OF the pTeviouss
year.
MANY KINDS OF TREES Used
In distinct contrast to tight cooper
age stock, which in the main requires
oak timber for its raw material, slack
cooperage stock. particularly. slaves
and heading, utilized in greater or less
degree. most of the commercially inn
portant trees in the country: and for.
this reason it's manufacture was far
more widely distributed than is the
case with that of tight cooperage
stock. Twenty-one species OF wood
contributed O.the total slack stave pro-
duction last year. Nearly two-thirds
of the output. however. was manufae-
tured from the four species. red gum.
pine. elm and beach in the order. named.
The figures disclose an interesting
movement in the industry IN the. sub
stitution OF less expensiye woods for
those which for many years wers.
drawn upon most heavily for slack
stave material. but which, owing TO
growing scarcity and advancing cost
are rapidly being displaced ~.
In 1906 elm slaves were manufac-
tured in larger quantities than those
from any other wood, and constituted
nearly one-fourth of the total produc--
tion for that year. with pine and red
gum occupying second and third places.
respectively.
GUM TAKES FIRST PLACE
. Last year gum jumped. to- frst place.
pine to second while elm: with fall
ing off of 3s per cent In production.
dropped 10. third place. Beech, maple.
spruce. chestnut and ash followed IN
/ the order named. .:
| While slack stave and heading pro-
| duction was reported last year from
practically all the states engaged In
the manufacture Of lumber. consid-
erable percentage OF the stock. In fact.
|. being turned out as a .by-product OF
lumber. the industry was, to an extent
localized. the five states OF Pennsyl-
-vania, Missouri. Michigan. Arkansas
and Virginia. In the order named. con-
tributing SIS per cent OF the total pro-
duction-
| The distribution OF the industry OF
hoop manufacture is much. more limited
than that Of slaves and heading. and Is
due primarily to the fact that this
commodity is made chiefly from elm
timber Ohio. led In the quantity OF
hoops manufactured. closely followed
by Indiana. the output OF these two
states forming s7.3 per cent OF the
total production.