Figures in Woods 



101 



if you will think of the 

 trunk of the tree as 

 made up of thin-walled 

 columns tapering up- 

 ward (page 1 8), the 

 grain of the wood as 

 more or less twisted, 

 and the tree itself as 

 not perfectly straight. 

 Nearly all tree trunks 

 are somewhat crooked, 

 and if one of the hollow 

 columns, which repre- 

 sents the growth of one 

 year in such a tree, were 

 to be laid bare, it would 

 be more or less crooked 

 or bent. Therefore, 

 when the saw runs 

 straight through the log 

 lengthwise, it cuts the 

 wood columns in vari- 

 ous ways and exposes the rings in curved instead of 

 straight lines. 



After examining several ash boards in furniture or 

 elsewhere, see if you can explain the patterns in them. 

 Can you tell by the figure what part of the tree trunk 

 the board came from and what part of the board was 

 nearest the heart of the tree? If the end of the board 

 can be seen, an examination of the rings that show there 

 will help you in your study. Continue your study by 



Southern Lumberman 

 FIG. 63. Curly cypress. 



