6Q 



TIMBER. 



II RING-POROUS WOODS, 



[Some of Group D and cedar elm imperfectly ring-porous.] 



A. Pores in the summer wood minute, scattered singly or in groups, or in vdiort 

 broken lines, the course of which is never radial. 



1. Pith rays minute, scarcely distinct. 



a. Wood heavy and hard; pores in the summer wood not in clusters. 



a' Color of radial section not yellow (Nos. 39-44) Ash. 



b.' Color of radial section light yellow; by which, together with its hardness 

 and weight, this species is easily recoguized. . (No. 103) Osage orange. 



b. Wood light and soft ; pores in the summer wood in clusters of 10 to 30, 



(No. 56) Catalpa. 



2. Pith rays very fine, yet distinct; pores in summer wood usually single or in 

 short lines; color of heartwood reddish brown; of sapwood yellowish white; 

 peculiar odor on fresh section (No. Ill) Sassafras. 



3. Pith rays fine, but distinct. 



a. Very heavy and hard; heartwood yellowish brown. (No. 77) Black Locust. 



b. Heavy; medium hard to hard. 



a.' Pores in summer wood very minute, usually in small clusters of 3 to 

 8; heartwood light orange brown (No. 83) Red mulberry. 



b.' Pores in summer wood small to minute, usually isolated; heartwood 

 cherry red (No. 61) Coffee tree. 





ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR DISTINCTIONS IN THE GROUP. 



Sassafras and mulberry may be confounded but for the greater weight and hard- 

 ness and the absence of odor in the mulberry; the radial section of mulberry also 

 shows the pith rays conspicuously. 



Honey locust, coffee tree, and black locust are also very similar in appearance. 

 The honey locust stands out by the conspicuousness of the pith rays, especially on 

 radial sections, on account of their height, while the black locust is distinguished by 

 the extremely great weight and hardness, together with its darker brown color. 



Fig. 40.— "Wood of coffee tree. 



The ashes, elms, hickories, and oaks may, on casual observation, appear to 

 resemble one another on account of the pronounced zone of porous spring wood. 

 The sharply defined large pith rays of the oak exclude these at ouce; the wavy 

 lines of pores in the summer wood, appearing as conspicuous finely-feathered hatch- 

 ings on tangential section, distinguish the elms; while the ashes differ from the 

 hickory by the very conspicuously defined zoue of spring- wood pores, which in 

 hickory appear more or less interrupted. The reddish hue of the hickory and the 

 more or less brown hue of the ash may also aid in ready recognition. The smooth, 

 radial surface of split hickory will readily separate it from the rest. 



