The Trees of Vermont 223 



Bald Cypress. Cypress' 

 Taxodium dlstichum (L.) Richard 



Characteristics. — Bark light red, shallowly fissured into broad, 

 flat plates and peeling into fibrous strips ; sapwood thin, nearly white ; 

 heartwood dull yellow- or gray-brown or sometimes blackish ; non- 

 porous ; growth rings usually very broad and well-marked by the 

 dense and conspicuous summer wood ; transition from spring wood to 

 summer wood somewhat gradual ; rays very obscure, none of them 

 fusiform; resin ducts absent; resin cells numerous, large, more or less 

 confluent and forming tangential lines on the cross-section ; tracheids 

 wholly without spirals. 



Qualities. ^Fairly light in weight, 29 pounds per cubic foot, 

 seasoned ; soft ; rather weak ; shrinkage 3 percent ; warps but little, 

 although liable to check ; close-grained ; very durable in contact with 

 the soil; easy to work; nails well; frequently "peggy" or "pecky" from 

 a fungous disease. 



Uses. — Shingles, posts, interior finish, boats, cooperage, green- 

 house construction, etc. 



1 Not native to Vermont, ?)ut inrluded here because of its widespread use. 



Sugar Maple. Rock Maple 

 Acer saccharum Marsh. 



Characteristics. — Bark dark gray and deeply furrowed, often 

 cleaving up at one edge in long, thick plates ; sapwood thin, lighter 

 colored than the light brown heartwood ; dift'use-porous ; growth rings 

 narrow, but distinct; pores somewhat uniform in size, not crowded, 

 inconspicuous ; rays fine, but distinct ; vessels with spirals. 



Qualities. — Heavy, 43 pounds per cubic foot, seasoned ; very 

 hard ; very strong ; shrinkage 5 percent ; warps badly ; close- 

 grained, but the fibers sometimes twisted, waved or curly, producing 

 "bird's eye" and "curly" effects ; not durable when exposed ; wears 

 evenly ; splits badly in nailing ; hard to work. 



Uses. — Flooring, fuel, furniture, wagon-stock, carving, tool- 

 handles, etc. 



