CROSS SECTION OF A PORTION OF TWO 



GROWTH RINGS OF KENTUCKY COFFEE 



TREE (GTMNOCLADUS DIOICUS) ; 



MAGNIFIED FIFTY DIAMETERS. 



CROSS SECTION OF A PORTION OF TWO CROSS SECTION OF A PORTION OF TWO 

 GROWTH RINGS OF HONEY LOCUST GROWTH RINGS OF BLACK LOCUST 

 (GLEDITSIA TRIACANTHOS) : MAG- (ROBINIA PSEUDACACIA) : MAG- 

 NIFIED FIFTY DIAMETERS. NIFIED FIFTY DIAMETERS. 



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I^H Some Woods of the Pea Family ||-^^ 



inr 



One is not likely to think of such common plants as beans, peas 

 and clovers being closely related to some of the hardest and heaviest 

 woods in this country, but such is the case. The pea family is very 

 large and widely distributed in all temperate and tropical regions. 

 It contains such well-known trees and shrubs as locusts, acacias or 

 "mimosa-trees," as well as some of the most important food and 

 forage plants in the world. One important feature they have in 

 common is a fruit pod with bean-like seeds. Of the 430 genera now 

 recognized, seventeen have tree representatives in the United States. 



The trees of this family supply heavy, hard, strong, durable woods. 

 The average specific gravity of the dry woods of twenty species in 

 this country is .78, which is equivalent to a weight of nearly 45iA 

 pounds per cubic foot. This is heavier than good quality white oak. 

 One wood, the palo verde, even when absolutely dry, will sink in 

 water and four others will almost do so. If one wishes a timber 

 that -will resist decay for a long time he may choose at random any 

 of this family, for the heartwood contains substances which repel the 

 attacks of fungi and insects. 



The woods of the pea family seldom preserve their identity in the 

 market because the quantities are too small and uncertain. About the 

 only exception is the black locust, of which over 5,600,000 feet, board 

 measure, were reported sawed in 1910. The others, viz., honey locust, 

 Kentucky coffee tree, mesquite, Jamaica dogwood, red bud, cat 's 

 claw, Texas ebony, horse-bean, palo verde, ironwood, indigo bush, 

 yellow wood, saphora, frijolito, mimosa, and wild tamarind, all play 

 a part, however slight, in supplying local demands for certain kinds 

 of material. 



Black or yellow locust (Bohinia ■pseudacacia) is widely distributed 

 throughout the eastern half of the United States. It was for a time 

 planted extensively, but the damage from boring insects has restricted 

 its use. In favorable situations it attains a maximum height of one 

 hundred feet and a diameter of four feet, but usually it is only 

 medium sized. 



The sapwood is thin and light yellow in color; the heart varies 

 from golden yellow to brown, often greenish, usually uniform in a 

 single specimen. The wood is extremely hard, like horn, and very 

 strong. It splits easily, works well and takes a beautiful polish; it 

 is liable to check badly in seasoning. 



Yellow specimens of black locust wood look enough like the wood 

 —28— 



of Osage orange {Toxylon pomiferum) to belong to the same genus, 

 though in reality they are not even of the same family. In color, 

 density, strength, size and arrangement of wood elements and the 

 presence of tyloses in the vessels, there is often little difference. The 

 rays of Osage orange are a little finer, the luster is somewhat higher, 

 and there are narrow red stripes running through the wood. The 

 color of the golden-yellow wood of locust is readily soluble in water 

 and the wet wood gives off a stain when applied to white paper or 

 cloth, thereby differing from Osage orange. The wood of locust 

 also has a taste reminding one of uncooked beans, which is charac- 

 teristic. 



Black locust wood is seldom cut into boards and planks, at least not 

 to remain in that form. Its principal use is for insulator pins on 

 telegraph and telephone lines. Maryland reports an annual con- 

 sumption of 900,000 feet and North Carolina, 2,600,000 feet of locust 

 in this industry. In 1909 nearly eighteen and a half million insulator 

 pins were purchased and of this number over thirteen million were of 

 black locust. It requires a very strong wood and one that will resist 

 decay, properties in which the black locust excels. California reports 

 the use of 45,000 feet, board measure, for tree nails, and Kentucky 

 6,000 feet for hubs. Its great durability makes it well suited for 

 fence posts, poles and railway ties. In 1909, 58,000 feet log scale 

 of locust was made in Missouri into one-quarter-inch rotary cut 

 veneer. It is also employed to more or less extent for furniture, 

 cabinet work, interior finish, turnery, handles, fancy articles, hub 

 stock for carriages, policemen's clubs and fuel. Were it not for the 

 danger from borers, its rapid growth, even on poor, sandy soils, 

 would make it exceptionally valuable for commercial plantations. 



Kentucky coffee tree (GymnocJadus dioicns) derived its common 

 name from the fact that the seeds were formerly dried and used as 

 a local substitute for coffee. It occurs sparingly on rich bottom lauds 

 in the central hardwood region, attaining a maximum height of one 

 hundred and twenty feet and a diameter of four feet. It has leaves 

 from one to three feet long and eighteen to twenty-four inches wide, 

 divided and sub-divided several times, so that when they fall if 

 appears as if the branches were dropping. 



The thin sapwood is greenish ; the heart is light cherry red to 

 reddish brown. The wood is hard and strong, durable, very coarse- 

 textured, usually straight-grained, splits readily, works well, takes a 



