HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



White Oak in the Southern 

 Appalachians 



First Paper. 



The above is the title of an interestiug and white oak saw timber is almost exhausted, 



valuable brochure which has just been issued and the remaining stand is utilized chiefly 



by the Forest Servi.'c. It covers so many for cross ties and similar procUiots. 



phases of the question— characteristics of the Two-thirds of the standing white oak of 



white oak, pruning, reproduction, lumbering *'>« southern Appalachian region has been 



^, ^ .^ „ 1 1,1 ■ * 1 u more or less heavilv culled. The best ciceurs 



. — that it terms a valuable piece or lumber . , ,, • ,' ,, .. ^ 1 r- 



, . , -, , .,, . in the well-watered valleys ot central Keu- 



iterature and is reproduced herewith in ^ , , ^ m 



'^ , tucky and eastern Tennessee, 

 abridged form in two sections, the first cov- 

 ering the distribution, present stand, uses The Wood and Its Use.s. 

 and sylvical characteristics of white oak and In the region as a whole, exclusive of Ken- 

 the second its susceptibility to injury, repro- tucky, about forty-three per cent of the an- 

 duction and forest management Great credit nual cut of white oak goes into sawed lumber, 

 is due W. B. Greeley, Forest Supervisor, and including car stock, bridge timbers, etc.; 

 W. W. Ashe, Forest Assistant, as the authors ='bout forty-five per cent into cross tus, ;nd 

 „ ,, . „ ^ ^ i. about ten per cent into cooperage stock, 

 of this excellent treatise. ., ,^ .. j.i>-ii 



About two per cent is used for miscellaneous 



Distribution and Present Stand. products, such as tool handles, wagon spokes 



and furniture and basket veneer. 

 White oak is one of the most widely ilis- Qf ^jg j^tal annual production of white 

 tributed hardwoods in the United States. It oak cross ties, about thirty per cent is cut in 

 is, moreover, the most widely used, and its the valleys of the Tennessee and Cumber- 

 annual cut of over 2,000,000,000 board feet land rivers in Tennessee and northern Ala- 

 is more than double that of either red oak bama, and forms the annual cut there. The 

 or yellow poplar, its nearest competitors. Of cooperage industries are also localized in the 

 the" total annual cut of hardwoods in the ^••1"'^ districts of central and eastern Ten- 

 , , , . . 1 J- 7- nessee and northern Alabama, w^hich produce 

 southern Appalachian region, excluding Ken- , . , , ,. ^ 1.1 ^ * 1 1 

 , . ^' , , ^'. ^ about twentv per cent of the total annual 

 tucky, white oak forms forty-nine per cent. ^ i, i-i' 1 , 1 i 1 1, „ 1;.,,. 

 ' ' •'', , , , . i ^ , ■ ^ cut of white oak barrel staves and heading. 

 No other hardwood is manufactured into as . ,. 



In the more mountainous region extending 



many important commodities. , , ^, ^ ,,. . . . ~ 



' through southwestern \ irginia, eastern Ten- 



The approximate remaining stand of white ^^^^^^^^ western North and South Carolina, 



oak timber in thousand feet in the states com- ^^^, northern Georgia, the cut of white oak 



prising the region is given in the foUcnnig .^ ^j^^^^^^ exclusively for sawed lumber, 



table. These estimates include only timber ^^^ _^^^^^ important feature of recent years 



merchantable for lumber or tight cooperage. .^^ ^^^^ ,„anufacture of white oak lumber has 



and exclude cross th' material: 1^^^,^ ^^^^ ^^,^^^^^^ increase in quarter-sawing, 



Mar.vland 13(i.(iuil a method of milling bv which the boards are 



wei;"vi.-ginia- :::::;:::::::::::::;: \^m cut nearly parauei to "the pith rays, so t^t 



Kentucky 2,6."i2,ti;."> the silver grain is shown. A large proper- 



NOTtu'c^'olina' : ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! lliiosiilio tion of the total cut is now quartered. Many 



South Carolina 9.^,325 producers quarter-saw only clear logs twenty- 



AUbaraa' '.''.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'■'■'■'■■■ 140i0O0 fo»f or twenty-.six inches and over in diam- 



■— eter at the small end. In this way only the 



■^'"^' 13,102,360 ^^^^ ^1^.^^^ ^^^ timber, not more than fifteen 



Variations in character and quality are or twenty per cent of the total amount manu- 

 marked. In the broad belt of rotigh and in- factured, is quarter-sawed, and a higli graile 

 accessible mountain and plateau land extend- of both quartered and plain-sawed stock is 

 ing through West Virginia and eastern Ken- maintained. Many firms believe that the 

 tucky there are still large bodies of virgin smaller and rougher logs cannot be used as 

 white oak, the largest and best stands in profitably for quartered as for plain-sawed 

 the United States. In the higher, more lumber. t)tlier mills quarter everything that 

 rugged ranges of eastern Tennessee, south- jg fairly clear, down to sixteen or eighteen 

 western Virginia, and the western portion of inches at the small end, and claim that the 

 the Carolinas there are still considerable much higher prices for quarter-sawed oak 

 stands of virgin white oak, though far more niake this method more profitable, despite the 

 scattered and irregular than in Kentucky ,vaste in manufacture. Under the stimulus 

 and West Virginia. East and west of the pf ^^^ l,igl, prices of 1903 many mills quar- 

 mountain belt, however, railroad development xereA seventy-five per cent of their total cut 

 has been rapid; lumbering has been far more of white oalf. As a result of this large out- 

 extensive. In the valley districts white oak ^^^^ of quarter-sawed lumber from small logs 

 has been logged more heavily than any other {i,g market was overstocked with narrow, low- 

 hardwood except walnut and yellow poplar. grade quartered oak, which caused in part 

 In many instances accessible timberland has ^Me decline in prices of 1904. In that year 

 been cut over a second and even a third time the demand for even the best grades of quar- 

 for the smaller and rougher trees which were tered oak fell off sharply, while that for 

 left in the earlier lumbering. plain-sawed oak remained unchanged. Since 

 In many other sections, notably the blue 1904 an increasing proportion of white oak 

 grass regions of Kentucky and Tennessee and has again been plain sawed, and many of 

 the great valley of northwestern Virginia, the larger hardwood dealers think that the 



trend of lumber prices in the last three years 

 indicates the wisdom of restricting the cut of 

 quartered white oak to the better grades of 

 timber. 



Quarter-sawed lumber from the Appa- 

 lachian region is ship[ied mainly to furniture 

 and cabinet factories. Plain-sawed oak is 

 shi|)ped to planing and finishing mills for 

 manufacture into flooring, ceiling and otlier 

 interior woodwork. A great deal is used also 

 in the manufacture of cheaper grades of fur- 

 niture and for carriages, wagons, farm tools, 

 agricultural machiuery, tongues, reaches, 

 bolsters, wheel felloes and framing. It is 

 a ,fine all-around wood for this purpose. The 

 poorer grades are used locally for flooring 

 and ceiling, or for fencing, storm sheeting, 

 outside finish and heavy packing cases for 

 pianos and the like. 



Large quantities of liigli-grmle white oak 

 dimension stuff and boanls, both plain and 

 quarter-sawed, are used each year in the 

 manufacture of railroad coaches. There is 

 in addition a special grade known as "car 

 stock,"' cut from inferior timber and consist- 

 ing of boards, planking, beams and dimen 

 sion stuft" of all sizes, which is used exten- 

 sively in the manufacture of freight and box 

 cars. Car stock is usually cut trom small, 

 scrubby timber, or from larger trees which 

 are limby, knotty or defective from pin 

 worms. Sound knots, stains, "cat faces,'' 

 and wormholes, all of which lower seriously 

 the grade of ordinary lumber, do not count 

 as defects in car timbers. Bridge timbers 

 and switch lies are cut from the same kiud 

 of material. A great deal of white oak was 

 formerly used for trestle piles, but it is now- 

 being largely replaced liv crensoted longleaf 

 pine. 



The logging of white oak cross ties is con- 

 fined chieiiv to the valleys of the large south- 

 ern rivers, which furnish cheap transporta- 

 tion to northern railroad centers. White oak, 

 with its great strength, toughness and dura- 

 bility, is the most valuable tie timber of the 

 South and today furnishes seventy-four per 

 cent of the total cut of ties in the Tennes.seo 

 and Cumberland river valleys. Small, rough 

 timber under sixteen inches in diameter at 

 the stump is usually taken for thi.3 purpose. 

 Sound knots, wormlioies. streaks and small 

 patches of dote do not rank as ilefects in the 

 ordinary white oak cross lii's. 



Tight barrel staves form tin- third of the 

 principal uses of white oak tiudjer in the 

 region. The stave industry competes directly 

 with the lumber trade tor the best grades of 

 white oak. taking only clear, straight-grained 

 trees, eighteen inches and over in diameter 

 at the stump. With its great strength and 

 close, dense grain, white oak makes the 

 strongest and most valuable slaves. It is 

 the only timber generally used tor whiskey, 

 port and brandy barrels. White oak staves 

 are used also for kerosene and cotton-seed oil 

 and tui'iientine cooperage. In addition to 

 the immense annual cut of staves, about a 

 - third as much more white oak is used for 

 heading. It is considered the only wooil 

 suited to this purpose and clear, sunn. I tini- 

 ber of the best grades is required. 



Of the other uses of white oak, the most 

 important are for veneer, wagon spokes, tool 

 handles and chair and table stock. For fur- 

 niture veneer only the best clear white oak 



