CHAPTER SIXTEEN 



FIGURES IN WOODS 



IN floors, walls, doors, and furniture we see lines and 

 patterns in the wood. Some of these are very beautiful, 

 and woods that have marked figures 

 in them often bring a high price. 

 These figures are due to the annual 

 rings and pith rays, and it is interest- 

 ing to study out just how a tree has 

 been cut to make any given pattern 

 that we see. A study of these mark- 

 ings will help you in learning to 

 identify woods also, and from it you 

 will learn to appreciate better the 

 beauty of furniture and other articles 

 that are made of wood. Ash is a 

 good wood for the study of marking 

 caused by annual rings ; and the 

 wood of many evergreens likewise 

 shows these rings well. Oak, syca- 

 more, and cherry often furnish beauti- 

 ful examples of markings due to pith 

 rays. 



Transverse, radial, and tangential 

 sections of wood. If we cut across a tree trunk, we 

 make a transverse section. On such a section the 

 annual rings appear as circles and the edges of the 

 pith rays appear as lines. 



If we cut the trunk lengthwise through the center, 

 we make a radial section. Such a section shows the 

 sides of the pith rays running across the cut surface, 



99 



FIG. 61. Diagram to 

 show the patterns 

 made by the annual 

 rings in a board cut 

 from the side of a log. 



