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Red Gum According to Regions 



Tlic users ol n'.l huim ki ■ iM't^inniny: to .stmly lliu jvHii.ns \\\n-iv 

 paitii'iilar kiinls ciiii In" jiriH-uicil. Tin- liotaiiists liiul diily iine red 

 •jiim ill this eouiitry. It grows from New York to Texas and 

 oec'urs in eoniinereial quantity in every southern state; but it is 

 the same tree everywhere, as I'ar as botanical tlifferenees go. 

 Not many deeades ago tlie wood whioh grew throughout the tree's 

 range was all considered to be alike. At any rate, no one had 

 noticeil ditl'erences between them. The popular opinion then was 

 that all gum was abominable, and if any differences cxistel it 

 was only a ditlereni'e in ilegree of abomination. 



It is needless to say that oiiinions have undergone a radical 

 change, which is a n.-itinal result cii' ;in increase in knowledge of 

 the projierties of tin- wdimI. It was not long al'ter men began 

 to use it and to fin.l it suitable for many things that the discovery 

 was made that all gum is not of the same character and ([uality. 

 When that important fact was once understood, the next step was 

 a search lor the rc;;ioiis oi- districts where choice wooils of tln' 

 several kinds wcic I est dcvcldpcd. That investigation has riciw 

 V)een pretty thoroughly laiiicd out, and large ili'.-ilcrs in gnni 

 know where to go for the p.-nticular kinds which suit llieir ]iurposes. 



All gum lumber is either sa|i or heart. That means, of course, 

 that it is cut from the colored heartwood or the pale sapvvood. 

 Combinations of the two are common in the same ]>ile of lumber. 

 Pretty- close grading is necessary to obt.-iin a sliijirncnt all heart 

 or all sap, because both kinds are cut from the same tree. How 

 ever, the region, soil, and situation have much to do with the 

 )ireponderance of sapvvood or heartwood in the output of a gum 

 mill. Some trees are nearly all sap, no matter how large ur how 

 old they may be; others have thin sapwood. It is not a niatter 

 of accident. It is believed to be largely a matter of soil. The 

 wootl of small trees — that is, those of from one to Jive or six 

 inches in diameter — are all sapwood. After that the colored 

 heartwood begins to appear in the center. Gradually, as the truidv 

 enlarges, the colored wood increases also; but there is always 

 a band or zone of greater or less thickness of sainvood. 



The interesting point is that some trees do not develo|i nearly 

 so much heart as others. The sapwood in some is a long time 

 in changing into heart, wliile in others the change is fairly rapid. 

 The reason underlying the differences in the rate of change is 

 lielievcd to reside in the soil. Heart is nothing more than sap- 

 wood in which enough mineral substance has been deposited to 

 give it color — to Vill it and embalm it, as it were. This earthy 

 material comes from the soil. It is carried up by soil water and is 

 deposited in the iclls and other vessels of the wood. 



The fact that some trees have a large proportion of heartwood 

 and others hardly any suggests that there is a difference between 

 the soils in which they grow. Experience has largely sustained 

 that view. Certain valleys, certain slopes, produce the trees 

 which have never developed much heart. Those with little sa]i- 

 wood come from fairly well defined localities also. Buyers who 

 want gum with little sap know pretty well where to go to get it. 

 It is a matter of experience, not of theory. A certain locality 

 produces timber of that kind and dealers know where to find it. 

 The gum-producing areas of the South are now tolerably well 

 understood by rlealeis. AVhen they want a particular kiii.l tlicv 

 do not need to hunt far. 



The term "red gu7n " is the name of the tree. It does not 

 necessarily follow that lumber cut from that tree will be red in 

 color. That depends upon whether it is sapwood or heart. If it is 

 the former it will lack the red color, though it conies from the 

 red gum tree. Failure to l>ear that fact in miml has been the 

 cause of many misunderstandings and disputes. A buyer oiders 

 red gnm and expects it to be the red heartwood; but the seller 

 cuts it from the red gum tree, and considers that he iias filled the 

 order properly, even if the shipment contains much sapwood. 



Figured gum is another kind that seems to run liy regions 

 and areas. It is largely independent — or seems to l>e independent 



—20— 



- of llij . i.n.iiti.Mis wlii.li .l,-\,'l,i|. licart\\.M„| ,,i i.iil t.. Ic\ clop it. 

 All large trees have sonic lieartwcod and some saji; but by no 

 means all of them have figure. It is abundant in some anil is 

 absent from others, without any known reason. In that respect 

 it is like bird's-eye maple. It hits .-nid misses. However, lumber- 

 men now know what regions to go to when they want figured 

 gum. It runs by areas, districts, and localities. It is nearly 

 absent from extensive tracts of fine gum timlier, and present in 

 others. Kxiicrieuce only f.m determine where to find it. 



It is pr(d ably .-i rriattci' of soil. In f:n t, it is difficult to assign 

 figure in gum to any other c-ausc; but ii is not easy to explain 

 .just how the production of the figure is accomplished in nature's 

 workshoji inside the tree. Trri'gular deposit of coloring matter 

 produces the figure, but no one has yet explained why such irregular 

 distribution of the pigments takes place. 



The deepest figures occur in the heartwood. Some suppose that 

 they do not take place in the sap; but many a figure— a ■'watered 

 grain,'' as it may be called — begins on the sapwood before the 

 change to heart is accomplished. Jt wiinlil, therefore, seem that 

 till' ilcjiosit of the pigments which produce figure in gum are 

 inde]>enilcnt of those which ordinarily transform sapwood into 

 heart, though there is no reason to sujipose that the colors thi.ni- 

 selves are proiiuced by different materials. 



.Many gum trees are figured in the butt logs and not farther 

 up the trunks. It is said that the figuring jirocess begins at the 

 ijiouud and works its way up the bole; but further investigation 

 ought to 1 e made before this can be stated as an established fact. 

 Pertain it is, however, that there is more figured gum in the lower 

 than the upper i«rt of the tree, though that cannot be said of 

 the formation of heartwood except in proportion as the lower 

 jiart of the trunk is larger and older than the ujiper portion. 

 The making of red heartwood and the forLuation uf fi;;ure seem, 

 therefore, to be due to independent processes. 



It is well known that red gum's figure is fundamentally different 

 from the characteristic figures of oak, ash, and yellow pine. Oak's 

 figure, in ijuarter-sawed stock, is due to the medullary rays, with 

 certain modifications by rings of annual growth. The figures of 

 chestnut, ash, and the southern yellow pines are due almost wholly 

 to the rings of growth. Gum's figure is due to neither. The 

 shades and tones cross the rings in every direction, though they 

 sometimes follow them with some regularity; and medullary rays 

 have no visible effect. The colors ramify through the wood, 

 obeying no known law of growth or deposit of earthy niatter. 



It is in this that gum's figure resembles that of Circassian wal- 

 nut. The latter, however, has a feature generally absent from gum. 

 It is a modification of the figure due to the rings of yearly growth. 

 The deposits of the pigments in the two woods appear to be much 

 the same. 



A'o fact is lietter known than that the figure and texture of 

 Circassian walnut are influenced by soil and situation. Trees on 

 their native mountains near the Caspian sea yield the Circassian 

 wood of commerce; but the same trees trans]ilanted into Europe 

 will not grow the same class of wood, though some of the European 

 walnuts have had the benefit of L'.OOO years in that country. 



liuni seems to follow the same law, whatever that law maj' be. 

 'I'liough led gum has been growing in this country since the Cre- 

 taceous age — some millions of years — there are large regions which 

 ilo not jiroiluce any figured wood worth mentioning. Only in 

 certain areas are the conditions right to develop it. Dealers have 

 learned where to look for figured woods of this species. The 

 gold miner cannot locate gold by studying geography, though 

 that may give him a few hints. He must go and dig. When 

 he .Hnils what he is looking for he stakes his claim. The searcher 

 after figured red gum does the same. He locates by exploration. 



Some dealers are so well posted on the subject that it would 

 be possible for them to make a inapi of the re<l gum's range and 

 indicate the an'as where choice figured woods may be obtained. 



