INTRODUCTION. 7 



The uses of the various woods depeud on a variety of conditions. 

 The carpenter and builder, using large quantities of material and 

 bestowing a minimum amount of labor on the greater part of the same, 

 uses those kinds which are abundant, and hence cheap, to be had in 

 large dimensions, light to ship, soft to work and to nail, and fairly stiff 

 and insect proof — a combination represented in the conifers. They 

 need not be handsome, hard, tough, or very strong, and may shrink 

 even after they are in place. When it comes to finishing-woods, more 

 stress is laid on color and grain and that the wood shall shrink as little 

 as possible. 



The furniture maker, who bestows a maximum amount of work on 

 his material, needs a wood that combines strength, and sometimes 

 toughness, with beauty and hardness, that takes a good polish, keeps 

 joint, and does not easily indent. It must not warp or shrink when once 

 in place, but it need not be light or soft or insect proof or abundant in 

 any one kind, and in large dimensions, nor yet particularly cheap. 



Toughness, strength, and hardness combined are sought by the 

 wagon maker. The carriage builder, cooper, and shingle maker look 

 for straight-grained, easy- splitting woods, and for a long liber, the 

 absence of disturbing resinous and coloring matter, knots, etc. Dura- 

 bility under exposure to the weather, resistance to indentation, and the 

 holding of spikes are required for a good railroad tie; lasting qualities, 

 elasticity, and proportionate dimensions of length and diameter, for 

 telegraph poles. 



Sometimes in practice it is immaterial whether the stick be of white 

 oak or red oak, and many wood yards make no distinction, in fact do 

 not know any, but the experienced cooper will quickly distinguish, not 

 by name, perhaps, but by quality, the more porous red or black oak 

 from the less porous white species. On the other hand, the very same 

 white oak — Quercus alba, usually a superior article — may furnish so 

 poor material for a handle or a plow beam that a stick of red oak would 

 be preferable. The inspection, then, must be made not only for the 

 species but for the quality, with reference to the purpose for which the 

 stick is to be used. 



That the inspection should have regard to defects *, unhealthy 

 condition (often indicated by color) goes without saying, and such 

 inspection is usually practiced. That knots, even the smallest, are 

 defects which for some uses condemn the material altogether needs 

 hardly to be mentioned, but that season checks, even those that have 

 closed by subsequent shrinkage, remain elements of weakness is not 

 so readily appreciated. Yet there can not be any doubt of this, since 

 the intimate connection of the wood fibers, once interrupted, is never 

 reestablished. The careful wood user, therefore, is concerned as to the 

 manner in which his material was treated after the felling, for accord- 

 ing to the more or less careful seasoning of it the season checks, not 

 altogether avoidable, are more or less abundant. This is practically 



