Seasoning of Wood Part 7

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 Pennsylvanic.u.m_) (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 coa.r.s.e 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 coa.r.s.e 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 s.h.i.+pbuilding, 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 princ.i.p.al kinds "white oak" is the stronger, tougher, less porous, and more durable. "Red oak" is usually of coa.r.s.er 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 s.h.i.+pbuilding, 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 country. In structure it resembles the red oak, but is less porous.

=65. White Oak= (_Quercus alba_) (American Oak). Medium-to large-sized tree. Heartwood light brown, sapwood lighter color. Annual rings well marked, medullary rays broad and prominent. Wood tough, strong, heavy, hard, liable to check in seasoning, durable in contact with the soil, takes a high polish, very elastic, does not shrink much, and can be bent to any form when steamed. Used for agricultural implements, tool handles, furniture, fixtures, interior finish, car and wagon construction, beams, cabinet work, tight cooperage, railway ties, etc., etc. Because of the broad medullary rays, it is generally "quarter-sawn" for cabinet work and furniture. Common in the Eastern States, Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. Occurs throughout the eastern United States.

=66. White Oak= (_Quercus durandii_). Medium- to small-sized tree. Wood in its quality and uses similiar to the preceding. Texas, eastward to Alabama.

=67. White Oak= (_Quercus garryana_) (Western White Oak). Medium- to large-sized tree. Stronger, more durable, and wood more compact than _Quercus alba_. Was.h.i.+ngton to California.

=68. White Oak= (_Quercus lobata_). Medium- to large-sized tree. Largest oak on the Pacific Coast. Wood in its quality and uses similar to _Quercus alba_, only it is finer-grained. California.

=69. Bur Oak= (_Quercus macrocarpa_) (Mossy-Cup Oak, Over-Cup Oak).

Large-sized tree. Heartwood "oak" brown, sapwood lighter color. Wood heavy, strong, close-grained, durable in contact with the soil. Used in s.h.i.+p- and boatbuilding, all sorts of construction, interior finish of houses, cabinet work, tight cooperage, carriage and wagon work, agricultural implements, railway ties, etc., etc. One of the most valuable and most widely distributed of American oaks, 60 to 80 feet in height, and, unlike most of the other oaks, adapts itself to varying climatic conditions. It is one of the most durable woods when in contact with the soil. Common, locally abundant. Ranges from Manitoba to Texas, and from the foot hills of the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Coast. It is the most abundant oak of Kansas and Nebraska, and forms the scattered forests known as "The oak openings"

of Minnesota.

=70. Willow Oak= (_Quercus ph.e.l.los_) (Peach oak). Small to medium-sized tree. Heartwood pale reddish brown, sapwood lighter color. Wood heavy, hard, strong, coa.r.s.e-grained. Occasionally used in construction. New York to Texas, and northward to Kentucky.

=71. Swamp White Oak= (_Quercus bicolor_ var. _platanoides_).

Large-sized tree. Heartwood pale brown, sapwood the same color. Wood heavy, hard, strong, tough, coa.r.s.e-grained, checks considerably in seasoning. Used in construction, interior finish of houses, carriage-and boatbuilding, agricultural implements, in cooperage, railway ties, fencing, etc., etc. Ranges from Quebec to Georgia and westward to Arkansas. Never abundant. Most abundant in the Lake States.

=72. Over-Cup Oak= (_Quercus lyrata_) (Swamp White Oak, Swamp Post Oak).

Medium to large-sized tree, rather restricted, as it grows in the swampy districts of Carolina and Georgia. Is a larger tree than most of the other oaks, and produces an excellent timber, but grows in districts difficult of access, and is not much used. Lower Mississippi and eastward to Delaware.

=73. Pin Oak= (_Quercus pal.u.s.tris_) (Swamp Spanish Oak, Water Oak).

Medium- to large-sized tree. Heartwood pale brown with dark-colored sap wood. Wood heavy, strong, and coa.r.s.e-grained. Common along the borders of streams and swamps, attains its greatest size in the valley of the Ohio. Arkansas to Wisconsin, and eastward to the Alleghanies.

=74. Water Oak= (_Quercus aquatica_) (Duck Oak, Possum Oak). Medium- to large-sized tree, of extremely rapid growth. Eastern Gulf States, eastward to Delaware and northward to Missouri and Kentucky.

=75. Chestnut Oak= (_Quercus prinus_) (Yellow Oak, Rock Oak, Rock Chestnut Oak). Heartwood dark brown, sapwood lighter color. Wood heavy, hard, strong, tough, close-grained, durable in contact with the soil. Used for railway ties, fencing, fuel, and locally for construction. Ranges from Maine to Georgia and Alabama, westward through Ohio, and southward to Kentucky and Tennessee.

=76. Yellow Oak= (_Quercus ac.u.minata_) (Chestnut Oak, Chinquapin Oak).

Medium- to large-sized tree. Heartwood dark brown, sapwood pale brown.

Wood heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, durable in contact with the soil. Used in the manufacture of wheel stock, in cooperage, for railway ties, fencing, etc., etc. Ranges from New York to Nebraska and eastern Kansas, southward in the Atlantic region to the District of Columbia, and west of the Alleghanies southward to the Gulf States.

=77. Chinquapin Oak= (_Quercus prinoides_) (Dwarf Chinquapin Oak, Scrub Chestnut Oak). Small-sized tree. Heartwood light brown, sapwood darker color. Does not enter the markets to any great extent. Ranges from Ma.s.sachusetts to North Carolina, westward to Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and eastern Texas. Reaches its best form in Missouri and Kansas.

=78. Basket Oak= (_Quercus michauxii_) (Cow Oak). Large-sized tree.

Locally abundant. Lower Mississippi and eastward to Delaware.

=79. Scrub Oak= (_Quercus ilicifolia_ var. _pumila_) (Bear Oak).

Small-sized tree. Heartwood light brown, sapwood darker color. Wood heavy, hard, strong, and coa.r.s.e-grained. Found in New England and along the Alleghanies.

=80. Post Oak= (_Quercus obtusiloda_ var. _minor_) (Iron Oak). Medium- to large-sized tree, gives timber of great strength. The color is of a brownish yellow hue, close-grained, and often superior to the white oak (_Quercus alba_) in strength and durability. It is used for posts and fencing, and locally for construction. Arkansas to Texas, eastward to New England and northward to Michigan.

=81. Red Oak= (_Quercus rubra_) (Black Oak). Medium- to large-sized tree. Heartwood light brown to red, sapwood lighter color. Wood coa.r.s.e-grained, well-marked annual rings, medullary rays few but broad. Wood heavy, hard, strong, liable to check in seasoning. It is found over the same range as white oak, and is more plentiful. Wood is spongy in grain, moderately durable, but unfit for work requiring strength. Used for agricultural implements, furniture, bob sleds, vehicle parts, boxes, cooperage, woodenware, fixtures, interior finish, railway ties, etc., etc. Common in all parts of its range.

Maine to Minnesota, and southward to the Gulf.

=82. Black Oak= (_Quercus tinctoria_ var. _velutina_) (Yellow Oak).

Medium- to large-sized tree. Heartwood bright brown tinged with red, sapwood lighter color. Wood heavy, hard, strong, coa.r.s.e-grained, checks considerably in seasoning. Very common in the Southern States, but occurring North as far as Minnesota, and eastward to Maine.

=83. Barren Oak= (_Quercus nigra_ var. _marilandica_) (Black Jack, Jack Oak). Small-sized tree. Heartwood dark brown, sapwood lighter color.

Wood heavy, hard, strong, coa.r.s.e-grained, not valuable. Used in the manufacture of charcoal and for fuel. New York to Kansas and Nebraska, and southward to Florida. Rare in the North, but abundant in the South.

=84. s.h.i.+ngle Oak= (_Quercus imbricaria_) (Laurel Oak). Small to medium-sized tree. Heartwood pale reddish brown, sapwood lighter color. Wood heavy, hard, strong, coa.r.s.e-grained, checks considerably in drying. Used for s.h.i.+ngles and locally for construction. Rare in the east, most abundant in the lower Ohio Valley. From New York to Illinois and southward. Reaches its greatest size in southern Illinois and Indiana.

=85. Spanish Oak= (_Quercus digitata_ var. _falcata_) (Red Oak).

Medium-sized tree. Heartwood light reddish brown, sapwood much lighter. Wood heavy, hard, strong, coa.r.s.e-grained, and checks considerably in seasoning. Used locally for construction, and has high fuel value. Common in south Atlantic and Gulf region, but found from Texas to New York, and northward to Missouri and Kentucky.

=86. Scarlet Oak= (_Quercus coccinea_). Medium- to large-sized tree.

Heartwood light reddish-brown, sapwood darker color. Wood heavy, hard, strong, and coa.r.s.e-grained. Best developed in the lower basin of the Ohio, but found from Minnesota to Florida.

=87. Live Oak= (_Quercus virens_) (Maul Oak). Medium- to large-sized tree. Grows from Maryland to the Gulf of Mexico, and often attains a height of 60 feet and 4 feet in diameter. The wood is hard, strong, and durable, but of rather rapid growth, therefore not as good quality as _Quercus alba_. The live oak of Florida is now reserved by the United States Government for Naval purposes. Used for mauls and mallets, tool handles, etc., and locally for construction. Scattered along the coast from Maryland to Texas.

=88. Live Oak= (_Quercus chrysolepis_) (Maul Oak, Valparaiso Oak).

Medium- to small-sized tree. California.

OSAGE ORANGE

=89. Osage Orange= (_Maclura aurantiaca_) (Bois d'Arc). A small-sized tree of fairly rapid growth. Wood very heavy, exceedingly hard, strong, not tough, of moderately coa.r.s.e texture, and very durable and elastic. Sapwood yellow, heartwood brown on the end face, yellow on the longitudinal faces, soon turning grayish brown if exposed. It shrinks considerably in drying, but once dry it stands unusually well.

Much used for wheel stock, and wagon framing; it is easily split, so is unfit for wheel hubs, but is very suitable for wheel spokes. It is considered one of the timbers likely to supply the place of black locust for insulator pins on telegraph poles. Seems too little appreciated; it is well suited for turned ware and especially for woodcarving. Used for spokes, insulator pins, posts, railway ties, wagon framing, turnery, and woodcarving. Scattered through the rich bottoms of Arkansas and Texas.

PAPAW

=90. Papaw= (_Asimina triloba_) (Custard Apple). Small-sized tree, often only a shrub, Heartwood pale, yellowish green, sapwood lighter color.

Wood light, soft, coa.r.s.e-grained, and spongy. Not used to any extent in manufacture. Occurs in eastern and central Pennsylvania, west as far as Michigan and Kansas, and south to Florida and Texas. Often forming dense thickets in the lowlands bordering the Mississippi River.