992 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



to find the wood that furnishes the greatest total of Most of those who deal with woods in a technical 

 desirable qualities wheti air dry as excess of moisture way understand it to be the quality which resists decay, 

 constitutes a defect. Quantity and availability often When kept perfectly dry, or when entirely immersed, 



niack locust squares V/2 x V/2 in. by 12 in., 20 



for treenails. 



are decisive 

 factors. 



Strength is 

 a term that is 

 often loosely 

 used to indi- 

 cate the power 

 of resistance to 

 a strain with- 

 out reference 

 to other quali- 

 ties, as weight, 

 toughness, 

 stiffness, etc. 

 Thus hickory 

 and white oak 

 are strong to 

 sustain a load, 

 but in a beam 

 may be less 

 service able 

 than longleaf 

 pine or Doug- 

 las fir because 

 the latter are 

 stiffer. Pine 

 on the other 

 hand makes a poor hoe handle because it is compara- 

 tively brittle; oak is better but is apt to become bowed 

 and is too heavy ; ash is best because it combines suffi- 

 cient strength with stiffness, flexibility and moderate 

 weight. An- 

 other sort of 

 strength is 

 that which re- 

 sists shock 

 and "shear" — 

 the qualities 

 r c q u i red in 

 a ha m m e r 

 handle, an ax 

 helve and a 

 wheel spoke. 

 For such use 

 no wood known 

 answers so 

 well as young, 

 c|uickly-grown 

 hickory. 



Durability as 

 d e s c r i p tive 

 of wood quali- 

 t y is even 

 more loosely 

 used than 

 "strength." 



READY FOR SHIPMENT 



n., 24 in., 32 in.. 36 in., 40 in., 46 in., long to be shipped 

 Keyser, West Virginia. 



SUGAR PINE SHAKES 

 This picture was taken in the Sequoia National Forest, California. 



any kind of 

 wood lasts in- 

 definitely, but 

 if exposed to 

 warm air and 

 moisture it be- 

 haves quite 

 d i fif e r e n tly. 

 I'liplar, beech, 

 maple and 

 most pines de- 

 cay so quickly 

 in contact with 

 the ground 

 that they arc- 

 unfit for use 

 as fenceposts, 

 telegraph 

 ]ioles, railroad 

 tics. etc. — they 

 are not dur- 

 able. Other 

 kinds, as black 

 locust, red ce- 

 dar, black wal- 

 nut, chestnut, 

 will last for 

 many years under similar conditions. 



For many purposes the greatest value is found when 

 durability is combined with other qualities. Black 

 locust or white oak makes a good railroad tie, for 



instance, be- 

 cause it is 

 hard to resist 

 the cut of the 

 rail as well as 

 durable to 

 withstand de- 

 ray ; a bridge 

 sill must be 

 strong to car- 

 ry a load. 

 Iinrd to en- 

 dure wear, and 

 durable to re- 

 sist decay. 



Within re- 

 c c n t )' cars 

 dinability has 

 lost much of 

 i t s ]iractical 

 i 111 p o r t a nee 

 111 rough the 

 d e v e lopment 

 of processes by 

 w h i c li non- 



