40 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



mutual, courts will not relieve the party making it ajjainst liis 

 own negligence or inattention; but wc think a different rule 

 should apply when the evidence shows that the party accepting 

 the mistaken ofifer knows of the mistake when he accepted it, and 

 that he should not reap the benefit of the mistake to the evident 

 injury of the other. We think fair dealing and good conscience 

 should require an opportunity to correct the error, before trying 

 to found a binding contract on it. * * * The evidence in this 

 case is that both parties knew the market value of the millet 

 • seed on April 17, 1912. Upon receiving a letter from a dealer 



ill that commodity, apiicllaiit must lia\c' known that *1 pi-i- hun- 

 dredweight less than the market value was a mistake. That 

 thej' did is evidenced by the telegram to "Ship quick." It diil 

 not wire back that "Your $1..3.t per cwt. offer is aecepte<l.'' 

 A]ipollee thought that it had quoted the market price in the 

 letter — .$2.35. We think from the evidence it is manifest that 

 ajipellant knew a mistake had been made, and so.ught to take 

 advantage of the mistake by an immediate acceptance and quick 

 advantage of the mistake l;y an immediate acceptance ac-companieii 

 by the request that (he shipment of the seed be made at once. 



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Ash Timbers of Commerce 



lu cunimereial transactions timbers are usually grouped. Eight 

 or ten species of hickory, as botanists know them, are all one in the 

 lumber yard. Fifty kinds of oak trees make two kinds of lumber, 

 white oak and red oak. Four or five kinds of elm fall into two 

 classes, frequently only one, in the lumber yard. Three species of 

 basswood become simply basswood lumber in the yard and factory. 

 From two to five kinds of birches pass as one in the lumber trade. 

 The softwoods, including pines, cedars, spruces, firs and others, are 

 less numerous than the hardwoods; but the same system of grouping 

 is observed. It would tax the observation powers of the most experi- 

 enced lumberman to tell whether the spruce he handles in a Chicago 

 yard was ciit from black, red, white, Sitka, or Engelmaun spruce, 

 though if he could see the standing trees he could readily tell one 

 from another. 



Ash trees constitute an important group, but the lumber generally 

 goes to market without much effort to distinguish one kind from 

 another. A wood technologist with his microscope and ' ' key ' ' can 

 work them out and explain wherein one differs from another; but 

 turn him loose in a lumber yard, and he would have a hard time 

 picking out and identifying the boards sawed from different species. 

 There are different qualities of ash, but differences as great may be 

 found between the woods of trees of the same species as between 

 those of different species. It is largely a matter of soil and situation. 



The term "second growth" when applied to ash lumber means only 

 that the wood has wide growth rings, and is regular in grain. That 

 is the principal meaning of "second growth" applied to any wood 

 in the market. It may be supposed to mean a young tree which has 

 grown since the primeval forest was removed; but it would take a 

 pretty good judge of lumber to tell where a tree grew, simply by 

 looking at the boards. The term "second growth" is much abused, 

 intentionally or unintentionally. If the terms "rapid growth" were 

 substituted for "second growth" it would have a specific meaning. 

 Wide annual rings are proof of rapid growth, but not of second 

 growth. Woods which have grown rapidly are usually stronger than 

 those of slow growth, but not necessarily so. Several things must be 

 taken into consideration before a concrete statement to that effect 

 can be made concerning any wood. 



Fifteen species of ash occur in the United States. There are 

 probably not a dozen living men who have seen the trees of all of 

 them; and if all could be found growing on a single acre, it is 

 doubtful if any man, except a few systematic botanists, could cor- 

 rectly name each of the fifteen species offhand, and it would tax 

 the best botanist to do it. In addition to the fifteen species of ash 

 in this country, there are several varieties, in which lumbermen have 

 no special interest. 



White ash {Fraxinus americana) is the most important tree of the 

 whole group. It is often called gray ash. Its range extends from 

 Nova Scotia to Minnesota, and south to Texas and Florida. It is 

 probable that the lumber cut from this ash exceeds the combined cut 

 from the other fourteen species. 



Black ash {Fraxinus nigra) is so named because of its large, black 

 buds in winter; but the heart wood of certain trees is pretty dark and 

 some persons name it for that reason. The coarse, blunt twigs 



distinguisli this tree from the white, red, grfon, and blue ashes; but 

 the color and roughness of the bark vary greatly. Two black asii 

 trees stand side by side in Lincoln park, Chicago, which are so 

 different in appearance, when bare of leaves, that relationship is not 

 apparent, except for the telltale buds. The tree ranges from New- 

 foundland to Manitoba, and south to Delaware and Arkansas. The 

 tree 's crushed leaves emit the odor of elder. The wood is valuable. 



Blue ash (Fraxinus quodrangulata) is easily identified by its square 

 twigs, particularly when trees are young. It is named "on account 

 of a blue dye obtained from the inner bark. Its range lies in the 

 lower Ohio and Mississippi valleys, and among the mountains of 

 eastern Tennessee. The wood is heavy and strong, and manu- 

 facturers of agricultural tool handles prize it highly. 



Green ash (Fraxinus lanceolata) has a wider range than any other 

 ash of this country. It occurs from Vermont to Utah, north in 

 Canada, and south to Florida and Arizona. It has been extensively 

 planted for shade and ornament in most parts of its range, particu- 

 larly in the Plains states. The name refers to the foliage, though the 

 leaves are no deeper green than those of some other ashes. The 

 wood is of good quality, but no great quantity of it goes to market. 

 The form of the tree and the quality of the wood closely resemble 

 red ash. 



Eed ash (Fraxinus pcnusylvanica) is neither a large tree nor very 

 abundant, though its range extends from New Brunswick to Dakota 

 and south to Florida and Alabama. It has many names in various 

 localities. The inner bark is reddish, and the same tinge occurs on 

 small twigs and the under side of leaves, and this characteristic gives 

 the tree its common name. It is a rather small tree and the wood is 

 not usually regarded quite the equal of white ash. 



Oregon ash (Fraxinus oregona) is a Pacific coast tree which occurs 

 from Oregon to Mexico. It is not abundant, and only in exception- 

 ally favorable situations do trunks grow in form and of size suit- 

 able for lumber. The tree is not of much commercial importance, 

 and would be of still less if hardwoods were not so scarce on the 

 Pacific coast. 



The foregoing six species furnish nearly all the ash lumber that 

 goes to market in this country, but nine others are found, and logs 

 from some of them occasionally find their way to sawmills. 



Texas ash (Fraxinus texensis), as might be inferred from its 

 name, belongs in Texas. Its range extends from Dallas to Devil's 

 river. Trees are usually of small size and poor form, ^ut the wood 

 is of good quality and is jiut to various uses in localities where it 

 occurs. 



Florida ash (Fraxinus floridana) is a small tree with a trunk a few 

 inches in diameter. It occurs in the swamps of southern Georgia and 

 Florida. It is of no commercial importance. 



Biltmore ash (Fraxinus Mltmoreana) takes its name from Bilt- 

 more, N. C, but it grows in West Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, 

 Georgia and Alabama. Trunks seldom exceed a foot in diameter, and 

 the wood has few reported uses. 



Water ash (Fraxinus caroliniana) occurs in deep swamps from 

 Virginia to Florida and westward to Texas. The wood is light in 

 weight and in color, and is weak. It weighs less than white pine.. 



