AMERICAN WOODS. 



95 



Sour gum. (See Gum.) 

 lied yum. (.Sec Cum.) 

 Sassafras. 



111. Sassafras (Sassafras sassafras): Wood light, soft, not strong, brittle, of coarse texture, durable; sapwood 

 yellow, heart orange brown. Used in cooperage, lor skill's, fencing, etc. Medinm-si/.ed tree, largest in the 

 Lower Mississippi Valley. From New England to Texas and from Michigan to Florida. 



Sweet yum. (See Gum.) 

 Sycamore. 



112. Sycamore ( Plata nus occidentalii) (button wood, Imttonball tree, water beech) : Wood moderately heavy, i| mil- 

 liard, still", strong, tough, usually crossgrained, of coarse texture, and white to light brown color; the wood 

 is hard to split and work, shrinks moderately, warps, and checks considerably, but stands well. It is used 

 extensively for drawers, backs, bottoms, etc., in cabinetwork, for tobacco boxes, in cooperage, anil also for 



linishiug lumber where it has too long been underrated. A large tree of rapid growth, c nion and largest 



in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, at home in nearly all parts of the Eastern United States. The California 

 species 



113. Platanus raci-uiona resembles in its wood the Eastern form. 

 Tulip wood. 



114. Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) (yellow poplar, whitewood): Wood quite variable in weight, usually 

 light, soft, stitt' but not strong, of lino texture, and yellowish color; the wood shrinks considerably, but 

 seasons without much injury; works and stands remarkably well. Used for siding, for paneling, and lin- 

 ishiug lumber in house, ear, and ship building, for sideboards and panels of wagons and carnages; also in 

 the manufacture of furniture, implements, and machinery, for pump logs, and almost every kind of common 

 wooden ware, boxes, shelving, drawers, etc. An ideal wood for the, carver and toy man. A large tree, does 

 not form forests, but is ijnite common, especially in the Ohio basin; occurs from New England to Missouri 

 and southward to Florida. 



115. Cucumber tree (Magnolia aciiminata): A medium-sized tree, most common in the southern Alleghenies, but 

 distributed from New York to Arkansas, southward to Alabama ami northward to Illinois. Resembling 

 and probably confounded with tulip wood in the markets. 



Tupelo. (See Gum.) 

 Walnut. 



116. Hlack walnut (Juglans niyra) : Wood heavy, hard, strong, of coarse texture; the narrow sapwood whitish, 

 the heartwood chocolate brown. The wood shrinks moderately in drying, works and stands well, takes a 

 good polish, is quite handsome, and lias been for a long time the favorite cabinet wood in this country. 

 Walnut, formerly used even for fencing, has become too costly for ordinary uses, and is to day employed 

 largely as a veneer for inside finish and cabinetwork, also in turnery, for guustocks, etc. Black walnut is a 

 large tree with stout trunk, of rapid growth, and was formerly quite abundant throughout the Allegheny 

 region, occurring from New England to Texas, and from Michigan to Florida. 



White icalnut. (.See Butternut.) 



White wood. (See Tulip and also Hasswood.) 



Yellow poplar. (See Tulip.) 



COMPARATIVE STATEMENTS OF PROPERTIES OF AMERICAN WOODS. 



Weight of kiln-dried wood of different species. 



For scientific name* see list above. 



