Charles H. Snow

“ 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. ”

“ Their woods are now the principal ones in carpentry and construction, and are more used than any others. They are to the soft woods what the oaks are to the hard woods, and they stand at present with reference to all woods much as iron does to all metals. Pine is prized because of a combination of strength, elasticity, light weight, working qualities, and availability, such as fits it for those constructions requiring the largest quantities of wood. ”

“ Holly-wood is noted for its fine, even grain, but chiefly for its smooth, ivory-white color, fitting it for the white of inlaid work, for carvings and other decorations where white color and fine qualities are required. The principal European source is the Ilex aquifolium, while in America it is the Ilex opaca. Boxwood is, as stated, the name applied to several woods, all noted for their fine compact structure, rendering them suitable for very fine carvings such as are required in wood-engraving. The Eastern product as cut from the true box is so highly prized as to be sold by the pound. ”

“ Sweet or Cherry Birch (Betula lenta) is often stained so as to imitate it, while it of itself is stained so as to resemble mahogany. The wood of the cultivated cherry is not used in the United States. The wild cherry bears purplish-black fruit somewhat larger than peas, sweetly bitter when ripe. The bark is also bitter. It should be noted of these woods that the thin heart of the persimmon is black, that of the Bois d'Arc is yellow, and that of the cherry is red. Each receives a high polish. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Two Specimens of Wood.
Mahogany, placed among the second class of ship-building woods by Lloyd's Register, was once used to some extent in place of oak in naval architecture, but is now so greatly valued for decoration as to be employed for little else, save occasionally the hulls of small pleasure craft. The decorative value is due to a combination of beauty, working qualities, and durability. Beauty is influenced by both grain and warm red color. ”

“ Fir wood resembles spruce in appearance and in structural qualities. It may be told from spruce as well as from pine and larch by the fact that fir has no resin-ducts. The balsam fir is distinguishable by clear liquid resin which appears in blisters in the bark. The coarse, weak wood is cleaner than the bark would indicate. Spruce and fir woods are often confused in the United States, while pine, spruce, and fir are similarly confounded in Europe. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The wood of the honey locust resembles that of the black locust, but is seldom used or appreciated save for fencing and similarly unimportant purposes. Trees grow rapidly and are not subject to the attacks of insects, so that they frequently attain to normal proportions. The flowers are much smaller than those of the black locust, but the pods are several times as long (twelve to eighteen inches) . These often curl in drying and are thus rolled to some distance by the wind. Thorns or spines are present on some individuals and are often from three to six inches in length. ”

“ 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. ”

“ There are two Teaks; the principal one (Tectona grandis) , a native of Asia, has been called the "Oak" of the Indian forests, the other (Oldfieldia africana) is an African tree. [60] The Greenheart (Nectandra rodiali) is of the laurel family and grows in South America. The woods, although foreign, are of such nature as to have widely established reputations, and each has at some time been used in construction.
Teak suggests oak, save that it is lighter and has a more uniform structure. It is very durable, and an oily secretion repels insects and preserves iron fastenings. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 American or Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a tree of considerable importance. It grows in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, on submerged lands or in deep swamps where unusual logging methods are necessitated. The seasoned wood resembles white cedar in that it is soft, light, and very durable. It has been called by many names. Pieces were once called black or white cypress according as they sank or floated. All dark pieces are now called black cypress. The tinted woods of some localities are called red or yellow cypress. ”

“ The bark is used in tanning. The little branches have long been associated with baskets and woven work. American trees are seldom cut up into lumber, but are valued for shade and appearance, and are often planted along the banks of streams to prevent erosion.
Willows grow very rapidly and have a characteristic and attractive appearance. They usually prefer low moist places. There are so many hybrids and peculiar species as to render classification in all cases difficult. [50] Black willow is the native species, oftenest attaining to tree size in North America. ”

“ American boxwood is chiefly derived from the Flowering Dogwood, the Mexican Persimmon, and the Rose Bay. In Australia several species of Eucalyptus are said to be used. Lignumvitæ is noted for great strength and hardness. Layers of fibres alternately cross one another so that the wood may be said to crumble rather than split. It has no superior for implements that must be [p104] fine, true, and strong, such as the sheaves of pulleys and handles of tools. ”

“ 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 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.
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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Many kinds of wood that were formerly plentiful are now much less so. Attention is being turned to trees that give best results under artificial conditions. Catalpa, formerly but little known, now bids fair to become of some importance in this connection.
The catalpa grows rapidly and produces a coarse, brittle, weak, but durable and desirable, lumber, well fitted to meet the requirements of railways and other branches of construction where the annual consumption is the largest. Fifty thousand catalpa trees have recently been planted by a Western railway at a cost of one cent apiece. ”

“ White pine (Pinus strobus) grows in the north, central, and eastern United States and was formerly the important tree of North America. It emphasized the forest industries of Maine and of Michigan, and methods connected with harvesting it have influenced logging practices in many fields. It was long the only softwood seriously considered by Northern lumbermen. Thirty per cent of the sawn timber and lumber used in this country in 1899 was drawn from this species. [73] White pine is diminishing so rapidly as to be already practically unobtainable in many places. ”

“ Only a few species, including the palmettos of the Gulf States and the fan palms of California are native in the United States.
Palms have tall, columnar trunks without branches, but with crowns of large leaves at their summits. Their forms and proportions are often magnificent. The wood is soft, light, more or less porous, difficult to work, and not strong. The shapes of trunks sometimes cause them to be locally prized for piles, while the porous qualities of the wood are such as to repel teredo. [112] There are many by-products, as fruit, nuts, oil, etc. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is distinctly the most important of its group. The wood is ideal for heavy constructions. Beams, docks, trestles, and frames of cars are formed of it. The trees afford the greater bulk of turpentine, tar, and resin, or "naval stores," produced in this country. [74] Cuban, shortleaf, and loblolly pine woods (P. heterophylla, P. echinata, and P. tæda) are nearly similar. Longleaf and Cuban pines are seldom separated, while shortleaf and loblolly pines are also mixed. Longleaf pine usually affords finer structure and more heartwood than Cuban pine. ”

“ The living trees are subject to a peculiar fungous disease, causing numerous cavities in the wood. These so resemble perforations made by small pegs that the wood is termed "peggy." The trouble ceases as the trees are cut, and the wood is then as durable as that from perfect trees. About one third of the standing supply is thus affected. [102] The roots frequently project upward above the surface in what are known as cypress knees. The single species of this genus may easily be recognized by its deciduous foliage ”

“ The Endogens include numerous families and many thousand species. [110] The grasses, including wheat, rye, and Indian corn at the North and sugar-cane and bamboo at the South, belong to this group. Most Endogens are herbs; comparatively few furnish material for structural purposes. The Palms, including the palmetto, rattans, cane palms, and others, the Yucca, including the Joshua tree, Spanish bayonet, and others, and the Bamboos, representatives of the grasses, are thus useful. Endogens are also known as Monocotyledons. ”

“ 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 ”