24 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



April 25. 1921 



annuully In file wliolo Unlti'il States. Of tli;\t iimoiint 2,000 tect are 

 credited to Missouri where the r.ood Is made into wagon crossbars; and 

 05,000 feet to Illinois where it is nscd for eooiieragc and hay balers. 

 Not one foot is reported in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, 

 Louisiana, Arkansas, or Te.\as, In ail of whicli states It is a timber tree 

 and in some of them It is abumlant. ^ 



It la evident that it Is not being used under its own name, for it Is 

 wholly im|)robahie that a wood so good as this Is not going to market. 

 It Is likely being bought and twM as hickory, which would be no misrepre- 

 sentation, for it is as true a hickory as any of the others, but the strange 

 part Is that it is always called pecan while the tree stands, and hardly 

 ever afler the tree is cut down. A paragraph from the government report 

 of wood uses in Louisiana, published in 1012, may throw some light on 

 this matter. It says : 



"During the Held work in Loul.'iana, many i)arts of the state were 

 visited, and It was discovered that several woods were being cut in tne 

 forests, sent to saw mills, cut into lumber, and at that stage they dla- 

 appcared from view. Careful Inquiry developed the fact that much of 

 the lumber which, under its own name, had dropped out of sight after it 

 left the saws, was lieing sliipiied to factories under other names, or by no 

 names at all." 



One such wood was pecan. Factories which made use of it, particularly 

 manufacturers of vehicles, were not an.Nious to publish the fact of its 

 use, because the prejudice against it was well known, though that preju- 

 dice was not founded on any undesirable qualities in the wood. It was 

 much better than its reputation, though it cannot be claimed that It is the 

 equal of most of tlic other hickories, but it does not fall as far below them 

 as is commonly supposed, and for certain purposes it is as good as any of 

 them. Compared with shagbark hickory, its place is somewhat lower in 

 both strength and elasticity ; but it is more elastic than bitternut anil 

 is not far below it in strength. 



Much of the prejudice against pecan doubtless could be traced to the 

 unfavorable report on its pliysical properties made by Sargent for the 

 census of ]S8(). The samples on which he made bis tests must have lieen 

 uncommonly poor, and it will take a long time to overcome the prejudice 

 against pecan as a factory wood. 



"American Storax" from the Red Gum Tree 



A gum which is in demand by the nianiif;ictiirers of perfumes, tobacco, 

 adhe.sives, and plmrm.-iceutical preparations, is produced by the red gum 

 tree (lAiiuitliimh, y ult/iacifliia) of the South, though few owners of this 

 tree apparently are yet aware that the gum has any commercial value. 

 The properties and composition of this "sweet gum," as it is called, are 

 similar to those of oriental stora.x, obtained from a tree (Liquidamher 

 orieniulis) which grows in Asia Minor. Cinnamic acid and cinnamic 

 alcohol are two of its valuable components. 



Because the war curtailed the supply of the imported product, the U. S. 

 Forest Products Laboratory this season undertook some co-operative ex- 

 periments to develop mi'tho<ls of gatlicring "sweet gum" or "American 

 storax." Although the yield ()f gum from each tree is not large, a price 

 of $2 or more a pound has made its collection attractive to many in- 

 dividual operators, and a considerable quantity has been put on the 

 market. 



The lalioratory experiments will be completed in November, and it is 

 hoped that they will provide some cost data which will indicate to what 

 extent "American storax" can profitably compete with the foreign product 

 when normal conditions return. 



Remarkable Wood Carving 



The London Timber Trades Journal says tlial Japan niay well lay claim 

 to be the home of the champion wood carver of all time in the i>erson of 

 ilananunia Masakichi, of Tokio. lie has carved a figure in wood so like 

 himself that when the two are placed side by side it is said to be almost 

 impossible to tell which lives and breathes and which does not. By 

 several ex[)erts in art this wooden figure has been pronounced the most 

 perfect and human inuige of man ever made. Masakichi has faithfully 

 reproduced every scar, vein, and wrinkle to be seen on his liody. The 

 figure is coniposed of 2,000 pieces of wood, dovetailed and jointed with 

 such skill that no seams can be detected. 



Tiny holes were drilled for the reception of hairs, and the wooden figure 

 has glass eyes and eyelashes in which no dissinularity to Masakichi's own 

 can be observed. 



The Japanese artist posed between two mirrors while modelling this 

 figure, and for some time after its completion he posyd frequently beside 

 it, to the confusion of spectators, who were often entirely at a loss as 

 to which was the artist. The figure stands with a little inask in one hand 

 and an instrument for carving in the other ; the lifelike eyes are appar- 

 ently gazing at the mask, and the face wears a look of intense absorption. 



Increasing the production of man without increasing the burden 

 of work or lengthening the hours of application is the main prob- 

 lem of the day, and the main part of the answer is found in labor 

 saving machinery, and in so organizing the work as to cut out all 

 unnecessary steps. 



Peculiarities of Wood 

 Arthur Koehler of the Fi)rest I'rciducts iJiboratory. MadlBon. Wis., has 

 publlsbed a guide book on the identification of woods. Intended prin 



cipally for use of dealers in crosstles, but of use to all persons having 

 anything to do with wood. Certain matters in the book may be summarlred 

 as follows : 



The color of wood is useful In the idcntiflcatlon of species, but must 

 not be relied on entirely, for it is varialile In the same species, and in 

 different species it often differs only in shade. Slight variations in color 

 cannot l)c satisfactorily expressed in writing, but coini>arisou with known 

 5ami)les will often reveal the identity of a .specimen. Most wowls turn 

 darker on exposure to air, therefore comi)arisons should always he made 

 on freshly cut longitudinal surfaces. 



.Some woods can be identilie<l at once by their color. The small, black 

 beartwood of persimmon, resembling ebony, to which it is closely related, 

 is found in no other native sitecies. The chocolate brown color of black 

 walnut; the lustrous red-brown of cherry; the dingy, reddish-brown of 

 red gum ; the bright reddish hue of most Uouglas fir; the uniform creamy- 

 yellow color of buckeye, are usually enough to distinguish these species. 



Osage orange and black locust are much alike in structure, strength, 

 durability, and color, although the former usually has more of a golden- 

 brownish" tinge. These two woods can readily be distinguished by the 

 fact that osage orange gives off a .vellowish color if wrappeil in a wet 

 rag or placed on a soaked blotter, while black locust gives off practically 

 no color under the same conditions. 



I'rcservatives, paint, or decay may, of course, so alter the appearance 

 of wood that its natural color cannot be determined. 



Color is more or less an indication of durability. It is well known that 

 the darker woods like redwood, juniper, black walnut, osage orange, and 

 black locust, are more durable than such light-colored woods as cotton- 

 wood, nniple, ash, beech, white fir, and spruce. Those -cedars which have 

 no very darli beartwood are an exception, and their durability is ascribed 

 to certain resins and oils which the wood contains. 



Many woods give off a characteristic odor when they are worked. 

 Therefoi'e, in order to determine the odor of wood, it should be whittled 

 or, better yet, sawed and the sawdust held to the nostrils. The odor is 

 more pronounced in the beartwood than in the sapwood. It is even more 

 difficult to describe otlor than color, so that authentic samples for com- 

 parison are of far greater value than pages of writing. 



Most of the pines have a distinct resinous odor. The cedars have an 

 agreeable odor which reminds one of shingles ; Port Orford cedar has a 

 strong spicy odor, very noticeable when the wood is worked. Cypress has 

 a mild rancid odor, which will always help one who is familiar with it to 

 identity this wood no matter wliat the color or weight may be. Alpine 

 fir has a rank odor when dry which distinguishes it from all other firs. 

 Among the hardwoods, sassafras is easily recognized by its characteristic 

 fragrance. Some oaks have a soured odor before they are dry. The odor 

 of cottonwooti is slightly disagreeable. 



Taste is closely associated with odor but som'etimes can more easily be 

 recognized. Port Orford cedar has a spicy taste. Cypress and redwood 

 have practically no taste, and through this characteristic can be dis- 

 tinguished from arborvitae and western red cedar, which have a somewhat 

 bitter taste. Sassafras wood tastes like the extract made from its roots 

 aiKl liark. 



Fooling the Timber Inspector 



.\ tinii>cr inspector at Nineveh, 3,000 years ago, seems to. have been 

 victimized by some lumber dealer. A beam of wood has been unearthed 

 among the ruins of Nineveh, with a tablet or sort of trade mark stating 

 that the wood is "cedar from Lebanon." It was looked upon as a find of 

 considerable importance, since Lebanon was 600 miles from Nineveh .with 

 only overland transportation at that time ; and it would mean a good 

 deal to the modern transportation expert to find that lumber was hauled 

 on carts or carried on camels a distance of 600 miles in remote ages. But 

 the discovery was spoiled by a microscopist who examined the wood. It 

 turned out to be yew which grew and still grows in mountain ranges 

 within a hundred miles of Nineveh. The rest of the story is left to the 

 tmagination. because history does not inform us whether some lumberman 

 contracted to bring cedar across the desert from Lebanon, but substituted 

 yew without the inspector being any the wiser ; or whether there was 

 graft and the inspector got his divvy out of it. .^t any rate, the builder 

 supposed he was getting the same kind of wood of which Solomon built 

 his temple i news of which may have reached Nineveh and inspired a 

 wisli in the builder there to get in the same class with Solomon!. It was 

 looked upon as quite an achievement at Nineveh to build with Lebanon 

 cedar, otherwise a tablet would not have been hung In a conspicuous 

 place advertising the fact. But, alas, a scui"vy trick was played on the 

 guileless builder. The bright spot in the deception is that he died without 

 trnmg out that he had been flim-flammed, and it took 3,000 years and n 

 microscope to expose the fraud. 



Ford Sawmill to Open About July 1 



.Machinery and other equipment which will eventually hanille 100,000 

 feet of timber a day is in jirocess of installation at the Ford idant. Iron 

 Mountain, Mich. About twenty per cent of the complete equipment for 

 the sawmill is already in place, consisting largely of the live rolls, edgers, 

 Itaiid mills and trimmers. Four 300 horsepower Wicks boilers are being 

 placed ill position in the power house east of the mill. A steam turbine 

 capable of 750 horsepower will furnish power for the huge mill saws. 



There are already approximately 6.000,000 feet of logs piled up in the 

 yards adjoining the plant. None of these, however, has come from the 

 Ford holdings, according to R. V. Dudley, superintendent of construction. 

 It is not likely. Mr. Dudley declares, with the present price of logs main- 

 taining that camps will be constructed this summer, it being possible to 

 secure the material at a lower price from contract firms than by building 

 and maintaining woods camps. The matter of opening up the camps on 

 Ford's vast area of hardwood timlier is therefore indefinite and contingent 

 for the i>resent upon the lumber market. 



The sawmill will house five large saws — two band mills, a gang saw and 

 two re-saws. These will reduce the process of the lumber manufacture 

 into three distinct operations. The logs, hauled up to receiving deck from 

 the log or mill pond, will first be shaped, or squared, by the band mills. 



