The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-09-04
FOR
ASH BALL BATS
Diminishing Supply Of Favorite Wood
Necessitates Seeking Something
to Take Its Place.


sociateg who specialize in waIloping
the horsehide out of the baseball
grounds may wen begin to ask what
kind Of bat they win use when the df-
minishing Supply Of ash makes 1t less
. easy for them to obtain this hitherto
! favorite material During the last
/ few years several sporting goods fac
tories have attempted to introduce
hickory bats as a substitute for the
traditional ash. This has been unsuc-
lcessful, however, because hickory, al
though 1t possesses greater shock
absorptive qualities than ash, is too
heavy.
One OF the greatest curiosities at a
leading bat factory is a model room
where more than 1900 bat patterns are
kept on display. Each model embed
les the individual likes and dislikes of
the various players. There are thin
bats. portly bats, heavy clubs, light
bats, some with handles Of unusual
shape and design, and some with bod
les that resemble bottles. Whenever a ]
professional player orders new con-
signment of bats, this factory is able |
to refer to the special model desired |
and to pattern the new bats after that
particular design. The bats of the big
league players are turned out by hand, |
great care and skill being employed |
in their production.
The majority OF the white ash tim |
Der used in making baseball bats Is |
cut from farm woodlots and timber
tracts in Kentucky, Ohio, ARD the
Lake and Lower Mississippi states. |
The timber is cut in the winter, logged /
and hauled to the railroad, whence it |
is transported to the factories, a num-
Der of which are located at Louisville, |
Ky. The ash is cut up in bolt form,
each bolt being ultimately converted /
into finished bat. After arrival at |
the factory, the bolts are stored in !
curing sheds for from several months
up to year in order that the wood
may season thoroughly Skilled work /
men ultimately work tho bolts ,up /
into bats for all grades of ball players
from the stars of the big leagues to
the sandlot champions and school
players.
According to standing timber sur
vey made by the II. S. forest service
at the request of congress. present ash
resources aggregate approximately
part, these ash assets are scattered
over wide range Of woodlands, the
ash trees being prevalent in mixed
forests of hardwood timber. The Low
er mississippi states have about
3,1S2, 006B00 board feet OF ash on the
stump at present, much of this supply
being old timber. The Central states
have about 1923, 900 900 board feet of
2s1H, Oh hax alb
1893. 900 900 board feet, the South At
lantic and East Gulf states 1886, 900,
600 board feet, the Middle Atlantic
states $4,000, 600 board feet, and the
New England states 215,000,0oO board
feet
Obviously If ashe were used solely
for the manufacture of baseball bats,
our leading national game would have
no need to concern itself about substi- I
tutes for long time to come. But the
industries which use ash are already
beginning to find it hard to obtain
high grade material in sufficient
quantities to meet their needs, and its
price prior to the recent slackening in
industrial activity rose rapidly. The
entire amount of ash used for sport
ing and athletic goods forms a very
small part of the yearly consumption
of this valuable wood, which possesses
properties that give it pre- eminence
for several indutries. In particular, thel
vehicle and handle industries have been
fierce competitors for ash. Over half /
the annual cut goes into handles, We
hicle parts, woodenware and novel
ties.
Ash is unquestionab1y one of the
woods in connection with which the
effects of forest depletion will earliest
be felt in the form of an actual dearth /
of material. There are two possible |
remedies, to grow more ash and to re-
sort to substitutes. Already the search /
for substitutes has begun. As for
growing more ash, foresters say that /
with the waning of the virgin supplies /
the farmers woodlot is coming to
play a larger and larger part in filling
market needs and that farmers whose
woodland is suitable for ash produc-
ton viii do well to favor this species.
The laminated, or two or three piece
bat originated and perfected by the
q. S. forest service, also promises to
exert a potential, conservative influ-
ence on the white ash supplies neces-
sary for the production of our best
bats. Short pieces of material which
otherwise would be worthless for bat
construction can now be fitted and
joined together with the same kind of
waterproof glue thar is used in max
ing airplane propeIlers. so that the
finished product is a baseball bat as
resilient springy, durable and salts
factory as the one-piece variety Field
tests have demonstrated that the lam
mated bat lasts lust as long and is
as productive Of home runs as the or
binary ash bats made of one piece
timer.
Majagua wood. which comes from
Cuba, has been used to some extent
during recent wears in the making Of
baseball bats. This is tieht- grained.
tough. tenacious and springy wood
heavier than ash but otherwise not
unlike this American timber that has