182 TREE ANCESTORS 



considerable part of this is due to the sweet gum, whose leaves 

 assume a variety of shades ranging from rich yellow through carmine 

 to wine red. 



Although the modem sweet gum rivals the red maple or the dog- 

 wood in the brilHancy of the autumnal tints of its star-shaped 

 leaves, it was considered practically worthless as a wood until 

 within the past few years, owing chiefly to its tendency to warp 

 and twist. It was formerly left standing in logging operations 

 and when land was cleared for agricultural purposes, the sweet 

 gum was girdled and left to rot. But times and opinions change 

 and the demand for the wood has increased rapidly since about the 

 year 1900. 



Not only does the heartwood make a most attractive interior 

 finish, especially for panels, doors and woodwork in its natural 

 color — abroad it is often called satin walnut — but it takes stain 

 so well that it is often made into mahogany, oak and walnut furni- 

 ture. Sapwood and the common grades go into boxes, cheap 

 furniture, flooring, staves, etc. There is a large export trade in 

 the heartwood, possibly as much as 50 per cent of the supply going 

 to England, France and Germany, where its beauty for interior 

 finishing was recognized earlier than it was in this country. 



The sweet gum occasionally grows to a height of 150 feet and 

 a diameter of 5 feet. Such dimensions are, however, unusual and 

 the average diameter of large trees is perhaps 30 to 36 inches, 

 indicating a normal age of from 150 to 350 years, the size being 

 dependent on the habitat. The trees of the rich bottoms of the 

 south Atlantic Coastal Plain grow much faster than those of the 

 lower Ohio valley. The stem is straight and columnar and until 

 the height growth is attained the high trunk and conical crown 

 make it resemble a conifer. After reaching its height growth it 

 branches freely and the crown becomes rounded and spreading. 

 Its deeply furrowed bark and cork winged twigs are famihar to 

 every explorer of swamps in our southern states. 



The earliest popular nam.e, sweet gum, doubtless originated 

 from the local use for chewing of the sweetish gum obtained from 

 the tree. The later name, red gum, refers to the reddish brown 



