THE ROLE OF THE MICROSCOPE IN THE IDENTIFICA- 

 TION AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE "TIMBERS 

 OF COMMERCE" 



By Irving W. Baii^ey 

 Bussey Institution for Research in Applied Biology 



The problem of distinguishing different kinds of woods, by means 

 of their gross or macroscopic characters, has become progressively 

 more difficult as the number of species in economic use has increased, 

 and as methods for disguising inferior types of woods have been per- 

 fected. 



In endeavoring to remedy this difficulty, a number of botanists, 

 foresters, and engineers have reached the conclusion that the micro- 

 scopic characters of wood must be used as a diagnostic criteria in clas- 

 sifying commercial products. 



It is a notable fact, how^sver, that anatomical keys for distinguish- 

 ing woods have not received the recognition and extended use that 

 have commonly been predicted for them. There appear to be a num- 

 ber of reasons why this should be the case, two of which will be dis- 

 cussed in the following pages. 



I. IvIMlTATlONS TO THE USE OF ANATOMICAL KEYS 



Owing to their unfamiliarity with the details of the lumber busi- 

 ness and methods of grading and handling lumber, most botanists and 

 microscopists have failed to appreciate the fact that there are distinct 

 limitations to the use of minute anatomical characers in classifying 

 and idenifying commercial products. 



The average lumberman and tradesman has not the necessary 

 technical information to handle such diagnostic criteria intelligently. 

 Of even greater importance, is the fact that in most cases a large 

 amount of material has to be handled in a limited space of time. This 

 eliminates the use of any except the most obvious anatomical char- 

 acters. 



There are, however, certain important economical fields of use- 

 fulness for anatomical keys, in the hands of technical experts, provided 

 these keys are sufficiently accurate and reliable. 



In the temperate regions, there are comparatively few species of 

 arborescent plants. The reverse is true of many tropical environments. 



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