HARDWOOD RECORD 



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high polish and is a handsome though coarse v;6oA. It is used locally 

 for posts, ties, bridge timbers, sills, interior finish, cabinet -work and 

 fuel. There are a great manj- purposes to which it is suited, but the 

 scarcity of the timber limits its importance. The tree is quite com- 

 mon in some parts of Tennessee, where it is cut and sold as butternut. 



The honey locust or thorn tree {Gleditsia triacanthos) attains its 

 largest size in the valleys of small streams in southern Indiana and 

 Illinois. It has been known to reach a height of one hundred and 

 forty feet and a diameter of six feet, but more commonly is about 

 seventy-five feet high with a hroad, open, rather flat-topped head of 

 slender, somewhat drooping branches. The sapwood is a pale yellow; 

 heart, bright reddish brown. The wood is rather coarse-textured, 

 hard, strong but somewhat brittle, fairly durable, works moderately 

 well and takes a beautiful high polish. It is often confused with 

 the Kentucky coffee tree, but the differences in texture, the size of the 

 rays and the arrangement of pores in the outer part of the growth 

 rings are sufficient to permit ready separation of the two. 



The principal use is for fuel, fence posts and poles. It is employed 

 •occasionally for hub stock for wheels and in heavy construction. 

 Some of it is made into furniture and when quarter-sawed the rays 

 show to advantage. It makes attractive stair balusters and posts, 

 and picture molding. 



The mesquites form a group of small or medium-sized trees and 

 shrubs in the arid Southwest. The most important is Prosopis jwli- 

 flora and its two varieties. It thrives best along the richer valleys 

 and follows the beds of small streams for long distances up into the 

 mountains. It will send its roots to great depths in search of water 

 and not infrequently the root development seems out of all proportion 

 to the part above ground, giving the name ' ' underground forests. ' ' 

 The tree is small, often shrubby, but in good situations reaches a 

 height of forty feet and a diameter of twenty inches. 



A remarkable fact concerning the root wood is that it is heavier 

 than wood from the trunk. The wood of the stem varies in color from 

 a dark or reddish brown heart to a clear yellow in the thin sapwood. 

 It is hard, heavy, dense, extremely durable in contact with the soU, 

 but not very strong or elastic. It takes a beautiful polish and then 

 somewhat resembles black walnut. The wood of both stem and roots 

 contains over five and a half per cent of tannin. The black gum 

 which exudes from cuts in the tree trunks and is apparently composed 

 of dried sap contains over twenty per cent of tannin. 



Mesquite is the most important tree in the Southwest. In many 

 parts of New Mexico and Arizona it forms the chief, often the only 

 fuel. The big roots are often dug up for this purpose. The tree 

 does not reach proper dimensions for lumber, but makes good fence 

 posts, railway ties, house blocks and paving material. It makes a 

 high-grade furniture material, but is difficult to work because of its 

 hardness. Large, heavy tables, deeply carved, are sold in some of 

 the cities, but the work is done by hand, not in the regular furniture 

 factories. EoUers for moving houses in the Southwest are preferably 

 of mesquite because of its lasting qualities. Some is employed in 

 making wagon felloes for use in hot, dry regions, but the wood is too 

 brittle to withstand heavy shocks. It is adapted for turnery in the 

 manufacture of gavels, goblets, trays and many kinds of novelties. 

 An excellent, compact charcoal is obtained from it. 



A report on the wood-using industries of Texas contains this para- 

 graph in reference to the by-products of mesquite : ' ' The pods are 

 food for farm stock. Before the first railroad reached San Antonio 

 mesquite pods were a regular market commodity. The Mexicans 

 know how to make bread and brew beer from the fruit; tan leather 

 with the resin; dye leather, cloth and crockery with the tree's sap; 

 make ropes and baskets of the bark. Parched pods are a substitute 

 for coffee ; bees store honey from the bloom which remains two months 

 on the trees; riled water is purified with a decoction of mesquite 

 chips; vinegar is made from the fermented juice of the legumes; 

 tomales of mesquite bean meal, pepper, chicken and cornshucks; 

 mucilage from the gum ; and gum drops from the drieds sap. ' ' 



It is interesting to note that mesquite was introduced into the 

 Hawaiian Islands in 1837 and has now spread so as to cover between 

 50,000 and 60,000 acres in the leeward districts of the larger islands. 

 The tree is known there only as algaroba. The algaroba forest is 



the largest single source of fuel supply in the territory. It is esti- 

 mated that over 3,000 cords are sold annually in Honolulu at a price 

 varying from $12 to $14, delivered. The algaroba forests are further 

 of value because the pods make good stock food and also because 

 the tree is one of the important plants locally for bee pasturage. It 

 was estimated that for the year 1907 the total amount invested ic 

 apiaries and other equipment for the manufacture of algaroba honey 

 was $125,000 and that the gross receipts for algaroba honey products 

 for the year were over $25,000. 



Jamaica dogwood {Iclhyomethia piscipula) is one of the commonest 

 of the tropical trees of Florida. It attains a height of from forty to 

 fifty feet and a diameter of from two to three feet. The wood is 

 very heavy, hard, close-grained, very durable. The clear yellow-brown 

 color makes it a handsome cabinet wood. Its principal uses at 

 present are fuel, charcoal and boat building. 



Cat's claw or devil's claw (Acacia greggii) is a much-branched, 

 short-trunked tree, sometimes from ten to twenty feet high and six to 

 twelve inches in diameter, growing in western Texas, southern New 

 Mexico and southern California. It receives its name from the keen, 

 hooked spines on its twigs. The wood is very hard and heavy, vari- 

 able in color, sometimes grayish green, or dark red clouded with 

 streaks and patches of other shades and tints. The wood is inclined 

 to be contorted due to the presence of pits and cavities which slowly 

 close as the tree grows older. It makes a handsome cabinet wood 

 and is employed in small pieces of furniture, novelties and ornaments. 

 It is also made into grills, tool handles and small turned ware. A 

 resinous gum, resembling gum-arabic, is yielded by this species and 

 the wood is so saturated that it feels greasy to the touch. 



Texas ebony {Zygia flexicaulis) is one of three species, and grows 

 in parts of Texas. The wood of the root is nearly black and is used 

 to imitate the ebony of commerce. Stem wood, which is exceedingly 

 heavy, is of a dark color, rich brown slightly tinged with purple. It is 

 used in turnery for fancy articles, but principally for fence posts, 

 fuel and crossties. It is also employed in cabinet making. 



Horse-bean (Farkinsonw aculeata) is another small shrubby tree of 

 Texas, Arizona and California. The wood is dense, hard and mod- 

 erately heavy, and is occasionally employed in making small articles 

 such as paper knives, rulers, paper weights and various novelties. 



Palo verde (Cercidium torreyanum) is a much-branched, leafless, 

 short-trunked, thorny tree from fifteen to twenty-five feet high and 

 ten to fifteen inches in diameter, growing in the deserts of southern 

 California. The wood is very hard and heavy, like horn. It has a 

 few uses other than for fuel and the pungent fumes reduce its suita- 

 bility for this purpose. 



Ironwood (Olneya tesota) is a short, thick-trunked, bushy tree 

 growing singly or in open patches in the hot desert regions of south- 

 ern California and southwest Arizona. Perfectly dry wood of this 

 species is heavier than water. The color is a deep chocolate brown, 

 mottled with red; sapwood thin, lemon-colored. The wood is exceed- 

 ingly hard to split or work and is used only locally for fuel and 

 minor purposes. 



Wild tamarind (Hysiloma latisUqva) is a tree from forty to fifty 

 feet high and two to three feet in diameter, in southern Florida. The 

 color of the heart is like mahogany; sapwood thin, nearly white. The 

 wood is used and valued locally in boat and shipbuilding. 



Yellow wood (Cladastris lutea) is a rare and local tree of medium 

 to large size and usually divided near the ground into two or three 

 stems. It is found in Tennessee and occasionally in neighboring 

 regions. The color of the heart is a bright, clear yellow, changing to 

 light brown on exposure; of the sapwood nearly white. The wood is 

 heavy, very hard, strong, close grained and with a smooth, satiny 

 surface. Its use is limited only because of its scarcity. It has been 

 employed occasionally for gun stocks, more often for fuel. It yields 

 a clear yellow dye. 



Mimosa (Leucmna pulvcrulenia) is a medium-sized tree with rather 

 straight trunk eighteen or twenty inches in diameter, growing in 

 Texas near the mouth of the Bio Grande. The wood is very hard 

 and heavy. The heartwood is a rich, dark brown, resembling mesquite, 

 thin sapwood, yellow. It is used in grill work, small pieces of furni- 

 ture, tool handles, jewel boxes, and various novelties. 



