CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PAPERS. 61 



DISTINGUISHING RED AND WHITE OAK LUMBER BY 

 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THEIR ASH. 



By E. B. Knere, Midland College, Atchison. 

 Read before the Academy, at Topeka, January 1, 1903. 



\ FEW years ago the county surveyor of Atchison county appealed 

 -^-^ to the author of the following notes for information as to 

 methods of distinguishing between red and white oak lumber. It 

 seems that among his duties was the inspection of the lumber pur- 

 chased by the county for bridge purposes, and, as the contracts called 

 for white oak, he wanted to be sure that white oak lumber was being 

 furnished, and not red oak, which usually rates in the market at two 

 dollars less per thousand feet than white oak. 



As is well known, the color of a freshly planed surface affords no 

 reliable information as to the nature of the material, the white oak 

 frequently being darker than the red. True, white oak is usually 

 more closely grained than the red, but even this distinction may be 

 deceptive in material from widely separated localities. Again, the 

 white oak is usually heavier than the red, weighing forty-six pounds 

 to the cubic foot, while the red weighs but forty-one pounds on the 

 average. But, as may be readily seen, results as to weight will be 

 gieatly modified by the amount of seasoning, time of cutting, method 

 of storing, etc. 



It occurred to the writer that possibly a chemical analysis of the 

 ashes of the several varieties might be of service in determining the 

 kinds of lumber in question. Accordingly, a sample each of white, 

 red, post and willow oaks was obtained from the Carlisle Lumber 

 Company, of Atchison. The matei'ial was furnished direct from their 

 mills in Arkansas, and represents results from one locality alone. The 

 red and willow oaks are of the black oak tribe, the members of which 

 require two years to perfect their fruit, while the white and post oaks 

 belong to the annual-fruited division. The representatives of the 

 black oaks gave a much higher percentage of ash than those of the 

 white oaks, ranging over thirty-two-hundredths per cent, of the sea- 

 soned wood for the former, and less than twenty-hundredths per cent, 

 for the latter. This difference was found mainly in the quantity of 

 lime and potash present, the red oaks showing about twenty per cent, 

 more of lime and five per cent, more of potash in tlie ashes than did 

 the white oaks. 



Bearing these considerations in mind, we should have here a sure 

 method for distinguishing disputed samples of white and red oak. 



