March 25, 1917 



Colored Woods of the U. S. 



H0 Maxwell 



Editor's Note 



The use of colored woods because of their color does not contribute much to the lumber industry 



of this country, but in a small way, such use is common in many regions. Our trees which produce 



the finest colored woods have much of interest when a close acquaintance can be formed with them, 



thougli the majority of such species an- not well knovn. Ju localities where tUey grow they are often 



looked upon as weeds rather than as trees of value. For some of tbe best there is unquestionably a future ; 



but it will be when utilization is closer than it is at present, and when appreciation has been keened by a 



more accurate knowledge of what possibilities lie in in that direction. 



ARTICLE SIX 



Every mature wood possesses some color. The only colorless 

 ■wood that has not been made so by bleaching is the nevf growth 

 immediately beneath the bark iu tlie process of forming. Even bass- 

 wood, Cottonwood, maple, buckeye, and holly, which are commonly 

 spoken of as white, are far from it. That is immediately apparent 

 if they are compared with snow or even white lead. 



Though every wood has color, those in the United States are rela- 

 tively few which are selected and used for the beauty or novelty 

 of their colors. It may be pointed out in order to understand the 

 matter better, that woods of rarest colors in this country are gen- 

 erally species of small size, poor form of trunk, 

 and of limited quantity. For that reason they 

 are not widely known and are of small eco- 

 nomic importance. 



Color and Piguke Dipferext 



Before that statement can be accepted at 

 its face value, a distinction between color and 

 figure must be insisted upon. It is a distinc- 

 tion not always easily recognized or defined, 

 for figures in wood are only combinations of 

 colors which are repeated with more or less 

 uniformity. Therefore, all that can be at- 

 tempted in that direction with any show of 

 success is a segregation of the woods which 

 have color but no figure, and a dismissal of 

 the rest as belonging to another class. It is 

 difficult to do even that much, for puzzling 

 cases constantly arise which leave one in doubt 

 whether a particular wood's beauty is due to 

 the richness of color or to contrast of colors, 

 as in junco, devilsclaw, and sumac. 



Wild black cherry and California redwood 

 may be cited as illustrations of what is meant 

 by colored as distinguished from figured 

 woods. They have no figure, barring an occa- 

 sional burl or piece with wavy grain, yet 

 color makes them attractive. There are many foreign woods of that 

 kind, padouk (Pterocarpus indicus) furnishing a fine example; but 

 the scope of the present article excludes consideration of woods not 

 native of the United States. 



Black walnut is frequently used on account of its color, but more 

 frequently for its figure. Panels without distinguishable figure 

 and of nearly solid black or dark brown are often seen in high 

 class furniture or interior finish. Walnut so used because of its 

 handsome color compares favorably with ebony employed in the 

 same way; but the tone of walnut is less funereal than that of 

 ebony. 



California redwood is the most abundant native tree whose 

 wood is valued for color aside from figure. That fine western spe- 

 cies would be valuable no matter what the color of its wood, but 

 its color adds much to its desirability for many purposes. 



Where Finest Colors Are Found 



The richest colors belong to our minor trees. That seems unfor- 

 tunate. How much greater would be the value of our large and 

 abundant timber, like tupelo, maple, or cottoijwood, if its wood 



HIGHLY POLISHED CHAIRS 



Such articles of furniture when made of col 



ored woods, such as cherry and birch, 



are handsome and stylish. 



were as richly colored as tliat of red bay (Fersea borboitica) of 

 Florida? But we must take our trees as we find them, not as they 

 might have been. A floor of maple, as it is, gives as good service 

 as if maple's color were as rich as red bay's, but it may not be 

 so suggestive of fairyland. 



There is some question whether sumac should be classed as a 

 colored or as a figured wood. The smallness of the majority of 

 trunks excludes the wood from most uses; but specimens six or 

 eight inches in diameter are not rare, and the peculiar colors of the 

 wood of such a trunk create for it a demand for many articles of 

 turnery like spindles, dishes, and ornaments. The yellow and black 

 bands which make up the bulk of the wood are 

 extremely attractive, if they are not objection- 

 able because too suggestive of prison stripes. 



Genuine and Imitations 



It is so eas3' to color woods artificially that 

 those which received their stains from nature 

 lose some of their economic importance; yet 

 no artificial coloring can equal nature's. The 

 actual color which nature gives may be imi- 

 tated by paint and stain, and even deepened 

 and intensified; but the combination of tex- 

 ture and color is difficult in imitations. Birch 

 stained like mahogany is not apt to deceive 

 anyone who is acquainted with both woods 

 in their natural state, because the texture 

 jiroves one genuine and betrays the imita- 

 tion in the other. Gum may be stained like 

 figured oak, but no careful examination is 

 needed to show the counterfeit. The charm 

 of nature's colors in wood is due to the fact 

 that the grain or texture is not concealed, but 

 the color seems to show through the grain in- 

 stead of the grain showing through the color, 

 or not showing at all, as is apt to be the case 

 with imitations. 



The natural coloring may be washed out of 

 wood. It is removed more easily from some than from others. It is 

 so readily washed from California redwood that rainwater running 

 from a new roof of this material may be deeply colored. The colors 

 of all woods fade under the action of the weather. That is recog- 

 nized in the terms "weathered eSect," "weathered cypress," 

 "weathered oak," etc. The natural colors have disappeared and 

 others have been substituted. A hornet's nest or a wasp's nest 

 exhibits perfectly weathered wood. Color is removed from pulp 

 for paper by processes known as bleaching. Wood may be bleached 

 so white that it resembles alabaster. Even at that it is no whiter 

 than when it was newly formed beneath the bark of the tree. 

 Some woods fade very rapidly when sawed into lumber and ex- 

 posed to the air. Freshly out box lumber of black willow heart- 

 wood in sawmill yards on the lower Mississippi, is dark purple, 

 reminding one of some of the Stiuth American dyewoods, yet by the 

 tiine this willow reaches the box factory it has so badly faded that 

 it goes on the box market under the name "brown cottonwood, " 

 although a botanist would be puzzled if called upon to point out 

 ' ' brown cottonwood ' ' trees in our forests, as that is not a separate 

 species. 



—15— 



