The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-08-24

prepared by the United States Department
Of Agriculture.)
Hickory timber, although held in
seemingly vast amount by the forests
Of the country, may soon become In
sufficient to meet American manufac-
turing and woodworking needs. The
increasing demand for this valuable
species, together with the scattered
character of Its growth in the forest,
has resulted in merchantable stands
becoming more and mOr inaccessible
and difficult to log.
Stands Are Widely Scattered.
The Forest Service, United States
Department of Agriculture, puts the
country's present supply of hickory,
distributed through 100000 acres
Of forests, at 49, 4,OOO,O 900 board feet.
OF this the Central states have 1,791,-
100000 feet, the lower Mississippi
states Sill, 100000 feet, the South At.
lantic and East Gulf states 3,183,OOO,-
600 feet, the Middle Atlantic states
A2,OQO,OOO board feet, the Lake states
1877, 100000 feet, and the New England
states 40,OOO,OOO
One of the uses to which hickory Is
put Is the manufacture Of spokes for
automobile wheels. The yearly de-
mand upon the hickory reserves by
this industry alone Is tremendous, as
there Is much waste In getting the
select stock necessary not only for
spokes but also the rims OF wheels.
Industries Compete for Hickory.
. For the most part vehicle and agri.
cultural implement industries compete
with the handle industry for hickory
and ash. These are located mainly In
the Middle West, but now derive most
of their wood supplies from the South.
A large number Of far-sighted organi-
cations purchased more or less extern
sive hardwood tracts some years ago,
from which they are now able to draw
at least a part Of their wood supplies.
To secure hickory, which grows scat
teringly over large areas, the vehicle
and vehicle-implement industries orig
inally maintained extensive buying,
logging, and milling organizations in
the South. They draw upon every CON
ceivable source-farmers' wood-lots
small mills, large sawmills, and even
specialized operations designed to Sc
cure hickory alone. These concerns In
general carry In stock about a two
years supply Of special-dimenslon
stock.
Makers of automobile wheels say
that they can still get the material
required if they make sufficient effort
and pay the price, but it is necessary
to 20 farther and farther. away for 1t.
Many inquiries received by the forest
service from vehicle implement max
ers, requesting information On possible
substitutes for the woods used in We
hicle making, Is merely another indica-
ton Of the difficulties In getting ade-
auate supplies at the present time and
Of uncertainty as to the future.
Ten Different Kinds Of Hickorles.
Hickory is often referred to as II II
were q single species, like red gum or
yellow poplar. In reality there are III
different kinds Of hickory trees. For
hickory-handle purposes those known
al true hickories are most valuable.
The pecan hickories include the water,
nutmeg, and bitter nut varieties. The
true hickories comprise shagbark, pig
shellbafk, pignut, and mocker nut
The handle industry Is largely depend
emit on this last group OF trees for its
raw material. II y.
The annual consumption OF hickory
by the handle trade is something over
12O,OOO,OOO feet board measure Little
if any, OF this material passes through
the sawmills, for It Ii ordinarily cut
and shipped to the handle factories in
the form OF log bolts or billets. All
hickorles do not give the same service
when made into handles. The various
parts OF the same tree may show dff
ferent properties, and the quality q
the wood near the center ID quite likely
to diner from that nearer the bark
me wood of the butt Of q youne
hickory tired 81 OF greater average
toughness than II 40 when the tree 4
old. The wood of butt cuts of bott
old and young trees u tougher thar
that cut higher up the trunk. TIN
handle manufacturers ~ tho mos
part, demand seccnd-srowth hickory
which CONSISTS q young a1tock of rapit
growth.
Bssk Material 10 MssdIss.
Hickory Il the best known naaferia
for cartain elasses e ko0l h1ndla1
saeh y o. = 90 ~ h1n -