12 Bulletin 194 



midst of felling operations or in the lumberyards ; and under such 

 circumstances a knowledge of the wood characters may be of con- 

 siderable value. Few, if any, manuals or bulletins have been published 

 dealing in a simple but comprehensive manner with the structure of 

 wood. Especially is this true of the photographs or drawings accom- 

 panying such works. It hardly comes within the scope of this bulletin 

 to discuss in detail all the woods of all the tree species growing in 

 Vermont, although such a study doubtless would be worth while. Yet 

 there does seem to be an urgent demand for such a publication dealing 

 with our more common trees ; and hence a detailed study has been 

 made of such of our woods as are of importance from a lumbering 

 standpoint. Illustrations, showing cross-, radial- and tangential-sec- 

 tions, accompanied by descriptions and keys, have been brought together 

 in a chapter at the end of the manual proper, to which are referred 

 persons desirous of a more thorough acquaintance with our commercial 

 woods. 



Distribution and habitat. — To a lesser extent do distribution 

 and habitat of a species aid in the identification of a tree. It is a dis- 

 tinct advantage to know that the wild plum is native in western Ver- 

 mont only and that the black gum is limited to the southernmost portions 

 of the state. So, too, knowing the water-loving habit of the swamp 

 spruce, we would not expect to find it flourishing on a rocky mountain- 

 top. 



The characteristics, then, which are used to identify the trees 

 about us are many. Not all will be available at any one time, and not all 

 have been mentioned in the foregoing pages nor in the manual. It is 

 our opinion, however, that the student will not be handicapped greatly 

 by this lack of detail, but rather that he will take great interest and 

 genuine pleasure in discovering these things for himself. 



