Physical Qualities of Wood. Uses. Mammoth Trees 180
_a._ Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) 182
_b._ Giant Redwood (Sequoia washingtoniana) 182
PART III.
_ENDOGENOUS SERIES._
Section 38. Definitions. Cellular Structure. Structural and
Physical Peculiarities of Endogenous Wood. Uses. General
Information 183
PALM (PALMACEÆ).
Section 39. Localities. Structural and Physical Peculiarities
of Wood. Uses. Botanical. Characteristics 185
_a._ Cabbage Palmetto (Sabal palmetto) 186
_b._ Washington Palm (Washingtonia filifera) 187
YUCCA (Yucca).
Section 40. Localities. Structural and Physical Peculiarities
of Wood. Uses, etc. 188
_a._ Joshua Tree, Yucca (Yucca arborescens) 189
BAMBOO (Bambusæ).
Section 41. Botanical Characteristics. Structural and
Physical Peculiarities of Wood. Growth. Uses in the Orient.
Possibilities in America, etc. 190
_a._ Bamboo (Bambusæ vulgaris) 192
LIST OF PLATES.
Frontispiece. Live Oak (Quercus virginiana).
Plate 2. EXOGENOUS STRUCTURE IN WOOD--Yearly Rings or Layers.
Plate 3. EXOGENOUS STRUCTURE IN WOOD--Medullary or Pith Ray.
Plate 4. EXOGENOUS STRUCTURE IN WOOD--Cross-sections Enlarged.
Plate 5. Oak (Quercus alba).
Plate 6. Ash (Fraxinus americana).
Plate 7. Elm (Ulmus americana).
Plate 8. Maple (Acer saccharum).
Plate 9. Walnut (Juglans).
Plate 10. Hickory (Hicoria ovata).
Plate 11. Chestnut (Castanea dentata).
Plate 12. Beech (Fagus).
Plate 13. Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis).
Plate 14. Birch (Betula).
Plate 15. Locust (Robinia, Gleditsia).
Plate 16. Whitewood (Liriodendron tulipifera).
Plate 17. Black Willow (Salix nigra).
Plate 18. Catalpa (Catalpa).
Plate 19. Sassafras (Sassafras officinale).
Plate 20. Horse Chestnut (Æsculus hippocastanum).
Plate 21. Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua).
Plate 22. Holly, Boxwood, Lignumvitæ (Ilex), (Buxus, Cornus),
(Guajacum).
Plate 23. Persimmon, Osage Orange, Cherry (Diospyros), (Maclura),
(Prunus).
Plate 24. Teak, Greenheart (Tectona), (Nectandra).
Plate 25. Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni).
Plate 26. Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus).
Plate 27. Pine (Pinus).
Plate 28. Kauri Pine (Dammara australis).
Plate 29. Black Spruce (Picea nigra).
Plate 30. Douglas Spruce (Pseudotsuga taxifolia).
Plate 31. Hemlock (Tsuga).
Plate 32. Larch, Tamarack (Larix).
Plate 33. Cedar (Cedrus, Thuya, etc.).
Plate 34. Cypress (Cupressus, Taxodium).
Plate 35. Redwood (Sequoia).
Plate 36. ENDOGENOUS STRUCTURE IN WOOD.
Plate 37. Palm (Palmaceæ).
Plate 38. Yucca (Yucca).
Plate 39. Bamboo (Bambusæ).
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
NAMES AND LOCALITIES.
"Check List of Forest Trees of the United States, their Names and
Ranges," Sudworth. (U. S. Forestry Bulletin No. 17.)
FEATURES OF TREES, BOTANIES.
Prof. Sargent's "Silva of North America"; Michaux and Nuttall's
"North American Silva"; _Apgar's_ "_Trees of Northern United
States_"; Publications U. S. Forestry Division; "_Our Native Trees_,"
_Keeler_; "Familiar Trees," Mathews; "Timber Trees and Forests of
North Carolina," Pinchot & Ashe (N. C. Geological Survey Bulletin No.
6); "Report on Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts," Emerson; "Manual
of Botany," Gray; "Plants," Coulter; "Illustrated Flora of U. S.,"
Britton and Brown; etc., etc. Botanical Gazette; Guide to Trees and
Shrubs of New England by their Leaves, Bradley Whidder, Boston.
COLOR, APPEARANCE OR GRAIN OF WOOD.
_Jesup Collection at Museum of Natural History, New York City;
Hough's American Woods (sections)._
STRUCTURAL QUALITIES AND USES OF WOODS.
_"Timber," Roth (Bulletin No. 10, U. S. Forestry Div.); Vol. IX,
Tenth U. S. Census_; _Prof. Sargent's "Catalogue Jesup Collections"_;
_Prof J. B. Johnson's "Materials of Construction"_; Prof. Thurston's
"Materials of Engineering," Part I; Dr. F. E. Kidder's "Inspection of
Materials and Workmanship." Allusions in numerous publications U. S.
Forestry Division.
WEIGHTS AND MODULI.
_Circular No. 15, U. S. Forestry Division_; Prof. J. B. Johnson's
"Materials of Construction"; Mr. S. P. Sharpless' Tables for the U.
S. Census (Vol. IX, Tenth Census; also Executive Document No. 5,
48th Congress, 1st Session, and also _Sargent's "Catalogue Jesup
Collection"_); Prof. Lanza's "Applied Mechanics."
AMERICAN SPECIES.
See foot-notes to species in question.
FOREIGN SPECIES.
_Thos. Lazlett's "Timber and Timber Trees"_; Report on Forests of
Western Australia by J. Ednie Brown; Catalogue Kew Botanical Gardens,
London; Works Baron Ferd. von Mueller; "American Lumber in Foreign
Markets" (Special Consular Reports, Vol. XI, U. S. State Dept.);
_Stevenson's "Trees of Commerce"_; also see foot-notes, species in
question.
GENERAL.
_"Forestry for Farmers," Fernow_, and other U. S. Forestry Division
Publications, Vol. IX, Tenth U. S. Census; _Hough's American Woods
(text)_; The Forester; The Northwestern Lumberman; The (New Orleans)
Lumber Trade Journal; The New York Lumber Trade Journal; The Timber
Trades Journal (London); "Lumber Trade of U. S." (Bureau Statistics
U. S. Treas. Dept.); Trees in Winter, Huntington.
HISTORICAL.
Brockhaus, Konversations-Lexikon; Pliny, etc.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES.
U. S. Dispensatory.
Books particularly useful to beginners are in italics. Names are
repeated when books could not be particularly classed under one
heading. Also see foot-notes under subjects in questions.
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF WOOD.
INTRODUCTION.
A tree has been defined as a woody plant that produces naturally and
in its native place one principal erect stem with a definite crown of
foliage. A plant thus attaining to the dignity of a tree is said to
be arborescent.[1]
There are nearly five hundred distinct species of trees growing
in the United States,[2] as well as many others peculiar to other
countries, yet the great mass of wood everywhere utilized is derived
from comparatively few of them.[3] Many woods will be more generally
employed as their valuable properties become more familiar or as the
supplies of wood now utilized continue to diminish.
The same tree is often called by different common names in different
places. Nearly thirty names are thus applied to the longleaf pine
(_Pinus palustris_). Such confusion can be avoided only by regarding
the recognized botanical nomenclature.
The botanical name of a plant consists of two principal terms
denoting genus and species. Quercus, for example, is [p002] the
generic name including all species of oak. Alba, rubra, and others
are specific names denoting the said species. Quercus alba and
Quercus rubra are completed terms. Genera are not fixed but differ
with authorities, so that the abbreviated name of the botanist
responsible for the classification adopted is often added, as Quercus
alba Linn. and Ulmus fulva Michx.
A species is a collection of individuals that might well have
sprung from some single root. A genus is a collection of related
species. Genera are gathered into families. Families and genera
differ with authorities. A variety includes individuals differing
slightly from accepted species. Its name when existing is part of the
specific name. "Quercus robur var. pedunculata" specifies a variety
(pedunculata) of "red" or strong (robur) oak (Quercus). A variety of
one botanist is sometimes a distinct species of another.
The size and character of the trunk, and the range, locality, or
distribution of the tree, have much to do with the utility of the
wood, since large or perfect timbers cannot be derived from species
characterized by small or crooked trees, and since wood is always
more used if it is widely distributed so as to be easily available.[4]
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--SOME WOOD ELEMENTS.]
Wood is made up of cell-structures; as, the true fibre, which
originates from several cells; the tracheid (tra-ke-id), which
originates from one; the vessel, which is a short, wide tube joined
vertically end to end with others of its kind; the pith-ray; the
resin-duct, and others,--all of which are often popularly referred to
as fibres. [p003]
The character and the arrangement of cell-structures differ with
species. Wood is hard, soft, light, heavy, tough, porous, elastic, or
otherwise, because of these differences. Appearance is affected, and
woods may be distinguished from one another, because of this fact.[5]
Most wood is used in "construction," that is, in mines, railways,
houses, and ships, where demand is for size or quantity, and where
finish and appearance amount to but little. Much wood is used in
decoration and furniture, where appearance, appropriateness, and
finish are called for; but these woods, although much in evidence,
are infinitely less in quantity than those employed in construction.
Some wood is required for implements, turnery, carvings, and
small-piece work, where size is secondary and where qualities such as
hardness, fine grain, and uniformity, controllable in small pieces,
are primary. Some wood is used indirectly, as in the manufacture of
paper-pulp, gunpowder, and chemicals. There are also by-products of
trees, such as tanbark, turpentine, resin, nuts, and sugar.
The weight, strength, and other measurable properties of wood are
variable. Weight varies from day to day as water is absorbed and
evaporated. Strength differs with grain, age, moisture, specific
gravity, and many other things. Two pieces from different portions
of the same tree differ from each other. The proportions of sap
and heart wood are seldom constant. Results from small specimens
may differ from those obtained from larger ones.[6] The botanical
accuracy of a specimen is not always certain, therefore figures
relating to the physical properties of wood should be employed with
greater caution than those relating to the more homogeneous metals.
Many of the experiments conducted to establish statements regarding
the physical properties of wood have been defective [p004] in that
while the conclusions were correct as applied to the specimens
immediately studied, such specimens did not stand for the species at
large. The recognition of difficulties, the selection of specimens,
the scientific standardizing of methods so that results could be
generally utilized, as distinct from the simple manipulation of
specimens in testing-machines, have not been exhaustively attempted
until recently.[7]
The experiments that have been made to determine the strength of
woods may be grouped into the four following divisions:
(1) Experiments conducted by the U. S. Division of Forestry (Dr.
B. E. Fernow, Chief), under the direction of Professor J. B.
Johnson. About forty thousand tests were made, distributed over
thirty-one American species, the results, so far as obtained, being
undoubtedly the most valuable in existence. The detail considered
and methods evolved have in a way reclassed the testing of woods and
must influence all future efforts, but results are disappointing
in that they have been obtained for so few species, and some of
these of commercially secondary importance. These experiments are
characterized as follows:
Completeness and Reliability of Records.
Large and Small Test Pieces.
Moisture Conditions Standardized at 12% Dry Weight.
Samples from Representative Portions of Tree.
Selection of Representative Trees.
Uniformity of Methods.
Large Number of Individual and Total Tests.
Small Number of Species Covered.
Specific Gravity Determinations.
Soil and Forest Conditions Indicated.
Botanical Accuracy Assured.
These experiments are originally described in Circular No. 15
and other publications of the U. S. Forestry Division, also in
"Materials of Construction," by Professor J. B. Johnson.
(2) Experiments conducted for the Tenth U. S. Census by Mr. J.
P. Sharpless at the Watertown (Mass.) Arsenal upon specimens
botanically selected by Professor Sargent. These experiments are
less complete in detail, and averages are based upon infinitely
[p005] fewer tests for each species. So far as known most specimens
were from butts. Nothing is known of moisture conditions save that
specimens were "carefully seasoned." Tests were upon about twelve
hundred specimens divided over four hundred and twelve species,
allowing but a small number for each. The series is most valuable
in that the species attempted were so numerous as to present an
almost complete American series; in that the botanical identity of
the specimens was beyond question, and because it gives a general
idea of relative values. The results are frequently quoted and
appear on the accompanying pages in spaces immediately following
those occupied by, or set apart for, "Forestry" figures or their
alternates. The tests are characterized as follows:
Botanical Accuracy Assured.
Specific Gravity Determinations.
Uniformity of Methods.
Limited Number of Individuals and Total Tests.
Large Number of Species Covered.
Small Test Pieces Only.
Selection and Moisture Conditions Indefinite.
They are originally described in Vol. IX, Tenth U. S. Census;
Executive Document No. 5, Forty-eighth Congress, First Session; in
Catalogue of the "Jesup Collection," by Professor C. S. Sargent, and
elsewhere.
(3) Experiments conducted upon full-sized pieces. The most reliable
investigations under this head were either conducted by Professor
Lanza, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or else are
noted by him in his work, "Applied Mechanics" (ed. 1895, pp.
673-711). They are valuable in that specimens were selected on a
commercial rather than on a scientific basis. Professor Lanza claims
that such actual pieces are less perfect and show approximately one
half the unit strength developed by the more carefully selected
smaller specimens. These experiments are characterized as follows:
Life-sized Specimens.
Miscellaneous Selections as if for Practical Construction.
Moisture and Other Data Indefinite.
(4) All other experiments. Many experiments have been made from
time to time which, while valuable, are not distinguished by any
particular method or principle, such as separate the investigations
noted in the preceding articles. Data as to selection of specimens,
moisture, and other conditions are either incomplete or else
absolutely lacking. Such tests are referred to as are noted in works
of Hatfield, Trautwein, Lazlett, Rankine, Thurston, and others. Some
of these series are exceedingly valuable comparatively. Professor
Rankine and Mr. Lazlett experimented principally upon foreign woods.
[p006]
The figures established by the United States Division of Forestry
and alluded to in item 1, page 4, appear, so far as they exist, upon
the following pages. Where they do not exist, the leading spaces set
apart for them are left vacant for other insertions as preferred.
All coefficients are in pounds per square inch. Fractions of pounds
in weight and lower figures in coefficients have been omitted as
superfluous.
It is not always easy to determine the species of living trees,
because forms in the forest differ from those in the open, because
bark varies with age, and because fruit and leaves of many trees are
lacking in the winter. It is easier to tell genus than species--that
a tree is an oak, than whether it is a red or a pin oak. Experience
is required in this connection.
Trees are divided into two general divisions known as Exogens and
Endogens.[8] [p007]
FOOTNOTES
[Footnote 1: Fernow, Introduction to U. S. Forestry Bul. No. 17.]
[Footnote 2: Dr. Fernow credits 495 trees to United States
(Introduction to U. S. Forestry Bul. No. 17); Prof. Sargent,
counting species only and excluding varieties, gives 422 (Silva of
North America).]
[Footnote 3: "The principal timbers of commerce in the United
States are the species known popularly as pine, fir, oak, hickory,
hemlock, ash, poplar, maple, cypress, spruce, cedar, and walnut."
("The Lumber Trade of the United States," Treas. Dept., Bureau of
Statistics.)]
[Footnote 4: Fossils show that many species covered wider ranges
than at present.]
[Footnote 5: Roth, U. S. Forestry Bul. No. 10, pp. 64-71. Also von
Schrenk, U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Bureau Plant Industry Bul. No. 14,
pp. 12-16.]
[Footnote 6: Only because imperfections are more likely in larger
pieces. Large and small pieces of equally perfect wood are equally
strong. (See Publications U. S. Forestry Div. and J. B. Johnson's
"Materials of Construction," p. 462.)]
[Footnote 7: It should be noted that the selection and preparation
of specimens require the exercise of more judgment than the simple
testing of specimens, if the conclusions are to be such that they
can be generalized from.]
[Footnote 8: This division coincides with that by which they are
separated into Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons.]
[Illustration: PLATE 2. EXOGENOUS STRUCTURE IN WOOD.
YEARLY RINGS OR LAYERS.
A section of a Longleaf Pine Tree.
A section of Oak showing "porous" structure in yearly layers.
(Natural size.)
A section of Hard Pine showing "solid" structure in layers. (Natural
size.)]
EXOGENOUS TREES.
(_Dicotyledons_.)
Exogenous trees are those the trunks of which are built up by rings
or layers, each deposited consecutively upon the outside of the
others. A section exhibits first a central point or canal known as a
pith-cavity, next and consecutively the annual layers, and finally
the bark. The woods of this series are familiar to all. The oaks,
pines, and practically all of the merchantable lumbers are among
them. The forests are widely distributed, and the species are so
numerous as to present an almost infinite range of possibilities.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--SECTION BOXELDER, SHOWING PITH-CAVITY AT
CENTRE.]
The young wood of exogenous trees is porous. It permits the passage
of sap and is known as sapwood (Alburnum). As a layer is enclosed by
others and retreats from the surface of the tree, it becomes denser,
its canals are filled with gums or tannin, color changes, and the
result is heartwood (Duramen). This change goes forward rapidly in
some trees, such as locusts, so that their sections appear to be
almost wholly heartwood; other species require longer time, and
sapwood then predominates.
Heartwood gives stability to the tree, but is not needed in its
physiological processes. It is tougher, heavier, stronger, and more
valued in construction. Sapwood is vitally essential to the life of
the tree, but is lighter, weaker, less durable, and less valued in
construction. Sapwood is pliable, and the sapwoods of several trees
are valued for this reason.
Wood-making varies as it takes place in the springtime and in the
summer. Consequent differences in the densities [p008] of the
deposits serve to mark the limits of the yearly rings. Some species,
as the oaks and hickories, show pores throughout their spring woods
which thus contrast with denser summer growths. Others, as Southern
pines, change sharply, and their spring and summer growths appear
as solid bands. In even climates, where seasons are not pronounced,
growth is more regular and layers correspondingly less definite.[9]
The cellular structure of wood is principally vertical, a fact that
explains the ease with which wood is split up and down. Beside the
vertical, there are horizontal cells, that cross the tree, strengthen
and bind the vertical cells, and assist in the life-processes of the
tree. These horizontal cells form what are known as medullary or
pith-rays and appear as simple lines or glistening plates according
to the way in which the wood is cut. Woods differ in the size and
number of these rays, which are by no means always visible to the eye
(see plate 3).
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
Woods are easy or difficult to work in proportion as their fibres
are arranged in a simple or a complicated manner. This is shown in
the figures on plate 4. A knife pressed upon the oak must crush or
cut into the fibres themselves, whereas with the pine it finds some
natural passage between the cells. Wood may be cut so as to develop
cross-sections (_C_, Fig. 3), radial sections (_R_), or tangential
sections (_T_). The respective [p009] markings are in a general
way indicated on the boards in the figure.
[Illustration: PLATE 3. EXOGENOUS STRUCTURE IN WOOD.
MEDULLARY OR PITH RAY.
Actual appearances of pith ray, _PP_.
Microscopic enlargement of a tangential section of White Oak showing
large pith ray, _pp_.]
[Illustration: PLATE 4. EXOGENOUS STRUCTURE IN WOOD.
(CROSS-SECTIONS, ENLARGED.)
Two yearly layers of White Oak. The larger pores were formed in
spring, the smaller ones in summer. The small circles are ends of
fibres. A knife pressed upon this surface would crush or cut into
the cells. The mass would not split or separate evenly.
Two yearly layers of White Pine. The space in the outer or darker
one is a resin-duct; the circles are ends of fibres (tracheids);
pith rays are noticeable. A knife pressed upon this surface would
find easy passage. The mass would separate easily.]
Logs are sometimes sawn into quarters and then into pieces crossing
and exposing the yearly rings. (See Fig. 4.) These "quarter-sawn"
surfaces are structurally stronger and better, but are, by reason
of waste or small pieces, more costly than others. The pith-rays of
some woods, such as oaks, are very prominent when split as they are
in "quarter-sawing," and the appearance of such woods is consequently
improved.[10]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
Exogenous trees are divided into broad-leaved trees and needle-leaved
conifers. The broad, flat leaves of trees such as oaks and chestnuts
gave rise to the former term, while the narrow resinous leaves of the
pine and hemlock gave rise to the latter. The woods of the former
group are usually referred to as hard woods, although some of them
are very soft; those of the latter group are referred to as soft
woods, although some of them are very hard. Most, but not all, of the
broadleaf trees are deciduous, that is, they change their foliage
every year; and most, but not all, of the needleleaf trees are
evergreen, that is, the foliage is persistent. Needleleaf trees are
also known as conifers, that is, cone-bearers.
It is usual to associate the terms broadleaf, deciduous, and hard
wood; and likewise the terms needleleaf, conifer, evergreen, and
soft wood. While generally correct, this is, as seen, not always so.
A better division is into broadleaf trees or woods, and needleleaf
conifers. [p010]
BROADLEAF WOODS.
The trees affording these woods are found in natural forests and
under cultivation in nearly every portion of the globe. The histories
of some of them extend back to very remote periods. Their woods were
the principal ones in construction until the advent of American soft
woods. The oaks, elms, maples, and other so-called hard woods are of
this group.
Broadleaf woods are characterized by complex fibre conditions,
absence of resins, and greater weights.[11] They are composed of
several kinds of cells and fibres, arranged without the regularity so
noticeable in the conifers. Cross-sections exhibit numerous, often
easily visible pores, arranged in zones or scattered throughout
the rings (see plate 2). Pith-rays are numerous and more or less
conspicuous, save in softer hard woods such as poplar. Woods are
difficult to work in proportion as they are complicated in structure.
The numerous members of the group vary from one another and present
an extensive range of properties. Trees do not usually afford
large pieces. Woods for cabinet work, implements, and other fine
purposes are from this group. The total requirement is less than for
needleleaf woods.
The leaves of broadleaf trees are easily distinguished from the
resinous, usually evergreen ones of the conifers. Most of them are
deciduous, that is, shed every season, although some are persistent,
that is, "evergreen." "Broadleaf," "deciduous," and "hardwood" trees
are the same. [p011]
FOOTNOTES
[Footnote 9: Circular No. 16, U. S. Forestry Division.]
[Footnote 10: Some woods, as birdseye maple, are well developed by
the rotary cut. A revolving log is advanced against a tool which
pares a broad thin ribbon suitable for veneered work.]
[Footnote 11: Neither resin-ducts nor resin exists in these woods,
save sometimes in buds and leaves.]
[Illustration: PLATE 5. WHITE OAK (_Quercus alba_).]
OAK.
(_Quercus_.)
The oaks are found on all of the continents of the northern
hemisphere, as well as at high altitudes just south of the equator.
Their woods stand pre-eminent among those of the broadleaf series
and have been highly prized from early periods. Formerly relied
upon for all purposes of house and naval architecture, they did not
give way to the so-called "soft woods" for houses, and to iron for
vessels, until comparatively recent periods. They were supplanted
for the former purposes upon the opening of the soft-wood forests of
North America and of the Baltic, and for vessels subsequent to the
conclusions of the American Civil War.
The historical importance of oak is founded upon the reputation
of the English Oak as derived from two trees, Quercus robur var.
pedunculata and Quercus robur var. sessiliflora, usually taken as
sub-species of Quercus robur.[12] It is said that these trees once
formed large forests over Northern and Central Europe. Live-oak has
always been highly esteemed, but is now very scarce. It is one of the
hardest, heaviest, and most durable of constructive woods and was
once largely employed in ship-building. The wood of the White Oak
(_Quercus alba_) is at present preferred for most purposes for which
oak is now employed, and is one of the most valuable of the American
hard woods.
Oak is tough, durable, easily obtained, liable to warp and check
in seasoning, often hard to nail without splitting, susceptible
of high polish, and not greatly liable to attack by insects. It
contains gallic acid, causing peculiar taste and odor and attacking
iron, the solutions staining the wood. Experiments[13] indicate
that iron fastenings are shortly protected by an insoluble scale
of resulting salt, and that the wood, although [p012] darkened,
remains practically uninjured. The later oaken vessels were
iron-fastened,[14] and cabinet-makers now employ that metal in
joining oak. The barks of all species are also so charged with acid
as to be used in the tanning of leather. The several kinds of oak are
commercially divisible into three general groups, white oak, red or
black oak, and live oak.[15] The principal species affording woods
under each head are as follows:
White Oak.
White Oak (Q. alba).
Cow Oak (Q. michauxii).
Chestnut Oak (Q. prinus).
Post Oak (Q. minor).
Bur Oak (Q. macrocarpa).
Pacific Post Oak (Q. garryanna).
Red or Black Oak.
Red Oak (Q. rubra).
Pin Oak (Q. palustris).
Spanish Oak (Q. digitata).
Yellow or Black Oak (Q. velutina).
Live Oak.
Live Oak (Q. virginiana).
California Live Oak (Q. agrifolia).
Live Oak (Q. chrysolepis)
[Illustration: WHITE OAK (_Quercus alba_).]
[Illustration: RED OAK (_Quercus rubra_).]
Oak trees are characterized by oblong, thin-shelled kernels,
protruding from hard scaly cups and called acorns. The foliage is
sometimes deciduous and sometimes evergreen. Most oaks require many
years to reach maturity, but are then long-lived. Fifty of the nearly
three hundred known species of oak are natives of the United States
and Canada; all but four become trees under favorable conditions.
Quercus is from two Celtic words, _quer_, signifying fine, and
_cuex_, a tree. [p013]
[Illustration: LIVE OAK (_Quercus virginiana_).]
FOOTNOTES
[Footnote 12: Thought by some botanists to be distinct species,
namely, Quercus pedunculata and Quercus sessiliflora.]
[Footnote 13: Havemeyer Chemical Laboratory, N. Y. University.]
[Footnote 14: Communication. Mr. Chas. H. Cramp, President Cramp
Ship-building Co., Philadelphia.]
[Footnote 15: This division is also a botanical one based not only
on differences in anatomical structure of the wood itself, but on
the time required by fruit in attaining maturity, and on persistence
of foliage (evergreen or deciduous), etc.]
WHITE OAK.
_Quercus alba Linn._
Nomenclature.
White Oak (general).
Stave Oak (Ark.).
Locality.
Widespread, north-central and eastern United States.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height. Three to six feet
in diameter, fine shape and appearance. Grayish-white bark.
Comparatively sweet ovoid oblong acorns in rough shallow cups.
Rounded lobes or projections to leaves.
Color, Grain, or Appearance of Wood.
Heartwood brown with sapwood lighter. Annual layers well marked.
Medullary rays broad and prominent.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Tough, strong, heavy, hard, liable to check unless seasoned with
care. Durable in contact with the soil. Receives a high polish.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Ship-building, construction, cooperage, cabinet-making, railway
ties, fuel, etc. Bark is rich in tannin.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
50 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[16]
46.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,090,000 (average of 218 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[16]
1,380,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
13,100 (average of 218 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[16]
12,800.
Remarks.
A tree of the first economic importance. The most widely employed
of all American oaks. Name refers to appearance of bark. The supply
diminishing because of value of timber, also the sweetness of nuts
cause them to be eaten by animals. [p014]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 16: See page 6.]
COW OAK.
_Quercus michauxii Nutt._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Cow Oak (local and common name).
Basket Oak (Ala., Miss., La., Tex., Ark.).
Swamp White Oak (Del., Ala.).
Swamp Chestnut Oak (Fla.).
Locality.
Southeastern United States, Delaware and Florida, westward along
Gulf to Texas. Also southern Indiana and Illinois to Gulf. Best on
rich bottoms in Arkansas and Louisiana.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height. Three to six feet in
diameter, rough, light-gray bark with loose scaly ridges.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, light buff sapwood, conspicuous medullary
rays, close-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Hard, heavy, very strong, tough, durable, easily split.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Construction, agricultural implements, wheel stock.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
46 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[17]
50.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,610,000 (average of 256 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[17]
1,370,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
11,500 (average of 256 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[17]
15,800.
Remarks.
The principal white oak of Southern States; edible acorns devoured
by cattle, whence its name. [p015]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 17: See page 6.]
CHESTNUT OAK.
_Quercus prinus Linn._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Chestnut Oak (local and common name).
Rock Oak (N. Y., Del., Pa.).
Rock Chestnut Oak (Mass., R. I., Pa., Del., Ala.).
Tanbark Oak (N. C.).
Swamp Chestnut Oak (N. C).
Mountain Oak (Ala.).
Locality.
Maine to Georgia, westward intermittently to Kentucky and Alabama.
Best development in southern Alleghany Mountain region.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to eighty feet in height, three or four feet in
diameter. Leaves resemble those of chestnut.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood dark brown, sapwood lighter, close-grained, medullary rays
conspicuous.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, tough, hard, strong, and durable in contact with soil.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Largely used for railway ties. Bark rich in tannin.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
46.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,780,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
14,600.
Remarks.
Prinus is a Greek name applied to a species of oak. [p016]
POST OAK.
_Quercus minor Sargent_,
_Quercus obtusiloba Michx._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Post Oak (local and common name).
Iron Oak (Del., Miss., Neb.).
Box White Oak (R. I.).
Chêne étoilé (Quebec).
Overcup Oak (Fla.).
White Oak (Ky., Ind.).
Box Oak (Md.).
Brash Oak (Md.).
Locality.
East of Rocky Mountains--Massachusetts to northern Florida, westward
intermittently to Nebraska and Gulf States.
Features of Tree.
Fifty to seventy feet in height, two to three feet in diameter.
Low shrub in Florida. Blunt lobes or projections to leaves. Leaves
clustered at ends of branches. Fine tree with rounded top.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light or dark brown with lighter sapwood. Close-grained,
annual rings well marked. Numerous and conspicuous medullary rays.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, strong, checks badly in drying. Durable in contact with
soil.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Largely used, particularly in Southwest, for fencing, railway ties,
and fuel; also for cooperage, construction, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
50 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[18]
52.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,030,000 (average of 49 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[18]
1,180,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
12,300 (average of 49 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[18]
12,900.
Remarks.
Most common and widely distributed oak in Gulf States west of the
Mississippi River. Obtusiloba, the Latin for blunt-lobed, refers to
the shapes of the leaves. Wood seldom commercially distinguished
from white oak. [p017]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 18: See page 6.]
BUR OAK.
_Quercus macrocarpa Michx._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Bur Oak (local and common name).
Overcup Oak (R. I., Del., Pa., Miss., La., Ill., Minn.).
Mossycup White Oak (Minn.).
Mossycup Oak (Mass., Pa., Del., Miss., La., Tex., Ark., Ill., Iowa,
Neb., Kan.).
Scrub Oak (Neb., Minn.).
Overcup White Oak (Vt.).
Locality.
New Brunswick, New England, westward intermittently to Montana and
Texas.
Features of Tree.
Seventy to one hundred and thirty feet in height, five to seven feet
in diameter. Deep opposite depressions to leaves. Mossy, fringed
border at top of acorn-cup. Corky wings on young branches.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood rich brown, sapwood lighter, close-grained, broad
conspicuous medullary rays.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, strong, tough, very durable in contact with ground.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Similar to those of Quercus alba.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
46.00.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,320,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
13,900.
Remarks.
Extends farthest west and northwest of any other Eastern oak.
Especially recommended for prairie planting. [p018]
WHITE OAK.
_Quercus garryana Douglas._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
White Oak (Cal., Oreg.).
Pacific Post Oak (Oreg.).
Western White Oak (Oreg.).
Oregon White Oak (Cal.).
California Post Oak.
Locality.
Pacific coast, British Columbia into California.
Features of Tree.
Sixty to ninety feet high, one and one half to two and one half feet
in diameter. A small shrub at high elevations.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown or yellow. Sapwood lighter, often nearly
white. Compact structure. Distinctly marked annual rings. Medullary
rays often conspicuous.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, strong, hard, tough.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Ship-building, carriages, furniture, indoor decoration, fuel.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
46.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,150,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
12,400.
Remarks.
Locally important. The best substitute for Eastern White Oak
produced on Pacific coast. [p019]
RED OAK.
_Quercus rubra Linn._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Red Oak (local and common name).
Black Oak (Vt., Conn., N. Y., Wis., Ia., Neb., So. Dak., Ont.).
Spanish Oak (Pa., N. C.).
Locality.
East of Rocky Mountains, Nova Scotia to Georgia, westward
intermittently to Nebraska and Kansas, best in Massachusetts.
Features of Tree.
Ninety to one hundred feet in height. Three to six feet and over
in diameter, brownish-gray bark smooth on branches. Leaves have
sharp-pointed lobes, very large acorns in flat shallow cups. A fine
complete tree.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown or red, sapwood darker, coarse-grained,
well-marked annual rings, medullary rays few but broad.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, strong, inclined to check in drying, acid, inferior to
white oak.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Works of secondary importance, clapboards, cooperage, fuel.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
45 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[19]
40.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,970,000 (average of 57 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[19]
1,600,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
11,400 (average of 57 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[19]
140,000.
Remarks.
Grows more rapidly than other oaks. Bark used in tanning. [p020]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 19: See page 6.]
PIN OAK.
_Quercus palustris Muenchh._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Pin Oak (local and common name).
Swamp Spanish Oak (Ark., Kan.).
Water Oak (R. I., Ill.).
Swamp Oak (Pa., Ohio, Kans.).
Water Spanish Oak (Ark.).
Locality.
Minnesota to Kansas, eastward intermittently to Massachusetts and
Virginia.
Features of Tree.
Fifty to eighty feet in height, two to four feet in diameter.
Full-rounded or pyramidal top, smooth thin bark, numerous small
pin-like branches.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood variegated light brown, sapwood nearly white,
coarse-grained, medullary rays numerous and conspicuous.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, strong, checks badly in seasoning.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Shingles, clapboards, construction, interior finish, cooperage.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
43.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,500,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
15,400.
Remarks.
Palustris, the Latin for swampy, refers to favorite location of
tree. The numerous slender secondary branches suggesting pins cause
tree to be easily recognized, particularly in winter. [p021]
SPANISH OAK.
_Quercus digitata Sudworth_,
_Quercus falcata Michx._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Spanish Oak (local and common name).
Red Oak (N. C., Va., Ga., Fla., Ala., Miss., La., Ind.).
Spanish Oak (La.).
Locality.
New Jersey and Florida, westward intermittently to Illinois and
Texas.
Features of Tree.
Thirty to seventy feet in height, two and one half to four feet in
diameter. Variable foliage. Globular to oblong acorns.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light red, sapwood lighter, coarse-grained, annual layers
strongly marked, medullary rays few but conspicuous.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Hard, heavy, strong, not durable, checks badly in drying.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Somewhat used for cooperage, construction, etc. Bark very rich in
tannin.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
43.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,900,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
16,900.
Remarks.
Dry barren soils. Grows rapidly. [p022]
BLACK OAK, YELLOW OAK.
_Quercus velutina Lam._
_Quercus tinctoria Barti._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Black Oak, Yellow Oak (local and common names).
Yellow Bark, Yellow-bark Oak (R. I., Minn.).
Dyer's Oak (Tex.).
Tanbark Oak (Ill.).
Spotted Oak (Mo.).
Quercitron Oak (Del., S. C., La., Kans., Minn.).
Locality.
East of longitude 96 degrees, Maine and Florida, westward
intermittently to Minnesota and Texas. Best in North Atlantic States.
Features of Tree.
Ninety to one hundred and thirty feet in height, three to five feet
in diameter. Dark gray to black bark, yellow inner bark. Acorns have
bitter yellow kernels. Foliage turns handsomely in autumn.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light reddish brown, sapwood lighter, coarse grain, annual
layers strongly marked, thin medullary rays.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, strong, liable to check in drying, not tough.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Cooperage, construction, furniture, and decoration.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
45 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[20]
44.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,740,000 (average of 40 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[20]
1,470,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
10,800 (average of 40 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[20]
14,800.
Remarks.
Yellow inner bark affords yellow dye. [p023]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 20: See page 6.]
LIVE OAK.
_Quercus virginiana Mill._
_Quercus virens Ait._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Live Oak (Va., N. C., S. C., Ga., Fla., Miss., Ala., Tex., La.,
Calif.).
Chêne Vert (La.).
Locality.
Southern States--coast from Virginia to Florida, westward to Texas
and Lower California, southern Mexico, Central America, and Cuba.
Best in south Atlantic States.
Features of Tree.
Fifty to sixty feet high, diameter three to six feet. General
resemblance to apple-tree. Evergreen foliage.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown or yellow, sapwood nearly white,
close-grained, compact structure, pronounced medullary ray, annual
layers often hardly distinguishable.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, strong, tough, hard, difficult to work, splits easily.
Receives high polish, very durable.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Ship-building.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
59.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,600,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
14,000.
Remarks.
Trunk and branches furnish small straight pieces, but principally
knees, crooked or compass timbers. Virens refers to evergreen
foliage. Splits so easily that it is better fastened with bolts or
trenails than spikes. Now scarce, grows rapidly. [p024]
CALIFORNIA LIVE OAK.
_Quercus agrifolia Nee._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Coast Live Oak (Cal.).
California Live Oak (Cal.).
Encena (Cal.).
Evergreen Oak (Cal.).
Locality.
California.
Features of Tree.
Forty to seventy-five and occasionally more feet in height, three to
six feet in diameter. Evergreen foliage, leaves spiked like those of
holly. Shape resembles that of apple tree.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood creamy white, but darkens on exposure. Compact structure,
annual layers hardly distinguishable.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, but brittle.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Fuel.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
51.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,350,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
13,200.
Remarks.
Agrifolia is from the Latin _acer_, sharp, and _folium_, leaf,
alluding to the spinous toothed leaves. [p025]
LIVE OAK.
_Quercus chrysolepis Liebm._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Live Oak (Cal., Oreg.).
Canyon Live Oak, Black Live Oak, Golden-cup Oak (Cal.).
Canyon Oak, Iron Oak, Maul Oak, Valparaiso Oak (Cal.).
Locality.
West of Rocky Mountains, canyons, and high elevations.
Features of Tree.
Fifty to eighty feet in height, three to six feet in diameter. Often
low shrub. Impressive appearance. Evergreen foliage.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, sapwood lighter, small pores in wide bands
parallel to conspicuous medullary rays. Close-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Hard, heavy, strong, tough, difficult to work.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Implements, wagons, tool-handles.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
52.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,700,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
18,000.
Remarks.
Said to be the most valuable of the California oaks. Grows at
elevations of 2000 to 5000 feet. Highland Oak (_Quercus wislizeni_)
is an evergreen and a Pacific Coast variety. [p026]
ENGLISH OAK.
_Quercus robur var. pedunculata._
Nomenclature.
English Oak.
British Oak.
Common Oak.
Locality.
Widespread throughout northern and central Europe.
Features of Tree.
Seventy to one hundred feet in height, eight to ten feet in
diameter. Crooked branches, stalkless leaves, long-stalked acorns.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, darker spots frequent, sapwood lighter.
Compact structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Hard, tough, strong, durable, difficult to work, liable to warp in
seasoning.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Ship-building, beams, cabinet-work, formerly carpentry.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
51 (Laslett).
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,170,000 (Thurston).
Modulus of Rupture.
10,000 (Thurston).
Remarks.
The English, Chestnut, Durmast, or Red Oak, Q. robur var.
sessiliflora, distinguished by long leaf stalks and short acorn
stalks, affords practically similar but lower-rated wood. The two
varieties supply the British Oak of commerce. Dantzic, Rigi, and
some other European oaks take names from port of shipment. Rubrus is
red, but robur is a noun meaning strength; the adjective robustus
means "oaken" or vigorous. [p027]
[Illustration: PLATE 6. WHITE ASH (_Fraxinus americana_).]
ASH.
(_Fraxinus_.)
Ash is widely distributed over the temperate regions of the northern
hemisphere, and occurs in the tropics, on the island of Cuba. The
tree has occupied a position second only to that of oak. Our Teutonic
forefathers relied upon its wood for boats and weapons. Their ancient
faith connects it with the creation of the original man. It is often
associated with oak in country proverbs.[21] Europeans regard the
trees for ornamental purposes, but Americans value them for wood.
[Illustration: White Ash (_Fraxinus americana_).]
Ash and oak woods resemble one another in that there are bands of
open pores in both woods, but the pith-rays of the ash are thinner
and scarcely discernible. Ash is coarser, less attractive, easier
to work, tough, elastic, and somewhat lighter than oak. It seasons
well, but does not last when exposed to the weather. Lumbermen
separate the woods into white and black ash, the former including the
lighter-colored and more desirable pieces. This commercial division
is also a botanical one in the North, where the only species of
any note are the white ash and black ash (_F. americana_ and _F.
nigra_). The Southern green ash (_F. lanceolata_) is usually classed
as white ash. The trees that grow up after the cutting of the virgin
forest afford tougher, more pliable, but not necessarily stronger
pieces, known as "second-growth" ash. Although not relied upon for
out-of-door construction, ash is one of the most important of the
cheaper cabinet woods and is used in stairs, furniture, and similar
works. [p028]
One half of the thirty known species of the genus Fraxinus inhabit
North America. [p029]
FOOTNOTES
[Footnote 21: A tradition, old in Pliny's time, is that serpents
avoid ash trees; another is that ash is particularly liable to be
struck by lightning. (Keeler.)]
The name ash is also applied to several species of the genus
Pyrus or Sorbus, to which the apple, pear, quince, and some other
trees belong. "Mountain Ash" is either Pyrus americana or Pyrus
sambucifolia. Both species, with their bright red berries, are to
be classed as shrubs rather than trees; their light, soft, weak,
close-grained woods having no economic importance, save perhaps for
fuel. The series is partially as follows:
Pyrus malus (Common apple).
Pyrus coronaria (American crab-apple).
Pyrus communis (Common pear).
Pyrus vulgaris (Common quince).
Pyrus americana (Mountain ash).
Pyrus sambucifolia (Mountain ash).
Pyrus ancuparia (Rowan tree, European Mountain ash).
The Toothache Trees, Xanthoxylum americana and Xanthoxylum
clava-herculis (Linn.), are known as ash and prickly ash. The gopher
wood, Cladrastis tinctoria, is yellow ash. These woods are not
important.
WHITE ASH.
_Fraxinus americana Linn._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
White Ash (local and common name).
Ash (Ark., Ia., Wis., Ill., Mo., Minn.).
Cane Ash (Ala., Miss., La.).
American Ash (Ia.).
Locality.
Nova Scotia to Florida, westward intermittently to Minnesota and
Texas. Greatest development in the Ohio River basin.
Features of Tree.
Forty-five to ninety feet in height, occasionally higher. Three to
four feet in diameter. Usually smooth leaves, have whitish under
surfaces. Gray furrowed bark, long-winged seed.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood reddish brown, usually mottled; sapwood much lighter or
nearly white. Coarse-grained, compact structure. Layers clearly
marked by large open ducts. Medullary rays obscure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, strong, elastic, becoming brittle with age, not durable
in contact with soil.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Agricultural implements, carriages, handles, oars, interior and
cheap cabinet-work.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
39 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[22]
40.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,640,000 (average of 87 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[22]
1,440,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
10,800 (average of 87 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[22]
12,200.
Remarks.
Economically valuable. Rapid growers, preferring low, rather moist
soil. Not apt to form in forests, but found mingled with other
varieties. Large trees sometimes have large heart-cracks. [p030]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 22: See page 6.]
RED ASH.
_Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh._
_Fraxinus pubescens Lam._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Red Ash (local and common name).
River Ash (R. I., Ont.).
Brown Ash (Mo.).
Black Ash (N. J.).
Ash (Nebr.).
Locality.
New Brunswick to Florida, westward intermittently to Dakota and
Alabama. Best developed in North Atlantic States.
Features of Tree.
A small tree, rarely over forty-five feet high, one and one-half
feet in diameter. Downy-covered young twigs and leaves.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood rich brown, sapwood light brown streaked with yellow,
coarse-grained compact structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, strong, brittle.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Agricultural implements, handles, boats, oars, paper-pulp.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
38.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,154,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
12,300.
Remarks.
Grows on borders of streams and swamps in low ground. Often confused
with and substituted for the more valuable white ash. Pubescens is
in allusion to the downy covering of the new twigs (those of white
ash usually smooth). Pennsylvanica refers to locality in which it is
well developed. [p031]
BLUE ASH.
_Fraxinus quadrangulata Michx._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Blue Ash (Mich., Ill., Ky., Mo., Ala.).
Locality.
Central States, Mississippi Valley, Michigan, and southward,
cultivated in Pennsylvania. Best in low Wabash Valley.
Features of Tree.
Fifty to seventy-five feet in height, occasionally higher, one to
two feet in diameter. Slender. Blue properties in inner bark, smooth
square twigs.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light yellow, streaked with brown, sapwood lighter,
close-grained, compact structure satiny.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Hard, heavy, brittle, not strong, most durable of ash woods.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Largely used in floorings, carriage-building, pitchfork-and other
tool-handles.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
44.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,100,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
11,500.
Remarks.
Has no superior among ash woods. Blue Ash pitchfork-handles are very
fine. Prefers limestone formations. Inner bark colors water blue,
whence name. [p032]
BLACK ASH.
_Fraxinus nigra Marsh._
_Fraxinus sambucifolia Lam._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Black Ash (local and common name).
Water Ash (W. Va., Tenn., Ind.).
Swamp Ash (Vt., R. I., N. Y.).
Brown Ash (N. H., Tenn.).
Hoop Ash (Vt., N. Y., Del., Ohio, Ill., Ind.).
Locality.
Northern and Northeastern States--Newfoundland to Virginia, westward
intermittently to Manitoba and Arkansas.
Features of Tree.
Seventy to eighty feet in height, one to one and one-half feet in
diameter. Leaves resemble those of Elder. A thin tree. Excrescences
or knobs frequent on trunk. Dark, almost black, winter buds.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood dark brown, sapwood light brown, often nearly white,
coarse-grained, compact structure, medullary rays numerous and thin.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Separates easily in layers, rather soft and heavy, tough, elastic,
not strong or durable when exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Largely used for interior finish, fencing, barrel-hoops,
cabinet-making, splint baskets, chair-bottoms.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
39.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,230,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
11,400.
Remarks.
Excrescences known as burls; their distorted grain causes them to be
prized for veneers. The most northerly of ash-trees; one of the most
slender of trees. [p033]
GREEN ASH.
_Fraxinus lanceolata Borkh._
_Fraxinus viridis Michx. f._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Green Ash (local and common name).
Blue Ash (Ark., Iowa).
White Ash (Kans., Neb.).
Ash (Ark., Iowa).
Swamp Ash (Fla., Ala., Tex.).
Water Ash (Iowa).
Locality.
East of Rocky Mountains. Vermont and northern Florida intermittently
to Utah and Arizona.
Features of Tree.
Forty to fifty feet in height, one to two feet in diameter. Bright
green upper and lower surfaces of smooth leaves.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood brownish, sapwood lighter, rather coarse-grained, compact
structure.
Structural Qualities.
Hard, heavy, strong, brittle.
Representative Uses.
Similar to those of White Ash.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
39 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[23]
44.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,050,000 (average of 10 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[23]
1,280,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
11,600 (average of 10 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[23]
12,700.
Remarks.
Sometimes considered a variety of Red Ash. [p034]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 23: See page 6.]
OREGON ASH.
_Fraxinus Oregona Nutt._
Nomenclature.
Oregon Ash (Calif., Wash., Oregon).
Locality.
Pacific coast, Washington to California. Best developed in bottom
lands, southwestern Oregon.
Features of Tree.
Fifty to occasionally seventy-five feet in height, one to one and
one-half feet in diameter. Dark grayish-brown, bark exfoliates in
thin scales.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood brown, sap wood lighter, coarse-grained, compact
structure, numerous thin medullary rays.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Rather light, hard, not strong.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Manufacture of furniture, carriage-frames, cooperage, and fuel.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
35.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,200,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
9400.
Remarks.
One of the valuable deciduous trees of the Pacific coast. Thrives
only on moist soils and in moist climates. [p035]
[Illustration: PLATE 7. ELM (_Ulmus americana_).]
ELM.
(_Ulmus_.)
The different species of elm are distributed over the cold and
temperate portions of the northern hemisphere, save western United
States and Canada. A high degree of perfection is attained in eastern
North America, where trees are greatly prized for their form and
appearance.
The foliage of the elm is concentrated at the top, and the absence of
lower branches causes it to be a good tree to plant near houses or
along streets. Much of the wood is tough, fibrous, durable, strong,
hard, heavy, and, because it is so often cross-grained, difficult to
split and work. The large pores of the spring wood arranged in one
or several rows mark the annual deposit, while the minute pores of
the summer wood arranged in concentric wavy lines are so peculiar as
to distinguish this wood from all others. The tall, straight trunks
afford pieces of considerable size. Elm piles sustain constant and
severe shocks for long intervals. The grain arrangement of elm is
often very beautiful, so that it is increasingly used for decoration.
It is more commonly employed in the construction of cars, wagons,
boats, agricultural implements, machinery, and furniture.
[Illustration: ELM (_Ulmus americana_).]
The shape of the trees is so marked as to cause them to be easily
noted. Fifteen or sixteen species have been recognized. Five are
known to exist in the eastern American forests, and all of them
furnish good wood of commercial importance. _Ulmus_ was the ancient
name of the elm. [p036]
FOOTNOTE
Geo. B. Emerson's "Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts."
WHITE ELM.
_Ulmus americana Linn._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
White Elm (local and common name).
Water Elm (Miss., Tex., Ark., Mo., Ill., Ia., Mich., Minn., Neb.).
Elm (Mass., R. I., Conn., N. J., Pa., N. C., S. C., Ia., Wis.).
American Elm (Vt., Mass., R. I., N. Y., Del., Pa., N. C., Miss.,
Tex., Ill., Ohio, Kans., Neb., Mich., Minn.).
Locality.
East of Rocky Mountains, Newfoundland to Florida, westward
intermittently to Dakota, Nebraska, and Texas.
Features of Tree.
Ninety to one hundred feet in height, three to seven feet in
diameter. Characteristic and beautiful form, smooth buds; leaves,
smaller than those of Slippery-elm, are rough only when rubbed one
way.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, sapwood yellowish white, rather
coarse-grained, annual rings clearly marked.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Strong, tough, fibrous, difficult to split.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Flooring, wheel-stock, cooperage, ship-building, flumes, piles.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
34 (U. S. Forestry Division.)[24]
40.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,540,000 (average of 18 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[24]
1,060,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
10,300 (average of 18 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[24]
12,100.
Remarks.
The concentration of foliage at top, together with the form of the
tree, renders it valuable in landscape work. It does not cause dense
shade. Elm and silver-maple trees are among the first to show life
in spring. Discarded brownish scales then cover ground in vicinity.
[p037]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 24: See page 6.]
CORK ELM.
_Ulmus racemosa Thomas._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Cork Elm (local and common name).
Hickory Elm (Mo., Ill., Ind., Ia.).
Rock Elm (R. I., W. Va., Ky., Mo., Ill., Wis., Ia., Mich., Nebr.).
White Elm (Ont.).
Cliff Elm (Wis.).
Locality.
Quebec and Vermont, westward intermittently to Nebraska and
Tennessee. Best developed in southern Ontario and Michigan.
Features of Tree.
Seventy to ninety feet in height, two to three feet in diameter.
Thick, corky, irregular projections give bark a shaggy appearance
and mark the species.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, often tinged with red; sapwood yellowish or
greenish white. Compact structure, fibres interlaced.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, very strong, tough, difficult to split, susceptible of
a beautiful polish, elastic.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Heavy agricultural implements, wheel-stocks, railway ties, sills,
bridge-timbers, axe-helves, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
45.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,550,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
15,100.
Remarks.
Cork Elm is the best of the elm woods. [p038]
SLIPPERY ELM, RED ELM.
_Ulmus pubescens Walt._
_Ulmus fulva Michx._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Slippery Elm, Red Elm (local and common name).
Rock Elm (Tenn.).
Redwooded Elm (Tenn.).
Moose Elm (occasional).
Locality.
Ontario and Florida, westward intermittently to Nebraska and Texas.
Best developed in Western States.
Features of Tree.
Forty-five to sixty feet in height, one to two feet in diameter.
Characteristic shape, mucilaginous inner bark. Buds hairy. Leaves,
larger than American Elm, are rough when rubbed either way.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood dark brown or red, sapwood lighter, compact structure,
annual layers marked by rows of large open ducts. Heartwood greatly
preponderates.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, strong, and durable in contact with soil.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Largely used for fence-posts, rails, railway ties, sills,
sleigh-runners, and wheel-stocks. Mucilaginous bark, employed in
medicine.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
43.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,300,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
12,300.
Remarks.
Mucilaginous inner bark renders this species unmistakable. This bark
is used in medicine. [p039]
WING ELM, WINGED ELM.
_Ulmus alata Michx._
Nomenclature.
Wing Elm, Winged Elm (local and common names).
Wahoo, Whahoo (W. Va., N. C., S. C., La., Tex., Ky., Mo.).
Cork Elm, Corky Elm (Fla., S.C., Tex.).
Mountain Elm, Red Elm (Fla., Ark.).
Elm, Witch Elm (W. Va.).
Water Elm (Ala.).
Small-leaved Elm (N. C.).
Wahoo Elm (Mo.).
Locality.
Southern United States, Virginia and Florida westward intermittently
to southern Illinois and Texas.
Features of Tree.
Forty feet or more in height, one to two feet in diameter. Corky
"wings" on branches.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Color brownish, sapwood lighter, close-grained, compact structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Hard, heavy, tough.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
46.
Modulus of Elasticity.
740,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
10,200.
Remarks.
[p040]
MAPLE.
(_Acer_.)
The maples grow on all of the continents of the northern hemisphere.
Nearly one half of the known species belong in China, Japan, and the
Orient. The principal European species (_Acer pseudo-platanus_) is
the European sycamore.[25] The hard or sugar maple (_Acer saccharum_)
is one of the principal deciduous trees of North America.
Maple wood[26] is characterized by its appearance and by its fine
compact texture. The first quality is so marked that selected pieces
take rank among the most beautiful of cabinet woods; the last is so
pronounced as to fit it for carvings and even for type. "Birdseye,"
"blister," and "curly" maples are not from different species, but
are the results of fibre distortions, possible in some form in any
tree of any species, but peculiarly liable to occur in the maple;
birdseye and blister effects for the most part in the hard maples,
curly effects in the hard, but generally in the softer, species. The
distortions do not occur in all trees, and it is seldom possible to
tell whether the woods are thus figured until after the trees have
been cut. Maple wood shrinks moderately, stands well in protected
places, is strong, tough, but not durable when exposed. Pores are
not arranged in circles, but are scattered irregularly throughout
the layers. Maple is used for ceiling, flooring, panelling, car and
ship construction, shoe-lasts, shoe-pegs, furniture, school supplies,
implements, and machinery. Sugar is principally, although not
exclusively, present in the sap of the sugar maple.[27] The softer
species are sometimes [p041] tapped, and sugar is also present
in the sap of other trees, such as the butternut and birch. A sugar
maple will, on an average, produce about twenty-five gallons of sap,
containing a total of about six pounds of sugar, in a season.
[Illustration: PLATE 8. SUGAR MAPLE (_Acer saccharum_).]
[Illustration: "Curly" Maple Wood (_dissection_).]
The Boxelder (_Acer negundo_) is a true maple, remarkable in that it
is widely distributed from Canada to Mexico and from the Atlantic to
the Rocky Mountains, on low bottom lands, and at elevations of five
thousand and six thousand feet.[28] The trees are beautiful and, like
other maples are valued for ornamental purposes. The soft, light wood
is not particularly noted, although occasionally used for woodenware,
interior finish, and paper-pulp. Small quantities of sugar are
present in the sap of this tree.
[Illustration: _a_, Box Elder. _b_, Hard or Sugar Maple. _c_, Soft or
Red Maple. _d_, Soft or Silver Maple.]
The maples may be told by their leaves of characteristic shape, but
chiefly by their two-seeded fruit or "keys," the two wings of which
spread differently in different species. The leaves of some species
change in autumn from green to red and other brilliant colors. Those
of other species change to yellow without trace of red. Sixty to
seventy species have been distinguished, nine of which occur in North
America. [p042]
FOOTNOTES
[Footnote 25: See Sycamore, page 65.]
[Footnote 26: These notes apply to the American product.]
[Footnote 27: Vermont, New York, and Michigan produce the larger
portion of the about fifty million pounds of sugar and three million
gallons of syrup annually manufactured in the United States. Third
Annual Report of the Fisheries, Game, and Forestry Commissioners,
New York, 1897, p. 308.]
[Footnote 28: Sargent.]
SUGAR MAPLE, HARD MAPLE.
_Acer saccharum Marsh._
_Acer saccharinum Wang._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Sugar Maple, Hard Maple (local and common names).
Black Maple (Fla., Ky., N. C.).
Sugar Tree (frequent).
Rock Maple (Me., Vt., N. H., Conn., Mass., R. I., N. Y., Tenn.,
Ill., Mich., Ia., Kans., Wis., Minn.).
Locality.
Best development Maine to Minnesota; range extends southward to
Florida and Texas.
Features of Tree.
Seventy to one hundred feet and more in height, one and one-half
to four feet in diameter. The fruit or "maple-key" with wings less
than right angles ripen in early autumn; one seed-cavity is usually
empty. Foliage turns to brilliant reds and other colors later. Large
impressive tree.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood brownish, sapwood lighter, close-grained, compact
structure, occasional "curly," "blister," or "birdseye" effects.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Tough, heavy, hard, strong, susceptible of good polish, wears
evenly, not durable when exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Furniture, shoe-lasts, piano-actions, wooden type for showbills,
pegs, interior finish, flooring, ship-keels, vehicles, fuel,
veneers, rails, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
43.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,070,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
16,300.
Remarks.
Birdseye, blister, and to a less extent curly and landscape effects
pronounced in this species. Saccharum refers to sugar manufactured
from the sap. Hard maple is because of hardness of wood. [p043]
SILVER MAPLE, SOFT MAPLE.
_Acer saccharinum Linn._
_Acer dasycarpum Ehr._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Silver Maple, Soft Maple (local and common names).
Swamp Maple (W. Va., Md.).
Water Maple (Pa., W. Va.).
River Maple (Me., N. H., R. I., W. Va., Minn.).
White Maple (Me., Vt., R. I., N. Y., N. J., Pa., W. Va., N. C, S.
C., Ga., Fla., Ala., Miss., La., Ky., Mo., Ill., Ind., Kans., Nebr.,
Minn.).
Locality.
New Brunswick to Florida, westward intermittently to Dakota and
Indian Territory. Best development in lower Ohio River basin.
Features of Tree.
Forty to ninety feet in height, occasionally higher. Three to five
feet in diameter. Fine shape, sometimes suggests elm. Fruit or
"maple-key" with long, stiff, more than right-angled wings ripens
in early summer. Leaves whitish beneath, turn showing yellow, but
little or no red, in autumn.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood reddish brown, sapwood ivory-white, fine grain, compact
structure. Fibres sometimes twisted, waved, or curly.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Light, brittle, easily worked, moderately strong; receives high
polish. Not durable when exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Woodenware, turned work, interior decoration, flooring, fuel.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
32.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,570,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
14,400.
Remarks.
Waved, spiral, or curly figure pronounced in this species, very
real resemblance to lights and shadows on planed surfaces. Small
quantities of sugar present in sap, occasionally utilized. [p044]
RED MAPLE, SWAMP MAPLE.
_Acer rubrum Linn._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Red Maple, Swamp Maple (local and common names).
Soft Maple (Vt., Mass., N. Y., Va., Miss., Mo., Kans., Neb., Minn.).
Water Maple (Miss., La., Tex., Ky., Mo.).
White Maple (Me., N. H.).
Red Flower (N. Y.).
Locality.
New Brunswick and Florida, westward intermittently to Dakota and
Texas. Wide range.
Features of Tree.
Sixty to eighty feet and more in height, two and one-half to four
feet in diameter. Red twigs and flowers in early spring.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood brown tinged with red, sapwood lighter, close-grained,
compact structure. Red blossoms, twigs, and stems. Leaves turn
scarlet in autumn.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Easily worked, heavy, hard, not strong, elastic, qualities between
those of silver and sugar maple.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Largely used in cabinet-making, turnery, woodenware, gun-stocks, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
38.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,340,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
15,000.
Remarks.
Occasionally shows "curly" figure. Trees are occasionally tapped and
small quantities of sugar are obtained from the sap. [p045]
OREGON MAPLE.
_Acer macrophyllum Pursh._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Oregon Maple (Oreg., Wash.).
White Maple (Oreg., Wash.).
Maple (Calif.).
Broad-leaved Maple (Central Calif., Willamette Valley, Oreg.).
Locality.
Alaska to California. Best in rich bottom lands of southern Oregon.
Features of Tree.
Seventy to one hundred feet in height, three to five feet in
diameter. Beautiful appearance.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Reddish brown, sapwood whitish, close-grained, compact structure,
occasionally figured.
Structural Qualities.
Light, hard, strong; receives polish.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Locally used for tool-handles, turned work, and furniture.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
30.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,100,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
9720.
Remarks.
Ornamental tree has been introduced into Europe. Said to be one of
the most valuable Pacific coast broadleaf woods. [p046]
BOXELDER, ASH-LEAVED MAPLE.
_Acer negundo Linn._
_Negundo aceroides Moench._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Boxelder, Ash-leaved Maple (local and common name).
Red River Maple, Water Ash (Dak.).
Cut-leaved Maple (Colo.).
Stinking Ash (S. C).
Negundo Maple (Ill.).
Three-leaved Maple (Fla.).
Black Ash (Tenn.).
Sugar Ash (Fla.).
Locality.
Atlantic Ocean westward intermittently to Rocky Mountains, Mexico.
Features of Tree.
Forty to seventy feet in height, one and one-half to three feet in
diameter. Wings to keys are straight or incurved. Leaves sparingly
and coarsely toothed, show yellow but little or no red in autumn.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Thin heartwood, cream-white; sapwood similar; close-grained, compact
structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Light, not strong, soft.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Woodenware, cooperage, etc., paper-pulp (largely), occasionally
interior finish.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
26.
Modulus of Elasticity.
82,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
7500.
Remarks.
A rapid grower. Withstands severe climatic changes. A good tree to
plant in naturally treeless sections. Sugar is sometimes obtained
from the sap of this species. The "Boxelder" is a true maple. [p047]
[Illustration: PLATE 9. WALNUT (_Juglans_).
Black Walnut Tree (_Juglans nigra_).
Black Walnut Trunk (_Juglans nigra_).
Black, White, and English Walnuts.
Black Walnut Wood (_Juglans nigra_).]
WALNUT.
(_Juglans_.)
The English or Royal Walnut (_Juglans regia_), a native of Persia,
was the only available species of this genus until the introduction
of the nearly similar Black Walnut of North America.[29] As oak gave
way first to soft woods for construction, so it gave way first to
walnut for cabinet purposes. The wood soon became very fashionable,
and exorbitant prices were paid for it. Walnut was extremely popular
in the United States until about 1880, when oak began to resume its
place as the popular cabinet wood. The nuts of the English or Persian
walnut are better than those of the American species, but the wood of
the latter is superior.
The use of walnut wood for gun-stocks began in Europe, the demands
early becoming so great that, until the general peace following
the battle of Waterloo, the greater part of the French product was
diverted for that purpose, while prices rose in England so that
six hundred pounds sterling is reported to have been paid for a
single tree. In spite of the innumerable woods that have since been
introduced, this one is yet regarded as best for gun-stocks.[30]
Walnut is a firm, hard, chocolate-colored wood, with pores not
arranged in rings but scattered somewhat irregularly. The sombre,
although rich, color has been objected to for some positions. Large
excrescences or "burrs" are common on foreign trees, particularly
those near the Black Sea and in Italy. The grain in such growths is
beautifully irregular, and the wood, known as "burl," is prized for
veneers. Trees are very scarce, and walnut is now seldom seen save
in cabinet work or gun-stocks. The related White Walnut or Butternut
(_Juglans cinerea_) affords a less-prized and [p048] lighter-tinted
wood. The nuts of the walnuts are a source of profit.
Black walnut trees seldom form forests by themselves, but occur
generally in mixed growth. They grow quickly, but the heartwood for
which the tree is valued begins to form only when the tree is at a
considerable age, so that a number of years must elapse before a tree
can produce wood of the desired quality. Trees one hundred years old
furnish the best quality of wood.
Walnut trees may be known by their nuts, the husks or pods of which
adhere unbroken, instead of loosening, completely divide into four
sections, as with the hickories. Juglans is from _Jovis_, signifying
Jove's, and _glans_, signifying acorn. This nut, not the fruit of the
oak, was the acorn of the ancients.[31] [p049]
FOOTNOTES
[Footnote 29: About the middle of the seventeenth century.]
[Footnote 30: France used twelve thousand trees in 1806.
(Stevenson's "Trees of Commerce," p. 77.)]
[Footnote 31: The ancients considered the shade of the walnut as
harmful to all life. It is certain some vegetation is affected,
probably by properties in fallen leaves.]
BLACK WALNUT.
_Juglans nigra Linn._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Black Walnut (local and common name).
Walnut (N. Y., Del., W. Va., Fla., Ky., Mo., Ohio, Ind., Ia.).
Locality.
Ontario and Florida, westward intermittently to Nebraska and Texas.
Features of Tree.
Ninety to one hundred and twenty-five feet in height, three to eight
feet in diameter. A tall handsome tree with rough brownish, almost
black, bark. Large, rough-shelled nuts.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood dark, rich, chocolate-brown. Thin sapwood much lighter,
rather coarse-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, strong, easily worked, durable, susceptible to high
polish.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Cabinet-making, gun-stocks, also formerly furniture and decoration.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
38.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,550,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
12,100.
Remarks.
[p050]
FOOTNOTE
The English, Royal, or Persian Walnut (_Juglans regia_) affords
nearly similar wood. Widely distributed over Europe. Italian trees
furnish best, French next, and English least desirable, paler and
coarser wood. Occasional trees in Eastern United States, as New
York; very plentiful in California.
BUTTERNUT, WHITE WALNUT.
_Juglans cinerea Linn._
Nomenclature.
Butternut, White Walnut (local and common names).
Oil Nut (Me., N. H., S. C.).
Walnut (Minn.).
White Mahogany.
Locality.
New Brunswick to Georgia, westward to Dakota and Arkansas. Best in
Ohio River basin.
Features of Tree.
Medium size, sometimes seventy-five feet or over in height, two
to four feet in diameter. Branches widespread; large-sized oblong
edible nuts.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light gray-brown, darkening with exposure; sapwood nearly
white, coarse-grained compact structure, attractive.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Light, soft, not strong, easily worked. Susceptible of high polish.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Interior finish, cabinet-work. Inner bark furnishes yellow dye.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
25.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,150,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
8400.
Remarks.
The sap contains sugar and is occasionally mixed with maple-sap in
the manufacturing of "maple" sugar. [p051]
[Illustration: PLATE 10. HICKORY (_Hicoria ovata_).]
HICKORY.
(_Hicoria_ or _Carya_.)
The Hickories occur only in the eastern part of North America. They
produce woods in which the qualities of toughness, elasticity, and
resilience are unusually pronounced, and since these qualities are
greatest in the sapwood, hickories are peculiar in that the sapwood
is more valuable than the heart. Second-growth wood is much prized,
since, being younger, it contains more of the pliable sapwood.[32]
Hickory is not durable when exposed and is more or less subject to
attack by boring-insects. It is used for implements, machinery,
carriages, and the like; hickory axe-helves have no superiors. The
nuts of the shagbark or white hickory are a source of considerable
profit. The pecan (_Hicoria pecan_) affords wood so inferior as to
be little used in construction, although it makes an excellent fuel.
Pecans are planted in many of the Southern States because of the
nuts, for which a considerable demand exists.
The Hickories are known by their nuts, the husks or pods of which
loosen completely from the nut in four pieces, instead of adhering
unbroken as in the case of the walnuts. The nine species are American
trees, eight of them being natives of the United States. _Carya_ was
the Greek name of the common walnut. Hickory is said to be derived
from the Indian _powcohicora_, a liquor once obtained from the nuts
of the hickory. [p052]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 32: See Second-growth Ash.]
SHAGBARK HICKORY, SHELLBARK HICKORY.
_Hicoria ovata Mill._
_Carya alba Nutt._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Shellbark or Shellbark Hickory (local and common name).
Scalybark Hickory (W. Va., S. C., Ala.).
Shellbark (R. I., N. Y., Pa., N. C.).
Shagbark (R. I., Ohio).
Hickory (Vt., Ohio).
Upland Hickory (Ill.).
White Hickory (Ia., Ark.).
Walnut (Vt., N. Y.).
Sweet Walnut (Vt.).
Shagbark Walnut (Vt.).
Locality.
Maine to Florida, westward intermittently to Minnesota and Texas.
Wide range, best in Ohio valley.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to ninety feet in height, occasionally higher; two and
one-half to three feet in diameter. Shaggy bark, thin-shelled edible
nuts.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, sapwood ivory- or cream-colored.
Close-grained, compact structure. Annual rings clearly marked.
Medullary rays numerous but thin.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Very heavy, very hard, strong, exceptionally tough and flexible, not
durable when exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Largely used for agricultural implements, wheels, and runners,
axe-handles, baskets, fuel.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
51 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[33]
52.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,390,000 (average of 137 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[33]
1,900,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
16,000 (average of 137 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[33]
17,000.
Remarks.
The nuts form an important article of commerce. "Shagbark" refers to
the shaggy appearance of the bark. [p053]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 33: See page 6.]
PIGNUT (HICKORY).
_Hicoria glabra Mill._
_Carya porcina Nutt._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Pignut (local and common name).
Black Hickory (Miss., La., Ark., Mo., Ind., Ia.).
Brown Hickory (Del., Miss., Tex., Tenn., Minn.).
Bitternut (Ark., Ill., Ia., Wis.).
White Hickory (N. H., Ia.).
Broom Hickory (Mo.).
Hardshell (W. Va.).
Red Hickory (Del.).
Switchbud Hickory (Ala.).
Locality.
Ontario to Florida, westward intermittently to southern Nebraska and
eastern Texas.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height, occasionally higher; Two
to four feet in diameter. Rather smooth bark. Large thick-shelled
nuts, kernels often astringent or bitter.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light and dark brown, thick sapwood, lighter, nearly
white. Close-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, flexible, tough, strong.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Similar to those of shagbark hickory.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
56 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[34]
51.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,730,000 (average of 30 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[34]
1,460,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
18,700 (average of 30 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[34]
14,800.
Remarks.
Nuts are devoured by pigs, whence the name _porcina_. [p054]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 34: See page 6.]
MOCKER NUT (HICKORY).
_Hicoria alba Linn._
_Carya tomentosa Nutt._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Mocker Nut, Whiteheart Hickory (local and common names).
Bullnut (N. Y., Fla., Miss., Tex., Mo., Ohio., Ill., Minn.).
Black Hickory (Tex., Miss., La., Mo.).
Hickory (Ala., Tex., Pa., S. C., Neb.).
Big-bud, Red Hickory (Fla.).
Common Hickory (N. C.).
White Hickory (Pa., S. C.).
Hickory Nut (Ky., W. Va.).
Hog Nut (Del.).
Hard bark Hickory (Ill.).
Locality.
Ontario to Florida, westward intermittently to Missouri and Texas.
Wide range.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height, two and one-half to
three and one-half feet in diameter. A tall slender tree with rough,
but not shaggy, bark. Thick shell, edible nut.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood rich dark brown, thick sapwood nearly white, close-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Very heavy, hard, tough, strong, and flexible.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Similar to those of shellbark hickory.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
53 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[35]
51.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,320,000 (average of 75 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[35]
1,630,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
15,200 (average of 75 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[35]
16,000.
Remarks.
The most generally distributed species of the genus in the South.
Mocker nut or moker nut is said (Britton) to be from a Dutch word
meaning hammer, or else (Keeler) from disappointing quality of nuts.
[p055]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 35: See page 6.]
PECAN, (HICKORY).
_Hicoria pecan Marsh._
_Carya olivæformis Nutt._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Pecan (local and common name).
Pecan Nut, Pecan-tree, Pecanier (La.).
Locality.
Valley of Mississippi, southward to Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico.
Features of Tree.
Ninety to one hundred feet in height, sometimes higher. Two and
one-half to five feet in diameter. A tall tree, smooth-shelled
oblong edible nuts.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, tinged with red, sapwood lighter brown.
Close-grained and compact, medullary rays numerous but thin.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, not strong, brittle.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Fuel, seldom used in construction.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
49 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[36]
44.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,530,000 (average of 37 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[36]
940,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
15,300 (average of 37 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[36]
8,200.
Remarks.
Grows on borders of streams in low rich soil. Largest and most
important tree of western Texas. The sweet edible nuts form an
important article of commerce. [p056]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 36: See page 6.]
CHESTNUT, CHINQUAPIN.
(_Castanea_.)
The chestnut is found in the temperature regions of central and
southern Europe, northern Africa, China, Japan, and eastern North
America. The wood is valued in construction, and the much-prized nuts
are regarded as a food rather than a confection. European chestnut
wood was once high in favor, although examination of structures
in which it was supposed to have been used indicates that in some
instances oak had been mistaken for it and had been employed in its
place.
The North American chestnut affords a weak, brittle, but easily
worked and very durable wood, such as is admirably adapted for
beams, ties, and sills, where lightness and durability rather
than much transverse strength are required. Trees in Europe have
attained to great size and age. Micheaux mentions one thirty feet in
circumference six feet from the ground and said to have been standing
for a thousand years. The famous Mt. Etna chestnut[37] is reported
to have measured two hundred and four feet in circumference. Large
trunks are apt to be hollow, affording brittle, useless wood. The
botanical relation between the American and European chestnuts is
not distinct. Some consider the former a distinct species, others a
variety only. The name "Chinquapin" applies to two distinct botanical
species, one, the Castanea pumila, closely related to the common
chestnut; the other, Castanopsis chrysophylla, belonging to the same
family (Cupuliferæ), but to quite another genus. Both afford woods
resembling, but heavier than, chestnut.
[Illustration: PLATE 11. CHESTNUT (_Castanea dentata_).
(_Courtesy N. C. Geological Survey_.)]
The chestnut may be known by its large prickly burr, [p057]
containing from one to three thin-shelled, triangular, wedge-shaped
nuts. Both chinquapins have prickly burrs containing one, or
sometimes two, sweet edible nuts. Three of the four known species of
the genus Castanea grow in North America, one the common chestnut
(_Castanea vulgaris_); another the Chinquapin (_Castanea pumila_);
the third a plant never attaining to the size of a tree. The
Chinquapin (_Castanopsis chrysophylla_) is the only North American
representative of a genus including twenty-five species. Keeler
says that Castanea is from a town of that name in Thessaly, or from
another town of that name in Pontus. [p058]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 37: "Castagno di cento cavalli," so called from having
sheltered 100 mounted cavaliers, measured by Brydon in 1770. It had
the appearance of five distinct trees, but was probably one trunk.
(G. B. Emerson, "Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts," Vol. I, page
192.)]
CHESTNUT.
_Castanea dentata (Marsh) Borkh._
_Castanea vesca var. americana Michx._
_Castanea vulgaris var. americana A. de C._
Nomenclature.
Chestnut (local and common name).
Locality.
New England, New York to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky,
Missouri, Michigan. Best on western slope of Alleghany Mountains.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height, five to twelve feet in
diameter. Fine characteristic shape, not easily distinguished from
Red Oak in winter. Blossoms in midsummer. Prickly burrs contain
three thin-shelled nuts.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood brown, sapwood lighter, coarse-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Light, soft, not strong, liable to check and warp in drying. Easily
split. Very durable in exposed positions.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Cabinet-making, railway ties, posts, fencing, sills.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
28.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,200,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
9800.
Remarks.
The nuts of the foreign species (_C. vesca_) as well as those of
the domestic species are much prized. The former are larger and the
latter sweeter. One of the latest trees to blossom. [p059]
CHINQUAPIN.
_Castanea pumila (Linn.) Mill._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Chinquapin (Del., N. J., Pa., Va., W. Va., N. C., S. C., Ga., Ala.,
Fla., Miss., La., Tex., Ark., Ohio, Ky., Mo., Mich.).
Locality.
Pennsylvania to Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas,
Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan.
Features of Tree.
A small tree, sometimes forty-five feet in height, one to two feet
or over in diameter. Sometimes reduced to low shrub. Small prickly
burr with single small chestnut-colored nut.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood dark brown, sapwood hardly distinguishable.
Coarse-grained, annual layers marked by rows of open ducts.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Rather heavy, hard, strong. Durable in exposed positions. Liable to
check in drying.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Posts, rails, railway ties, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
36.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,620,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
14,000.
Remarks.
[p060]
FOOTNOTE
The Chinquapin Castanopsis chrysophylla, is a tree with
characteristics between oak and chestnut. Its wood is nearly similar
to that of the Chinquapin Castanea pumila, and is sometimes used for
implements.
BEECH. IRONWOOD.
(_Fagus_.) (_Carpinus, Ostrya, etc._)
Beech is well known on the eastern continent. The common beech
(_Fagus atropunicea_) is the only American representative. Eastern
species have figured in literature since the time of Virgil. The
northern nations early wrote upon thin tablets of beechwood, and
_boc_, _bok_, and _buche_, the northern names for beech, finally gave
origin to the word book.[38] American Indians believed that the beech
was proof against lightning.
[Illustration: BEECH (_Fagus atropunicea_).]
Beechwood is hard, heavy, strong, not durable when exposed, and
somewhat subject to attack by insects. European engineers employ it
to a considerable extent in construction, but it is seldom used in
America save for indoor finish, furniture, handles, flooring, and
the like. The small edible nuts, known as beech-mast, are pressed
abroad for a fixed oil, resembling and used in place of that from the
olive. They are seldom gathered in this country, but are devoured by
animals. Beech-trees have smooth, light-colored bark, and are very
attractive in their winter appearance. They may be recognized earlier
in the season by their small prickly burrs, each containing two
triangular, sharp-edged nuts. There are fifteen or more species known
to belong to this genus. _Fagus_ is from _phago_, to eat, and refers
to the nut.
[Illustration: PLATE 12. BEECH (_Fagus_).]
The name Ironwood has been applied to Blue Beech (_Carpinus
caroliniana_), to the Hornbeam (_Ostrya virginiana_), and to at least
eight other North American species affording unusually hard and heavy
woods, such as are used for handles [p061] and implements.[39]
Trunks of trees affording these woods are generally small and
the weight of the woods is so great as to prevent their use in
construction. [p062]
FOOTNOTES
[Footnote 38: _Liber_, the Latin for book, is from _liber_, the
inner bark of a tree, while _papyrus_, the Latin for paper, is from
an Egyptian reed of that name. The words "book," "library," and
"paper" are thus drawn from trees and plants.]
* Keeler notes experiments made to prove resistance on part of
beechwood.
[Footnote 39: Prosopis juliflora, Olneya tesota, Guajacum sanctum,
Cliftonia monophylla, Cyrilla racemiflora, Exothea paniculata,
Bumelia tenax, Bumelia lycioides. (Sudworth.)]
BEECH.
_Fagus atropunicea (Marsh.) Sudworth._
_Fagus ferruginea Ait._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Beech (local and common name).
Red Beech (Me., Vt., Ky., Ohio.).
White Beech (Me., Ohio., Mich.).
Ridge Beech (Ark.).
Locality.
Nova Scotia to Florida, westward intermittently to Wisconsin and
Texas.
Features of Tree.
Sixty to eighty feet, occasionally higher; two to four feet in
diameter. Small rough burr contains two thin-shelled nuts.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood reddish, variable shades, sapwood white. Rather
close-grained, conspicuous medullary rays.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Hard, strong, tough, not durable when exposed. Takes fine polish.
Liable to check during seasoning.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Shoe-lasts, plane-stocks, ship-building, handles, and fuel.
Carpentry (abroad), wagon-making, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
42.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,720,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
16,300.
Remarks.
The nuts are seldom gathered in the United States, nor is the
wood there often utilized in carpentry. This is sometimes divided
commercially into Red and White Beech, according to color of wood.
Such division has no botanical basis. [p063]
IRONWOOD, BLUE BEECH.
_Carpinus caroliniana Walt._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Ironwood, Blue Beech (local and common name).
Water Beech (R. I., N. Y., Pa., Del., W. Va., Ohio, Ill., Ind.,
Mich., Minn., Nebr., Kans.).
Hornbeam (Me., N. H., Mass., R. I., Conn., N. Y., N. J., Pa., Del.,
N. C., S. C., Ala., Tex., Ky., Ill., Kans., Minn.).
Locality.
Quebec to Florida, westward intermittently to Nebraska and Texas.
Features of Tree.
Thirty to fifty feet in height. Six inches to occasionally two feet
in diameter. A small tree, dark bluish-gray; bark resembles that of
beech save in color.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, thick sapwood nearly white, close-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Very hard, tough, strong, heavy, very stiff, inclined to check
during seasoning, not durable when exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Levers, tool-handles, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
45.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,630,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
16,300.
Remarks.
Prized by wheelwrights in Europe. Resemblance of bluish bark to
light-gray bark of beech gave rise to name. [p064]
IRONWOOD, HOP HORNBEAM.
_Ostrya virginiana Willd._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Ironwood, Hop Hornbeam (local and common names).
Leverwood (Vt., Mass., R. I., N. Y., Pa., Kans.).
Hornbeam (R. I., N. Y., Fla., S. C., La.).
Hardhack (Vt.).
Locality.
Nova Scotia to Florida, westward intermittently to Dakota and Texas.
Features of Tree.
Thirty to forty feet in height, one foot or less in diameter. The
bark exhibits long vertical rows of small squares. Small fruit
resembles hops. Leaves resemble those of birch.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood reddish brown, sometimes white, sapwood lighter or white.
Close-grained, compact structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Very strong, hard, heavy, tough, durable when exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Posts, levers, tool-handles, axe-helves, mill-cogs, wedges.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
51.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,950,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
16,000.
Remarks.
Trees over twelve inches in diameter are often hollow. [p065]
[Illustration: PLATE 13. SYCAMORE (_Platanus occidentalis_).
Quartered Sycamore Wood.]
SYCAMORE.
(_Platanus_.)
The name Sycamore applies to a maple (_Acer pseudo-platanus_) in
Europe, to a fig-tree (_Ficus sycomorus_) in the Orient,[40] and to
the buttonball or plane tree (_Platanus_) in North America. Of the
plane trees (_Platanus_) the common or Oriental plane (_Platanus
orientalis_) is a native of Europe; the plane, buttonball, or
sycamore tree (_Platanus occidentalis_) is a native and common tree
in eastern North America; and the California plane, buttonball, or
sycamore (_Platanus racemosa_) is a native of western North America.
The sycamore stands for curiosity, because of its Biblical
association with Zaccheus. Many European sycamores were planted by
religious persons during the middle ages because of the belief that
they were the trees thus referred to in the Bible.
[Illustration: SYCAMORE (_Platanus occidentalis_).]
The woods afforded by the American sycamores have unusually
complicated, cross-grained, but beautiful structures, difficult
to work, but standing well and valued for cabinet work and small
articles. American trees are often very large.
American buttonball or sycamore trees are distinguished by rough
balls which remain hanging on long stems throughout the winter. The
bark also is shed to an unusual extent; flakes of the outer cover
drop away, exposing smooth inner surfaces so white as to appear as if
painted. Six or seven species are included in the genus; three occur
in North America. _Platanus_ is from _platus_, signifying broad, and
refers to the shape of the leaves. [p066]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 40: Brockhaus, Konversations-Lexicon (B. 15, p. 536).]
SYCAMORE. BUTTONWOOD. BUTTONBALL-TREE.
_Platanus occidentalis Linn._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Buttonball Tree (local and common names).
Buttonball (R. I., N. Y., Pa., Fla.).
Plane Tree (R. I., Del., S. C., Kans., Nebr., Ia.).
Water Beech (Del.).
Platane cotonier, Bois puant (La.).
Locality.
Maine to Florida, westward intermittently to Nebraska and Texas.
Best in bottom lands of Ohio and Mississippi River basins.
Features of Tree.
Ninety to over one hundred feet in height, six to sometimes twelve
feet in diameter. Inner bark exposed in white patches. Large rough
balls or fruit.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood reddish brown, sapwood lighter, close-grained, compact
structures, satiny conspicuous medullary rays. Attractive when
quartered.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, difficult to work, not strong, stands well when not
exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Tobacco-boxes, ox-yokes, butcher-blocks, cabinet-work.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
35.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,220,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
9000.
Remarks.
Some specimens rank among the largest of American deciduous trees.
These are usually hollow. The remarkably rigid bark does not stretch
to accommodate the growth and is thus discarded to an unusual
degree. [p067]
CALIFORNIA SYCAMORE.
_Platanus racemosa Nutt._
Nomenclature.
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Buttonball Tree, Buttonball (California).
Locality.
California.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height, occasionally higher;
three to four feet in diameter. The bark exfoliates in irregular
patches.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light reddish brown, sapwood lighter, close-grained,
compact structure, medullary rays numerous and conspicuous.
Beautiful when quartered.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Brittle, very difficult to split and to season. Qualities similar to
those of P. occidentalis.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Decoration, furniture, similar to P. occidentalis.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
30.
Modulus of Elasticity.
800,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
7900.
Remarks.
Hough mentions[41] a tree twenty-nine feet seven inches in
circumference. [p068]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 41: "American Woods," Part 6, p. 36.]
BIRCH.
(_Betula_.)
The birches grow in Europe, Asia, and North America, their ranges on
the latter continent extending far into the north.[42] Their history
is remote and probably began with attention to the bark rather than
to the wood.
Birch-bark is smooth, pliable, water-tight, and by reason of its
resinous oils so durable that it often remains intact long after the
wood inside of fallen trees has disappeared. It is separable into
thin layers and was early employed as a writing material.[43] Houses
have been covered by it and it has been used for cordage, utensils,
"damp courses," and even rude clothing. The American Indians employed
it for canoes, tents, troughs, and buckets. The wood is hard, heavy,
strong, fine-grained, and beautiful. It shrinks in seasoning,
works easily, stands well when not exposed. It is used for spools,
woodenware, and other small articles, as well as for interior finish
and cabinet work. Figured birch is one of the most beautiful of
American cabinet woods.[44] Birch is often stained so as to imitate
cherry and mahogany; the best imitations of the latter wood are of
birch. Birch is commercially divided, according to the quantity
of heartwood present, into white birch and red birch. The wood is
"white" when the amount is small, and as heartwood increases with age
the same tree might at one time afford white and at another red wood.
Birch trees may be known by their more or less laminated bark with
its peculiar long horizontal lenticles or dashes. The [p069]
leaves of the several birches differ but little, but the decided
colors exhibited by their barks give names and serve to distinguish
the species. Nine of the twenty-four known species of birch occur in
North America; six are trees and the others low shrubs. _Betula_ is
said to be derived from bitumen. [p070]
FOOTNOTE
[Footnote 42: Birch forms large forests in the North.]
[Footnote 43: Pliny and Plutarch agree that the famous books of Numa
Pompilius, written 700 years before Christ, were upon birch-bark.
(Keeler.)]
[Footnote 44: The banquet-hall of the famous Auditorium Hotel in
Chicago is finished in birch. (Kidder.)]
[Illustration: PLATE 14. BIRCH (_Betula_).
Yellow Birch Tree (_Betula lutea_).
White Birch Bark (_Betula populifolia_).
Yellow Birch Foliage (_Betula lutea_).
Birch Wood.]
WHITE BIRCH.
_Betula populifolia Marsh._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
White Birch (local and common name).
Gray Birch (Me., R. I., Mass.).
Oldfield Birch, Poverty Birch (Me.).
Poplar-leaved Birch, Small White Birch (Vt.).
Locality.
Atlantic coast, Canada to Delaware.
Features of Tree.
Twenty to forty feet in height, about one foot in diameter. Durable,
laminated, smooth, white bark on large branches and on trunk, save
near ground; is not very easily detached from tree. Tremulous leaves.
Color, Grain, or Appearance of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, sapwood lighter, close-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Soft, light, not strong or durable.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Clothes-pins, shoe-pegs, tooth-picks, paper-pulp.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
35.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,036,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
11,000.
Remarks.
The white bark is distinct from that of the paper birch in that it
does not cover the whole trunk and in that it remains more perfectly
intact. [p071]
PAPER BIRCH, WHITE BIRCH.
_Betula papyrifera Marsh._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Paper Birch, White Birch (local and common names).
Silver Birch (Minn.).
Large White Birch (Vt.).
Boleau (Quebec).
Canoe Birch (Me., Vt., N. H., R. I., Mass., N. Y., Pa., Wis., Mich.,
Minn.).
Locality.
Northern United States, northward into Canada, valley of the Yukon
in Alaska.
Features of Tree.
Fifty to seventy feet in height, one and one-half to two and
one-half feet in diameter. Smooth white exterior bark on large limbs
and trunks away from ground. Brown or orange inner surfaces of bark.
Splits freely into thin paper-like layers.
Color, Grain, or Appearance of Wood.
Heartwood brown tinged with red, sapwood nearly white. Very
close-grained, compact structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Strong, hard, tough, not durable.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Spools, shoe-lasts, pegs, paper-pulp, fuel, bark used in canoes.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
37.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,850,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
15,000.
Remarks.
Starch is said to be manufactured from inner bark by Northern
Indians. Reaches higher latitude than any American deciduous tree.
Forms forests. The name White Birch is because of the color of the
bark. [p072]
RED BIRCH.
_Betula nigra Linn._
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Red Birch (local and common name).
Black Birch (Fla., Tenn., Tex.).
River Birch (Mass., R. I., N. J., Del., Pa., W. Va., Ala., Miss.,
Tex., Mo., Ill., Wis., Ohio).
Birch (N. C., S. C, Miss., La.).
Water Birch (W. Va., Kans.).
Blue Birch (Ark.).
Locality.
Massachusetts to Florida, westward intermittently to Minnesota and
Texas. Best development in south Atlantic and lower Mississippi
valley regions.
Features of Tree.
Thirty to eighty feet in height, one to three feet in diameter,
sometimes larger. Dark red brown scaly bark on trunk. Red to
silvery-white bark on branches. Bark separates in thin paper-like
scales curling outward.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, sapwood yellowish white. Close-grained,
compact structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Light, rather hard and strong.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Furniture, woodenware, shoe-lasts, ox-yokes. Inferior cask-hoops
from branches.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
35.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,580,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
13,100.
Remarks.
Dark brown bark, whence name Red Birch. Prefers moist bottoms,
whence name River Birch. [p073]
YELLOW BIRCH.
_Betula lutea Michx. f._