Seasoning of Wood, Joseph Bernard Wagner [best beach reads txt] 📗

to Texas, Minnesota to Florida.

43. Mockernut Hickory (Hicoria alba) (Black Nut Hickory, Black Hickory, Bull Nut Hickory, Big Bud Hickory, White Heart Hickory). A medium- to large-sized tree. Wood in its quality and uses similar to the preceding. Its range is the same as that of Hicoria ovata. Common, especially in the South.

44. Pignut Hickory (Hicoria glabra) (Brown Hickory, Black Hickory, Switchbud Hickory). A medium- to large-sized tree. Heavier and stronger than any of the preceding. Heartwood light to dark brown, sapwood nearly white. Abundant, all eastern United States.

45. Bitternut Hickory (Hicoria minima) (Swamp Hickory). A medium-sized tree, favoring wet localities. Heartwood light brown, sapwood lighter color. Wood in its quality and uses not so valuable as Hicoria ovata, but is used for the same purposes. Abundant, all eastern United States.

46. Pecan (Hicoria pecan) (Illinois Nut). A large tree, very common in the fertile bottoms of the western streams. Indiana to Nebraska and southward to Louisiana and Texas.

HOLLY

47. Holly (Ilex opaca). Small to medium-sized tree. Wood of medium weight, hard, strong, tough, of exceedingly fine grain, closer in texture than most woods, of white color, sometimes almost as white as ivory; requires great care in its treatment to preserve the whiteness of the wood. It does not readily absorb foreign matter. Much used by turners and for all parts of musical instruments, for handles on whips and fancy articles, draught-boards, engraving blocks, cabinet work, etc. The wood is often dyed black and sold as ebony; works well and stands well. Most abundant in the lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States, but occurring eastward to Massachusetts and north to Indiana.

48. Holly (Ilex monticolo) (Mountain Holly). Small-sized tree. Wood in its quality and uses similar to the preceding, but is not very generally known. It is found in the Catskill Mountains and extends southward along the Alleghanies as far as Alabama.

HORSE CHESTNUT (See Buckeye) IRONWOOD

49. Ironwood (Ostrya Virginiana) (Hop Hornbeam, Lever Wood). Small-sized tree, common. Heartwood light brown tinged with red, sapwood nearly white. Wood heavy, tough, exceedingly close-grained, very strong and hard, durable in contact with the soil, and will take a fine polish. Used for small articles like levers, handles of tools, mallets, etc. Ranges throughout the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.

LAUREL

50. Laurel (Umbellularia Californica) (Myrtle). A Western tree, produces timber of light brown color of great size and beauty, and is very valuable for cabinet and inside work, as it takes a fine polish. California and Oregon, coast range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

LOCUST

51. Black Locust (Robinia pseudacacia) (Locust, Yellow Locust, Acacia). Small to medium-sized tree. Wood very heavy, hard, strong, and tough, rivalling some of the best oak in this latter quality. The wood has great torsional strength, excelling most of the soft woods in this respect, of coarse texture, close-grained and compact structure, takes a fine polish. Annual rings clearly marked, very durable in contact with the soil, shrinks and checks considerably in drying, the very narrow sapwood greenish yellow, the heartwood brown, with shades of red and green. Used for wagon hubs, trenails or pins, but especially for railway ties, fence posts, and door sills. Also used for boat parts, turnery, ornamentations, and locally for construction. Abroad it is much used for furniture and farming implements and also in turnery. At home in the Alleghany Mountains, extensively planted, especially in the West.

52. Honey Locust (Gleditschia triacanthos) (Honey Shucks, Locust, Black Locust, Brown Locust, Sweet Locust, False Acacia, Three-Thorned Acacia). A medium-sized tree. Wood heavy, hard, strong, tough, durable in contact with the soil, of coarse texture, susceptible to a good polish. The narrow sapwood yellow, the heartwood brownish red. So far, but little appreciated except for fences and fuel. Used to some extent for wheel hubs, and locally in rough construction. Found from Pennsylvania to Nebraska, and southward to Florida and Texas; locally quite abundant.

53. Locust (Robinia viscosa) (Clammy Locust). Usually a shrub five or six feet high, but known to reach a height of 40 feet in the mountains of North Carolina, with the habit of a tree. Wood light brown, heavy, hard, and close-grained. Not used to much extent in manufacture. Range same as the preceding.

MAGNOLIA

54. Magnolia (Magnolia glauca) (Swamp Magnolia, Small Magnolia, Sweet Bay, Beaver Wood). Small-sized tree. Heartwood reddish brown, sap wood cream white. Sparingly used in manufacture. Ranges from Essex County, Mass., to Long Island, N. Y., from New Jersey to Florida, and west in the Gulf region to Texas.

55. Magnolia (Magnolia tripetala) (Umbrella Tree). A small-sized tree. Wood in its quality similiar to the preceding. It may be easily recognized by its great leaves, twelve to eighteen inches long, and five to eight inches broad. This species as well as the preceding is an ornamental tree. Ranges from Pennsylvania southward to the Gulf.

56. Cucumber Tree (Magnolia accuminata) (Tulip-wood, Poplar). Medium- to large-sized tree. Heartwood yellowish brown, sapwood almost white. Wood light, soft, satiny, close-grained, durable in contact with the soil, resembling and sometimes confounded with tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in the markets. The wood shrinks considerably, but seasons without much injury, and works and stands well. It bends readily when steamed, and takes stain and paint well. Used in cooperage, for siding, for panelling and finishing lumber in house, car and shipbuilding, etc., also in the manufacture of toys, culinary woodenware, and backing for drawers. Most common in the southern Alleghanies, but distributed from western New York to southern Illinois, south through central Kentucky and Tennessee to Alabama, and throughout Arkansas.

MAPLE

Wood heavy, hard, strong, stiff, and tough, of fine texture, frequently wavy-grained, this giving rise to "curly" and "blister" figures which are much admired. Not durable in the ground, or when exposed. Maple is creamy white, with shades of light brown in the heartwood, shrinks moderately, seasons, works, and stands well, wears smoothly, and takes a fine polish. The wood is used in cooperage, and for ceiling, flooring, panelling, stairway, and other finishing lumber in house, ship, and car construction. It is used for the keels of boats and ships, in the manufacture of implements and machinery, but especially for furniture, where entire chamber sets of maple rival those of oak. Maple is also used for shoe lasts and other form blocks; for shoe pegs; for piano actions, school apparatus, for wood type in show bill printing, tool handles, in wood carving, turnery, and scroll work, in fact it is one of our most useful woods. The maples are medium-sized trees, of fairly rapid growth, sometimes form forests, and frequently constitute a large proportion of the arborescent growth. They grow freely in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and are particularly luxuriant in Canada and the northern portions of the United States.

57. Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) (Hard Maple, Rock Maple). Medium- to large-sized tree, very common, forms considerable forests, and is especially esteemed. The wood is close-grained, heavy, fairly hard and strong, of compact structure. Heartwood brownish, sapwood lighter color; it can be worked to a satin-like surface and take a fine polish, it is not durable if exposed, and requires a good deal of seasoning. Medullary rays small but distinct. The "curly" or "wavy" varieties furnish wood of much beauty, the peculiar contortions of the grain called "bird's eye" being much sought after, and used as veneer for panelling, etc. It is used in all good grades of furniture, cabinetmaking, panelling, interior finish, and turnery; it is not liable to warp and twist. It is also largely used for flooring, for rollers for wringers and mangling machines, for which there is a large and increasing demand. The peculiarity known as "bird's eye," and which causes a difficulty in working the wood smooth, owing to the little pieces like knots lifting up, is supposed to be due to the action of boring insects. Its resistance to compression across the grain is higher than that of most other woods. Ranges from Maine to Minnesota, abundant, with birch, in the region of the Great Lakes.

58. Red Maple (Acer rubrum) (Swamp Maple, Soft Maple, Water Maple). Medium-sized tree. Like the preceding but not so valuable. Scattered along water-courses and other moist localities. Abundant. Maine to Minnesota, southward to northern Florida.

59. Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) (Soft Maple, White Maple, Silver-Leaved Maple). Medium- to large-sized tree, common. Wood lighter, softer, and inferior to Acer saccharum, and usually offered in small quantities and held separate in the markets. Heartwood reddish brown, sapwood ivory white, fine-grained, compact structure. Fibres sometimes twisted, weaved, or curly. Not durable. Used in cooperage for woodenware, turnery articles, interior decorations and flooring. Valley of the Ohio, but occurs from Maine to Dakota and southward to Florida.

60. Broad-Leaved Maple (Acer macrophyllum) (Oregon Maple). Medium-sized tree, forms considerable forests, and, like the preceding has a lighter, softer, and less valuable wood than Acer saccharum. Pacific Coast regions.

61. Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum). Small-sized tree. Heartwood pale reddish brown, sapwood lighter color. Wood light, soft, close-grained, and susceptible of high polish. Ranges from lower St. Lawrence River to northern Minnesota and regions of the Saskatchewan River; south through the Northern States and along the Appalachian Mountains to Georgia.

62. Ash-Leaved Maple (Acer negundo) (Box Elder). Medium- to large-sized tree. Heartwood creamy white, sapwood nearly white. Wood light, soft, close-grained, not strong. Used for woodenware and paper pulp. Distributed across the continent, abundant throughout the Mississippi Valley along banks of streams and borders of swamps.

63. Striped Maple (Acer Pennsylvanicum) (Moose-wood). Small-sized tree. Produces a very white wood much sought after for inlaid and for cabinet work. Wood is light, soft, close-grained, and takes a fine polish. Not common. Occurs from Pennsylvania to Minnesota.

MULBERRY

64. Red Mulberry (Morus rubra). A small-sized tree. Wood moderately heavy, fairly hard and strong, rather tough, of coarse texture, very durable in contact with the soil. The sapwood whitish, heartwood yellow to orange brown, shrinks and checks considerably in drying, works well and stands well. Used in cooperage and locally in construction, and in the manufacture of farm implements. Common in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, but widely distributed in the eastern United States.

MYRTLE (See Laurel) OAK

Wood very variable, usually very heavy and hard, very strong and tough, porous, and of coarse texture. The sapwood whitish, the heartwood "oak" to reddish brown. It shrinks and checks badly, giving trouble in seasoning, but stands well, is durable, and little subject to the attacks of boring insects. Oak is used for many purposes, and is the chief wood used for tight cooperage; it is used in shipbuilding, for heavy construction, in carpentry, in furniture, car and wagon work, turnery, and even in woodcarving. It is also used in all kinds of farm implements, mill machinery, for piles and wharves, railway ties, etc., etc. The oaks are medium- to large-sized trees, forming the predominant part of a large proportion of our broad-leaved forests, so that these are generally termed "oak forests," though they always contain considerable proportion of other kinds of trees. Three well-marked kinds—white, red, and live oak—are distinguished and kept separate in the markets. Of the two principal kinds "white oak" is the stronger, tougher, less porous, and more durable. "Red oak" is usually of coarser texture, more porous, often brittle, less durable, and even more troublesome in seasoning than white oak. In carpentry and furniture work red oak brings the same price at present as white oak. The red oaks everywhere accompany the white oaks, and, like the latter, are usually represented by several species in any given locality. "Live oak," once largely employed in shipbuilding, possesses all the good qualities, except that of size, of white oak, even to a greater degree. It is one of the heaviest, hardest, toughest, and most durable woods of this