Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 October 1897 — SAWDUST AS MERCHANDISE. [ARTICLE]

SAWDUST AS MERCHANDISE.

Commodity Not Commonly Regarded aa of Much Account. Sawdust ns an article of merchandise Is not ealcnjnted to excite the commercial of ambitious merchants, yet, prosaic find commonplace as is the commodity itself, It affords a distinctive branch of trade and ranks ns a thriving though limited offshoot of the larger Industries. In this city there are perhaps half a dozen dealers In sawdust, and they have ns much as they can do all the year round to supply the demand. '* These dealers obtain their supply mninly from the lumber mills and packing box manufacturers of the city, but as these sources are not always sufficient they Import quite a quantity of sawdust from the Southern lumber mills, one firm alone getting as much as three carloads a month In this city. Sawdust reaches the consumer In bags, which contain three bushels and weigh forty-five to fifty pounds each. The dealer’s wagon goes over a regular route every day, serving Its regular customers, and at the end of the week collecting the empty bugs. The largest users of sawdust nre the cold storage warehouses, each of which will take from fifty to sixty bags per week, and the large meat houses, which use from fifteen to twenty-five bags a week. Next In order ns consumers come hotels, dry goods Btores, office buildings, butchers, and grocery stores, flsli and oyster markets, ice houses and saloons. Ordinarily, there are two grades of sawdust, flue and coarse. The former Is mostly used for smoking meats, such as hams, shoulders and dried beef, and Is obtained from walnut, briar root, cottonwood, red cedar, oak, hickory and pine. The coarse grade comes from white and yellow pine and poplar, and Is used for cleaning purposes and packing. Sawdust is sold at retail from 15 to 20 cents per bag, according to weight, and the price Is the same for all kinds except one. The exception Is boxwood sawdust, which Is very hard to get, and brings as high as $2.50 a bag, when selected for packing purposes by Jewelers. Common sawdust Is used for packing some kinds of bottle goods, such as Ink, cologne, pickles, shoe blacking, bicycle cements and oils. It Is used fer packing eggs and also for some polishing purposes, but the chief use of large quantities of this material is In sweeping floors. Great quantities are thus utilized, and much is also spread upon floors, where it lies for several days at a time before It Is renewed. Sawdust for sweeping is usually dampened a little, and It Is not unusual to clean carpets In tills way. Hotels and large department stores use great quantities for such purposes, and expend perhaps S2OO a year on this commodity. —Philadelphia Times.