HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



tbe bark liail fallen off. These logs Mere quarter-sawed and showed 

 considerable internal stress. They were badly checked throughout. 

 Although tlie wood appeared to be fairly dry, a block placed on a 

 cold iron surface soon condensed moisture on the iron, showing that 

 it still contained considerable moisture. The boards from the dead 

 trees, in (he process of seasoning, did not shrink as much as the other 

 blue gum. but the boards were of poor quality with many checks. 



Several boards were sawed from a red ironbark tree (Eucalyptus 

 sideroxylon ) near Piedmont. The boards were of a beautiful salmon- 

 pink color, but the tree was imperfect and knotty. In the process of 

 seasoning in the kiln, this wood showed no objectionable shrinkage, 

 very little warping, and no corrugating or honeycombing. It resembles 

 black cherry wood, except that it is much harder. It is much heavier 

 than blue gum, but of more uniform texture, and, unlike the latter, 

 the shrinkage appears to be uniform, which is a consideration of the 

 first importance. 



The three-foot piece of "San Jose gum" which was dried in the 

 first experiment, was placed in the kiln with the second experiment 

 to see if it would shrink further. When removed, it showed no addi- 

 tional shrinkage, and a test gave six per cent moisture. This behaves 

 like a better wood than even the largest and best of the Piedmont 

 trees. The particular specimen of this wood is of a pinkish hue, 

 saws smoothly, and is neither so hard nor so heavy as the other blue 

 gum wood. 



The experiments were continued the following winter, and the 

 former results were substantiated. In addition to this it was found 

 that the higher tlie temperature while the wood is moist, the greater 

 is the slninkage. Boards which had been set aside from the former 

 experiments which had air dried about eight months were included 

 in the runs. These showed a very slight advantage over the similar 

 pieces dried green the previous winter. The conclusion is that the 

 lower the drying temperature so long as the wood is still moist, the 

 better the results. 



Another test was made on the "San Jose gum." A freshly sawed 

 11^ inch board 12 feet long and 20 inches wide without defect was 

 procured from ^Ir. Gillespie. This came out in excellent condition, 



the moisture being reduced from 47..5 to 11.4 per cent and the shrink- 

 age in thickness being quite normal for good hardwood. The shrinkage 

 varied from 7.3 per cent of the original size on the inner edge of the 

 board to as little as 2.2 .per cent on the outer edge. 



In addition to this, other species of eucalyptus were experimented 

 upon, including three small ten year old trees of "red mahogany" 

 (E. resinifera), the largest obtainable in the state, one fair-sized 

 tree of sugar gum (E. corynocalyx), and also several pieces of acacia. 

 The most striking result of this last experiment was the difference in 

 the manner in which all the species of eucalyptus, with the exception 

 of the sugar gum, dried as compared with the acacia. The acacia 

 came through in splendid condition, as good as ash lumber, wliereas 

 the eucalyptus looked like scrap in comparison. A fair-sized tree of 

 red gum (E. rostrata) which was sawed into inch boards came out 

 shrunken and twisted. Several other species of eucalyptus were but 

 little better. 



The sugar gum, on the contrary, w.^s nearly as good as the acacia. 



As to the red mahogany, the trees were too immature to draw a 

 fair comparison, and it will be necessary to wait at least ten or 

 fifteen years before a positive statement can be made concerning 

 the quality of the lumber of this species grown in California, although 

 the tree looks promising. 



The conclusion clearly follows, both from a study of the authora- 

 tive literature and from the Forest Service drying experiments, that 

 blue gum imder two and a half to three feet in diameter and less 

 than forty or fifty years of age should not be considered as a lumber- 

 prodticing tree, and that even the older trees are inferior to several 

 other species of eucalyptus. Of these species the red mahogany 

 (Eucalyptus resinifera) appears to be promising for general plant- 

 ing through California, and the sugar gum (Eucalyptus corynocalyx) 

 for localities free from frost. The former grows in California only 

 about two-thirds as fast as blue gum, and the sugar gum is not ^ 

 large tree and apt to grow crooked. The tooart fE. gomphocephala) 

 is largel.v an unknown quantity in California, but may sometime 

 prove valuable for lumber. 



' v yroitMK^iitiiatrM)^iw)iMi viai<aig TO^^ 



Distribution and Uses of Ironwood ^& 



With the rapid cutting, of our more common and valuable hard- 

 woods, we are constantly on the lookout for new woods to take 

 their places in the ever increasing lines of utilization that are being 

 demanded of our hardwood supplies. In this waj-, beech and syca- 

 more, and in more recent years red gum, were developed and now 

 plav an important part in our markets for flooring, interior finish, 

 general woodworking and furniture material. 



Ironwood is not at present an important factor on our markets 

 and probably never will reach the importance of the woods just 

 mentioned, but it is distributed over such a wide range and produces 

 a wood of such high technical qualities that it will soon fill a place 

 on the markets, at least locally, for a great variety of uses. It is 

 found all over the East from Cape Breton in eastern Canada west 

 to northern Minnesota and the Black Hills of South Dakota (one 

 of the few places where our eastern and western trees meet). From 

 these northern and western limits it reaches south to northern 

 Florida and eastern Texas. It occurs as a scattered tree throughout 

 our hardwood forests. Little attention has been paid to it in the 

 past because of its scarcity and comparatively small size in the 

 greater part of its range. But in portions of the South, along the 

 Appalachian mountains and in New York, it commonly grows up to 

 two feet or more in diameter and ninety feet in height. 



There are several trees in this country which go by the name of 

 ironwood, especially tropical or sub-tropical varieties in the South. 

 Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana) is also called hop hornbeam or horn- 

 beam. It is in the birch family and its wood closely resembles 

 that of red birch in texture, but not in weight or color. 



Its wood may be described as being very hard, heavy, tough and 



very durable. Its name is well deserved. The wood has a specifio 

 gravity of .83, and among our common hardwoods is exceeded in 

 weight only by hickory. In color it is light brown, with pale white 

 sapwood. Both heart and sap become a distinct brown when sea- 

 soned. Like the birches the wood is diffuse-porous with fairly 

 distinct layers of annual growth and indistinct, fine, medullary rays. 



The hard, tough, durable qualities of ironwood make it an ad- 

 mirable wood for certain specialized uses, especially where resistance 

 to impact is necessary. It is very diflScult to split and with this 

 exception, it can be used to a great extent as a substitute for our 

 rapidly disappearing hickory and in some cases white oak. 



Some of the more common lines of utilization in which ironwood 

 may be now found are for brake blocks, piling blocks, sills where 

 great strength and durability are required, tool handles, agricultural 

 implements, posts, hames, and general woodenware where strength 

 and toughness are demanded. It is also being used for bobbins, 

 spools and shuttles along with dogwood, persimmon and paper birch, 

 and for chair rounds and legs. Other specialized uses for which its 

 good technical qualities make it adaptable are mauls and sledges 

 where hardness, weight, and resistance to impact are demanded. It 

 is well adapted for use as vehicle and implement stock and it is 

 very probable that it will be called upon to take the place of hickory 

 and white oak in a great many of its specialized uses. In many 

 ways it also resembles dogwood, which is being demanded more and 

 more for certain lines of wood utilization. Little known species 

 like ironwood will be welcomed to help supply the growing and 

 varied demands for the products of our hardwood forests. 



N. C. B. 



