Hardwoods and Softwoods 



Ai-oonliiii; to Ilir 1«-| .•>tiiiiMt.> lliitt liiiM- l"in iii.i.l. ..i n.. ; . 

 ing UuibtT in tho I'liitcl Statf*. tlitTo aro six fita of hoftwimil- Xo 

 one /out of tJif lianlniMiclit. In this clnwiilirntion Uio trees with broa<l 

 leaves are hardwootlii iukI thotio with ncedleliko loaves, as pinos, Iumii 

 locks un«l spruces, or with sc«le-liko leaves, as the cednrB, are tliL- 

 softwoods. There are about six times as many kinds of hardwoods 

 as softwoods. 



The belief held by some that the evergreen trees are tlic soft- 

 noods and that those which -shed their leaves yearly are in tho hard- 

 wood class, is erroneous. Some of the oaks, sonio of the niagnolins, 

 and most of the hollies, and several other broadleof trees arc evi-r- 

 j.'reens, while larch or tamarack and two of the cypresses slieii all 

 their leaves annually. 



No tree retains its foliage perpetually. All loaves drop, but in 

 the case of those trees called evergreen tlie old leaves remain until 

 after the new appear. Some hang thirteen months, others two or 

 three years, while the leaves of a few species may remain green on 

 the twigs as long as eight or ten years. 



Climate has something to do with the time during which the 

 leaves hang. For instance, the willow or peach oak at Washington, 

 D. (.'., puts out its foliage in April and loses it in October, while at 

 Tallaliassee, Fla., the tree is an evergreen, or practically so, for its 

 old foliage remains green imtil the new appears. 



The belief that the warmer the climate the higher the proportion 

 of evergreens among the trees is misleading. Frost may hasten the 

 fall of leaves, but it is not necessary to their fall. Drought may bo 

 more effective than frost. Some of the trees in the valley of the 

 lower Rio Grande in Texas and Mexico retain their leaves scarcely 

 more than one month in twelve. The foliage of others there is so 



I lull iliiil ii i> M-iiiccly iiotirealile at )t lilllc di^lall>•l•. Xaliirr work* 

 ili:it niiy tu economize what little niolNture the ground I'lmtaimi. 

 When leaves arc undcrsupplieil with water they become u-.-Ii-hji and 

 ilrop off. 



Tho ordinary division into hardwoods and softwoods i> not baNe<l 

 strictly on tlieir actual hardness or softness, though an a general 

 thing tho wood of broadleuf trees is harder than that of the needle- 

 leaf 8i>ecie8. There are numerous exceptions. Longleaf pine ih harder 

 than basswood. Cypress is harder than bmkeye, cucuml>er and yellow 

 poplar. Tho Paciflc yew surpasses in hardness many hroadleaf trees. 

 If woods were classified according to actual hardness, the whole list 

 would have to bo rearranged, without any regard to the kind of 

 foliage the trees bear. 



In some of tho northern states when a lumberman speaks uf hard- 

 woods without a modifying term he usually means l>eech. birch ond 

 maple. 



There are a few trees scattered from Florida to California whose 

 wood is not classed as either hard or soft, though some of it is very 

 hard and other very soft. They are palm and cactus. Their growth 

 is not in concentric rings, one each year. A cross section of the 

 trunk gives little information as to. age. The palmetto of Florida 

 has spongy wood. The giant cactus of Arizona is ribbed like a 

 fluted column, and every rib is hard like oak, and tho spaces between 

 are nearly as soft as a hornet nest. Some of the California palms 

 have trunks with hard bundles of fibers interwoven like latticework, 

 and the substance in the meshes is so soft that the wind blows it 

 away in a few years after the trunk dies, leaving a curious cross- 

 hatched skeleton standing in the desert, an ob.iect of curiosity and a 

 picture of desolation. 



To Be Finished With Birch 





1, J, £7^"^ 



SCQhLSlHIBV imrNnT'A NAMR'PAUin r^N I \-W- r XiJCLtM:Mt:J^'MER»BRQ-ARCm3- 



The Wisconsin Building at the .San Francisco Exposition in 1915 is to have Birch trim, panels 

 and doors in all the public rooms. 



The building is exceptionally well located and attractive and will make an excellent showing 

 for Birch on the Pacific Coast. 



