HARDWOOD RECORD 



31 



for which the trade is not prepared is forced on the market. 

 Much of it is young and such as would ordinarily be cut only 

 into cordwood, if at all, for which the market at best is not good. 

 Moreover there is a feeling rather widely disseminated that blight- 

 killed wood is inferior to wood that has not been attacked. Plenty 

 of jobbing sawmill men are anxious to make it appear that the 

 value of the material is lessened, in order to beat down the price 

 as low as possible. 



It is the opinion of all who are fully acquainted with the facts 

 that the blight itself does not affect the properties of the wood. 

 In other words, blight-killed timber is just as strong, durable and 

 of as high tannin content as similar timber not attacked. It is 

 interesting to note that railroad com- 

 panies and other large users of the 

 wood do not discriminate against 

 trees killed by blight. 



The efl'ect of the disease is to girdle 

 the tiee and kill it in the same way 

 that girdling with an ax or tire would 

 act. If dead trees are allowed to 

 stand, however, deterioration from 

 secondary causes will set in. Chestnut 

 is very subject to attacks from worms 

 and borers, and the presence of bark 

 on the tree affords ideal conditions 

 for their development. The condi- 

 tions are also favorable for the 

 growth of rot-producing fungi, since 

 the bark retains a large amount of 

 moisture and retards the drying of the 

 wood. When the tree finally dries 

 out it will be so seriously season- 

 checked that its value for sawed lum- 

 ber is very materially reduced. There 

 appears, however, to be no sound rea- 

 son for believing that these condi- 

 tions are aggravated by the blight. 



Chestnut lumber has long been a 

 staple at all lumber yards in the re- 

 gion of its growth. Over half a bil- 

 lion feet are annually manufactured 

 into lumber, lath and shingles. The 

 wood is light, weighing about twenty- 

 eight [lounds per cubic foot and hav- 

 ing nn average specific gravity of 

 0.45. It is flexible and elastic, espe- 

 cially in young timber, but is not 

 strong. It is fitted for general di- 

 mension work and construction where 

 great strength is not a requisite. It 

 has no silver grain like the oak, with 

 which it is closely kin, but if properly 

 sawed (i. e., cut tangentically) so as 

 to expose the alternating layers 

 of porous and dense portions of 



the annual rings of growth, a very pleasing grain is secured. 

 The finished lumber bears a general resemblance to ash, though 

 darker in color and coarser. It has considerable value for interior 

 finish, either in natural color or stained. 



It is also suited for cabinet work, though for this, as for interior 

 finish, only sound material can be employed. It is the standard 

 wood for the manufacture of incubators. It makes good counters, 

 shelves and store fixtures. In parquet flooring there are few 

 woods as good for the core or backing, the grade commonly used 

 being sound wormy. 



For furniture, chestnut is employed both as outside material 

 and as hidden frames. In the one case only the best grade is 

 suitable; in the other almost all grades can be employed. The 

 wood is not strong enough for the more exacting purposes, but 

 is suitable for mission furniture, Morris chairs, couch frames. 



r)ISTUILU"TII.)X Ol"" THE CIIEST.NIT B.VKK iJlSE.^.Sli 

 Horizontal linos indicate approximate distribution of uninfected 

 chestnut : dots indicate isolated infected spots ; the heavier lines 

 in various directions indicate varying degrees of infection eulminat- 

 in;; in an area about Xew York City in which all chestnut trees 

 •kP' dead. 



pedestals, stands, tables, pianos and organs. 



The box and crate making industry is one of .high importance 

 in every state, and the supply of suitable material is becoming 

 more and more restricted, particularly in the region where the 

 blight is now at its worst. This affords an avenue for the disposal 

 of a large amount of chestnut wood of all sizes, for it is well 

 adapted for crates and all but the highest grades of boxes. The 

 wood does not split badh' in nailing, and holds nails firmly. Wher- 

 ever damp wood comes in contact with nails or iron of any kind, 

 it will stain blue-black, due to the action of the tannic acid on 

 the metal. 



Other uses are lath, shingles, caskets, casket cases, eofiins, 



molding, picture frames, refrigerators, 

 cold storage doors, stair work, base 

 boards, china closets, panels, ceilings, 

 sash, casing, flooring, mantels, wash- 

 boards, scrubbing-brush backs, canal- 

 boat hatches, and parts of vehicles. 

 For not all of these purposes is it 

 equally suited, of course, but the list 

 gives a fair idea of the range of uses 

 of the wood, and will serve to suggest 

 many more to which in the present 

 emergency it can be put. Every ef- 

 fort should be made to salvage blight- 

 killed chestnut wherever possible, thus 

 preventing waste of good material. 

 The other kinds will keep for later use. 

 Chestnut has long been used for 

 ties by eastern railroads. The annual 

 consumption has been between seven 

 and eight million ties. The wood is 

 too soft to withstand the wear of 

 heavy traffie, but will do for siding, 

 especially if in mixture with oak. 

 Just now the eastern tie market is 

 rather glutted, and the price has 

 fallen, but there seems no reason why 

 the middle western roads should not 

 stock up with the material. Chestnut 

 is well adapted for electric lines where 

 the traffic is not as heavy as on the 

 steam lines. Already about eighteen 

 per cenf of the ties used by such 

 roads are of this wood, and this 

 amount should be materially iucreased. 

 The use of chestnut for telegraph 

 and telephone poles fell oft" consider- 

 ably from 1907 to 1908, but since the 

 latter date has again increased. Up- 

 ward of 4,000,000 poles of all kinds 

 are purchased annually, and of this 

 number nearly 700,000 are chestnut. 

 Cedars of various kinds make tlie best 

 pole timbers, but chestnut is good. 

 When grown in dense forests the trees are tall and straight and 

 with comparatively little taper. One objection to its use is the 

 danger of attack near the ground by the telephone-pole borer. 

 This, however, can be effectively guarded against by open-tank 

 treatment of the butts of the poles with creosote. Even without 

 the treatment the life of the pole is long enough to warrant its 

 use. 



As a stave wood for slack cooperage, chestnut now ranks fifth 

 in this country. In 1910, 90,475,000 slack staves were made of 

 this wood, a decrease of nearly 3,000,000 from 1909, but a decided 

 increase over the years preceding. In 1910 nearly a million sets 

 of slack heading were manufactured from chestnut, a material 

 advance over other years. The employment of chestnut for this 

 purpose opens up a good field for a lot of blight-killed material. 

 Chestnut wood (not the bark) is used largely in the manufacture 



