HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



the pores are small and not numerous. The 

 wood's figure is brought out best by tan- 

 gential sawing, as is the case with so many 

 woods which have clearly-marked rings but 

 small and obscure medullary rays. Figure 

 is not uniform; that is, one trunk may pro- 

 duce a pattern quite diflferent from another. 

 The figure of some logs is particularly beau- 

 tiful; these logs are selected for special 

 purposes. Sudworth says that none of our 

 hardwoods excels it in beautiful grain when 

 finished, and Sargent is still more emphatic 

 when he declares that it is "the most val- 

 uable wood produced in the forests of Pa- 

 cific North America for interior finish of 

 houses and for furniture. ' ' 



The wood of this tree has more than 

 ninety per cent of the strength of white oak, is considerably stiffer, 

 and contains a smaller amount of ash, weight for weight of wood. 

 The species reaches its best development in the rich valleys of 

 southwestern Oregon, where, with the broadleaf maple, it forms a 

 considerable part of the forest growth. The largest trees are sixty 

 to eighty feet high, and from two to four in diameter. In crowded 

 stands the trunks are shapely, and often measure thirty or forty 

 feet to the first limbs; but more commonly the trunk is short. 



The boat yards in southwestern Oregon were the first to use Cali- 

 fornia laurel for commercial purposes, but early settlers made a 

 point of procuring it for fuel when they could. The oil in the wood 

 causes it to burn with a cheerful blaze, and campers in the moun- 

 tains consider themselves fortunate when they find a supply for the 

 evening bonfire. 



Shipbuilders have drawn upon this wood for fifty years for ma- 



LEAF AND FRUIT OF CALIFORNIA 

 LAUREL 



terial. It is made into pilot wheels, interior 

 finish, cleats, crossties, and sometimes deck 

 planking. Furniture makers long ago made 

 a specialty of the wood for their San Fran- 

 cisco trade. For thirty years travelers 

 admired the superb furniture of the Palace 

 hotel in that city, and wondered of what 

 wood it was made. It was the California 

 laurel. The hotel's furniture was hand- 

 made, or largely so, at a time when wood- 

 working fac^tories were few on the Pacific 

 coast. The furniture was finally destroyed 

 in the San Francisco earthquake. Furniture 

 is still one of the products made of the 

 wood, but the quantity is small. Other 

 products are interior finish; fixtures for 

 banks, stores and ofiices; musical instru- 

 ments, including organs; mathematical instruments, and carpen- 

 ters' tools, including rulers, straight-edges, spirit levels, bench 

 screws and clamps, and handles of many kinds. 



Makers of novelties " and small' turnery find it serviceable for 

 paper knives, pin trays, matchsafes, brush backs, and many articles 

 of like kind. One of the largest uses for it is as walking beams for 

 pumping oilwells in central and southern California. The beauty 

 of grain has nothing to do with this use. 



Country blacksmiths repair wagons and agricultural implements 

 with this wood. Farmers have long emploj'ed it about their prem- 

 ises for posts, gates, floors, and building material. Cooks flavor 

 soup with the leaves, and poultrymen make henroosts of poles, be- 

 lieving that the wood's odor will keep insects away. This is prob- 

 ably the old sassafras superstition carried west by early California 

 settlers. 



■. Vgogc:;siy2tf;2t:;^^«c:»Cja^»a>xy'.v;ayi m^t m^ 



^ Allowing for Center Rot in Logs 



tk'og^ 





In scaling logs there are a great many diflferent ways of allow 

 ing for uniform center or circular rot. For example: 



1. Subtract from the actual diameter the diameter of the rotten 

 core and assume the remainder to be the true diameter for scaling. 



2. Subtract from the full scale of the log the scale for the 

 rotten core and assume the remainder to be the true scale. 



.3. Add 3 inches to the diameter of the defect, square the sum 

 and deduct the result from the full scale of the log. 



4. "For uniform defect or 3 inches or less in diameter deduct 

 10 feet b. m. in logs up to 16 feet in length. For defect 4 to 6 

 inches in di&meter add 3 inches to actual diameter of rot, and 

 <ieduct from full scale of the log an amount equal to the contents of 

 a log of resultant diameter. For defect 7 to 12 inches in diameter 

 add 4 inches to diameter of rot and deduct an amount equal to the 

 contents of a log of the resultant diameter from full scale of log." 

 <Forest Service's method.) 



5. Another method is to note the length of log and the longest 

 diameter of the defect, and determine the loss from a cull table. 

 The defect is measured at the large end if it runs through the log 

 or appears only at the large end; otherwise, at the small end. A 

 table of this kind was prepared by H. D. Tiemanu for all center 

 defects in logs such as holes, cup-shake, and rot, which are 4 inches 

 nr more from the bark, and is as follows: • 



CULL TABLE 



Loss in board feet from holes np.ir the center of logs. 



Length of log in feet 



Diam. ofhole. 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 



Inches. Board feet 



2 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 



3 9 11 13 15 17 18 20 21 



4... . 14 17 20 23 26 28 31 33 



5 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 



8 28 33 39 44 .50 55 60 65 



7 36 43 50 57 65 72 78 85 



8 45 54 63 72 81 90 99 108 



9... 56 67 78 89 100 112 122 133 



10 " ' ' 67 81 93 107 120 133 148 161 



11 80 96 112 128 144 160 176 192 



12 :i4 n:: 132 151 ITO iss, 207 223 



13 109 131 153 175 197 218 240 261 



14 124 150 175 200 225 250 275 3UU 



15 142 171 218 226 255 283 313 341 



The wide variation in the results of these different methods can 



best be shown by taking a specified case. For example, assume a 



12-foot log, 20 inches in diameter with a rotten core 6 inches in 



diameter. The allowances according to the several methods, using 



the Champlain rule which is one of the mbst accurate, are as 



follows: 



No. Loss in hoard feet. I'er cent of tuial. 



1 122 . 52.8 



2.. 17 7.3 



3 81 35. 



4 42 18.1 



5 33 14.2 



There is abundant evidence that the use of a carefully con- 

 structed cull table such as given above is much more nearly accu- 

 rate than any rule-of-thumb method. In the use of such a table it 

 must be remembered that it makes an appreciable difference in 

 the amount of loss actually sustained whether the defect is a hole 

 or a rotten core. In sawing a hollow log the cavity must be left 

 completely boxed-in to hold against the carriage dogs and prevent 

 the saw breaking into the hole. In the other case the rotten core 

 prevents the shell from collapsing so that it is possible to saw 

 closer to the defect, thereby reducing the loss. — S. .J. R. 



Elm in New Role 



The white or gray elm of Michigan is constantly enlarging its 

 usefulness. One of the latest reported uses for it is in the manu- 

 facture of cigar boxes. It is stained red in imitation of cedar and 

 is sometimes marketed as Michigan cedar. The wood, of course, 

 lacks the characteristic cedar odor, unless it is imparted artificially. 

 The facility with which this elm receives stains makes it acceptable 

 for many purposes where it is not used in its natural state. 



