C.M.l— NATIVK T(M<KSr VKKKS OV K AS VK.KN ARKANSAS. 8^-^ 



nnid spirit hsirrels, llic close and tine tcxtiirt'of the wood rcii- 

 <loriin»- it an especial favorite I'or tliis purpose. Larire tpiaii- 

 titics of culled wood of the udiile oak iroi's into pork :in<l oil 

 ])arroIs, Ihouirii the tiudx'r of the cow oak is rapidly comin^r 

 into favor for tliis [)urpose. The coin])lctc felliny of this 

 valuable s[)oeies is noM' a (piestion t)f a \ cry short time and 

 the clos(MU'ss with the tinihcrer cids leavers, when eoui)led 

 witli the extremely slow growth ol t!ie tree, little hope that 

 a second iri'owth will hecome available. It is felled with a 

 wanton liaud, a comparatiNH-ly small poition of the tree is 

 utilized — the bark iiv)t all th(> balance allowed to decay. 

 Stave mills and factories, for both rou_<>U and tinished pro- 

 <lucts, are found at intervals of a few miles only, alon^r the 

 radroads and away from them, of which th<' total annual out- 

 put of staves must run into the millions in numiiers. 



A very lari^-e and l»eautiful tre(> of eastern Arkansas i.» 

 the sweet t'-nm, or LJ(jiitil(iii)hrr sfi/nififJiut , which abounds 

 throughout the low country. Occasional speeiniens were 

 noted in the St. Francis liottoms, the diameter of which ex- 

 e(>eded six feet, while in Craiiihead County, trees of five feet 

 diameter were common. 'Iliis species is probably the most 

 beavitiful of the nati\e forest trees of the south. The live- 

 l)ointed, star-like, leaves, crowdino- the branches and stems, 

 even to within a few feet of the oround, r<Mider its dense foli- 

 ,i\xv of dark liieen color, which trend»les in the breezes some- 

 what after the mannei' of the pojilar or aspen, )»'( uliarly 

 atti-active. The branches of the younij-ei' forms are wino-ed 

 after the likeness of the winoed elm, but with l)roailer and 

 sonu'what thicker ahe. Its wood will sonu'time become val- 

 uable thou,i:h th(> deiri'ee to which it warps or twists in dry- 

 iai^ renders it untit for very many purjjoses to which its 

 texture admirably adapts it. It is, however, Iarir<'ly used 

 for h(<a\y timl)ei-s in barn and house consti-uction. and by 

 manufacturers as a veneei-. a larire poilioti of the so-called 



