El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-03

M The continued scarcity Of ce-
dar, no less than the actual
knowledge that the supply available
is already insufficient for the appar-
entity trifling matter Of supplying lead
pencils to the children Of the mex
de ade, IS giving some uneasiness 10
the minds Of those who find the lead
pencil an instrument in daily use
Some 10 years ago a woman in Phlla-
delphia was fOresighted enough to in
vent a paper pencil which had the
added advantage of being snarpened py
merely unWinding a strip of paper, but
although millions OF paper penclls
have been sold and the invenJlo1
brought a gOOdly fortune to the m
yentOr, the demand for the wooden
pencil still preGomlnates ana tnS
manufacturers are being hard pressed
to meet it.
35O,OOO,OOO Pencils Made In Year.
Only one variety of cedar Is avail
sEle for the manufacture Of lead pen
ellis. This is the red cedar known also
Is the Virginia cedar or juniper berry
Its range extends only from the ONO
river on the north, as far east as east
ern Tennessee end central Georgia, as
Tar south as Tampa bay on the west
coast Of Florida and as far west as
eastern Texas and western Arkansas
Nearly 35u,OOU,OUO lead pencils are
manufactured in the United states each
Year and these require about lIO,VV9
tons Of cedar wood. Zach day 300 tons, or
in the manufacture OF lead pencils.
Practically all Of this wood must be o.
a selected stock of red cedar which
is harder to obtain each year
Cedar Used for Century.
More than a century ago the pencu
makers in this country began to use
this wood, taking no thought of the
pOsst biity Of the supply becoming eN-
hausted- The German government
with its customary prudence, took
measures for replaning its cedar stock
and Germany IS now becoming lnde-
pendent Of imports and is even able
&c supply a certain amount Of red &C.
Gar to the pencil factories OF other
European countries
High Prices Paid for Wood
In America no such precautions have
been taken and the pencil factories are
now glad 10 buy even small quantities
of old red cedar. paying for IL at the
rates Of a cent or more a pound or 40
cents a cubic foot The price IS likely
to double in the near future As II IS
necessary that pencil cedar be well
seasoned, It's age IS an advantage pro-
viding il is in good condition
Consequently. IL is not unusual to
see an old darkey dragging an Ole
fence rail or piece OF timber out OF
some old building. towards one OF the
pencil factories which are scattered
over various southern states he knows
the factory viii buy 1t at a price sur
many a day Even a single cubic foot
of good well seasoned red cedar VIII
not be refused By some factories
Big Waste OF Material.
Fully three-fOurths Of the cedar
Y God purchased by the pencil factories
cannot be used for pencils, but has to
go into the waste heap OF be used up
as some by product Only the heart
wood is good for lead pencils The
outside or sap wood is sometimes
utilized for pen holders Pencil WOOD
must be straight grained and free from
knots and black specks- Before me
" God became scarce, the sap wood was
allowed TO rot by keeping the logs IN
water. This process tended to make
the heartwOOd brittle and soft good
qualities for the pencil maker.
The search for cedar has spread
throughout all the southern states
and has been most thorough AS late
red cedar timber were RATED down
the Cumberland river from the v1cin-
ity Of Lebanon, Tenn, 1t is said BY
experts that another such lot IS nOI
likely to be secured in this country
within the next half century Fhe VIZ
gin cedar stands have all been eN-
hausted and old cuttings have oeen
gone over repeatedly. Logs and trees
which were passed BY few years ago
are eagerly taken now Old StumpS
are cut up and good pencil wood Sc
cured from them Barns ana cabins
tuilt of cedar many years ago are
rot escaping the searchers who buy
this wood in large quantities Fence
rails and pick cts are also taken Some
cedar rail fences by building modern
woven wire fences in their places
Poplar Substitute for Cedar.
The pencil industry is not the only
one which is being embarrassed by this
exhaustion OF the supply Of red ce-
dar, which the United States decart-
u,ent Of forestry claims could have
been prevented If this government nad
taken the same precautions as did that
of Germany The manufacturers OF
cigar boxes have had to substitute an
= -
possible for them to secure cedar. In
the minds Of some smokers this fact IS
responsible for the deterioration in the
flavor Of a number of brands Of cigars.
Instead OF being packed in box Of
fragrant red cedar. most cigars are
now put I'D in boxes made Of poplar
or some other soft wood and are COW
cred and lined with thin veneer OF I
Spanish cedar which is imported from
Cuba for that purpose
An old Red Cedar bucket.
In the colonial days in this country
red cedar was used for many va
rieties of household wares Well buck {
cts were made Of red cedar more fire.
Quently than from any other Wod- At I
the St Louis Worlds fair was eNhib- I
tied a red cedar bucket with brass
hoops which was made in Tennessee in /
1867. Its wood was still sound, al l
thought IL had been in active use more /
than a century. Few cedar. buckets are I
tC be found now Incidentally 1t MAJ !
be mentioned that the use Of paper as /
a material for manufacturing water ]
buckets has been more satisfactory |
than for lead pencils and the paper or ]
nbrOid water buckets are TO be found 1
in large variety in every house fur [
nishing store.
Collins OF red cedar were used ex-
tensively in the southern states half I
a century ago and frequently they 4
were placed in boxes Of the same ma I
terial. 1t has been rumOred that old J.
grave yards have been rifled by, the ,
pencil wood seekers. This report has I
been denied rather Indignantly by the j
manufacturers who claim that aside 1
from other reasons. wood which had /
been buried for so many years in 1
board thickness could not be perfect 4
CT ough TO be available for pencils as
Notwithstanding Its durability, cedar !
will decay under such conditions.
Franklin Predicted Shortage.
The extinction Of red cedar was pre-
dicted BY Benjamin Franklin as far
back as 1749 and by Peter Kahn, OF I
New Jersey in 1850. The farmers OF !
New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsyl- ]
vania were then using II freely for
posts and building, as well as for fur
niture and household utensils In an
essay published in Poor Richards
Almanac" Franklin urges the neCes-
sity Of planting and caring for more /
red cedar He gives directions for 4
trimming the Young trees that rhe- I