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Editor's Note 



The i)pncimg opening of tbe Panama canal naturally raisrs the (lu'/stiun as to what pffect it will have on the 

 hardwood biisini'ss. Hardwood Record of February 10 contained an analysis «if present hardwood consumption on 

 the coast, showing the importance of imported and eastern specifs. The api^eudcd article describes the hardwoods 

 growing in the Pacific states and analyzes the possibility of their more general utilization. 



The kinds of hardwood species of the Pacific slope outnumber tlie 

 conifers nearly two to one, or to be more exact, in the ratio of 94 

 to 53. This statement is of more interest to the botanist than to 

 the lumberman, for the latter is concerned with timber and not 

 with trees merely. In point of tim- 

 ber production the hardwoods of this 

 region are comparatively insignifi- 

 cant and scarcely a single species 

 can approach in importance any one 

 of the commercial hardwoods of the 

 East. Out of nearly a hundred 

 species scarcely a dozen are of the 

 slightest importance except locally 

 for fuel. 



In a region where everything is 

 drawn to so large a scale one might 

 expect to find mammoth hardwoods 

 .iust as he does pines, hemlock, 

 Douglas fir, spruces, firs and red- 

 woods. But the very conditions 

 which make the coniferous forests 

 the richest in the world are evidently 

 not conducive to the growth of hard- 

 woods, and for the most part those 

 that do exist are mere shrubs, as 

 it were, proportionate in size to the 

 softwood trees. 



A glance through the list shows 

 a total absence of any form of many 

 of the trees so common in the East, 

 for example, hiekorj'. elm, chestnut, 

 yellow poplar, red gum, basswood, 

 tupelo, black locust, honey locust, 

 mulberry, Osage orange, magnolia, 

 buckeye, persimmon and catalpa. The 

 oak has sixteen repre,sentatives, but 

 even in a region where hardwoods 

 are at a premium, they are of little 

 account for their timber. The only 

 broadleaf tree to attain good dimen- 

 sions in sufficient quantity to be of 

 much economic importance is the 

 black Cottonwood, the largest and 

 best of our poplars. 



Briefly .summarizing the article 

 referred to in the editor's note it 

 is shown that the hardwoods at 

 present used in the Pacific coast 

 states come from many foreign 

 markets, and only a very small pro- 

 portion of them are local woods. 

 From the eastern states are im- 

 ported oak, ash, hickory, maple, 

 cherry, basswood, black walnut. 



tulip poplar, birch and elm; from Honduras, mahogany; from 

 Mexico, Mexican mahogany, prima vera, or jenizero; from Hawaii, 

 koa; from Australia, iron bark (one of the eucalypts) and red bean; 

 and from Japan, Japanese oak. 



It is further shown that the hardwoods from the eastern states 

 come for factory use in the rough or "club" form; for the vehicle 

 industry as roughly finished parts, such as spokes, hubs, bent rims, 

 and sawed felloes; and for cooperage as rough staves and heading. 



—20— 



TYPICAL TANBAltK OAK TItEK SHOWING FIRST FOri 



FOOT RING BEING TAKEN OFF BEFORE FELLING, 



SHERWOOD, MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



The rest are in the form of 1-incli and 2-iiich boards and 3- to 6-inch 

 planks from 6 to 16 inches wide and from 10 to 30 feet long. A 

 small proportion comes in the form of squared timbers up to 20 by 

 20 inches by 24 feet long. This is for special-order work. The 



Mexican, Australian, Hawaiian and 

 Japanese woods generally come in 

 the shape of roughly hewn timbers, 

 the sizes ranging from 14 by 14 

 inches up to 36 by 36 inches and from 

 10 to 20 feet long. These rough 

 timbers are sawed into veneer stock, 

 board and planks, as wanted. 



Black Cottonwood (Populus tri- 

 chncarpa) is found along the coast 

 from southern Alaska to the San 

 Bernardino mountains in southern 

 California. It extends eastward along 

 the Columbia river and is also found 

 as far inland as western Montana. 

 It is most abundant and of largest 

 size in the lowlands in Oregon and 

 Washington. It is the most valuable 

 broadleaf species on the Pacific 

 coast. It attains large dimensions, 

 occasionally 5 or 6 feet in diameter 

 and up to 150 feet high, though 

 usually considerably less. It is 

 nearly always straight, smooth and of 

 excellent timber form. 



The wood is of a dull grayish- 

 brown color, soft, light, tough, of 

 uniform and moderately fine texture, 

 straight grained, odorless and taste- 

 less. The pores are small to minute, 

 thiu-walled, angular, those in the 

 springwood usually visible to the 

 unaided eye. The wood seasons with- 

 out warping or twisting, a decided 

 advantage over the eastern species. 

 It nails readily without splitting, is 

 easily glued, and ^^'orks very 

 smoothly and readily. Because of 

 its softness, light color and long 

 straight fiber it is e.specially adapted 

 to pulp and excelsior manufacture. 

 The lack of color in the wood and its 

 cheapness, lightness, and facility in 

 nailing, fit it well for box material. 

 It is also employed to greater or less 

 extent as drawer bottoms, shelving, 

 cores for built-up panels, baskets, 

 saddles, candy and coffee drums, 

 cand.y pail covers, cooperage, trunks, 

 caskets, pulleys, vehicles and fixtures. 

 Tlie wood-using industries of Wa.shington consume annually over 

 32% million feet of black Cottonwood. Of this amount 12 million 

 feet goes into boxes; over 7% million into pulp; a little less than 

 (iVz million into excelsior; and 4% million into veneer. Oregon's 

 industries require 10% uiillion feet of this wood, 5Vj million going 

 into pulp and 4% million into excelsior. California's industries 

 consume annually a little over 5 million feet, of which half goes into 

 woodenware and novelties and most of the remainder into boxes. 



