In 1870, the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company was the world's largest dealer and consumer of graphite and later became the contemporary pencil and art supplies company Dixon Ticonderoga.[18][19]By the end of the 19th century, more than 240,000 pencils were in use each day in the United States. The preferred wood for pencils was red cedar because it was aromatic and did not splinter when sharpened. By the early 20th century, supplies of red cedar were dwindling, so pencil makers were forced to recycle wood from cedar fences and barns to maintain the supply. One of the effects of this was that "during World War II, rotary pencil sharpeners were banned in Britain because they wasted so much lead and rare wood, and pencils had to be sharpened more sharply." conservative – with knives. Today, pencils are made from this wood grown in managed forests. More than 14 billion pencils are manufactured worldwide each year.[21] Less popular alternatives to cedar include basswood and