32 



Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). 



The western cedar is the largest cedar that grows and it is the foremost 

 shingle wood of the country. It is commonly cut into wide boards and plank 

 and is more abundant than eastern cedar, but the wood is lighter, weaker, 

 softer, less durable, and more spongy in texture. The red cedars are so named 

 on account of the color of the heartwood and the white cedar on account 

 of its lack of color. The planing mills are the only class of factories bring- 

 ing the western red cedar into Pennsylvania. 



Southern White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides). 



Southern white cedar grows principally near the Atlantic Coast on lowlands 

 and is best developed in states from New Jersey southward. The western 

 limit of its range is in the extreme eastern portion of Pennsylvania, but 

 none of the wood the manufacturers used was State-grown. The boat builders 

 and the tank and silo makers accounted for ninety-seven per cent, of all the 

 nearly four million feet used in the State. White cedar lumber is readily 

 seasoned, easily worked, splits straight, and is regarded the most durable 

 of any of the domestic woods. It possesses a remarkably straight, fine grain 

 and a fine compact structure. It is probable that a small per cent, of this 

 wood reported as white cedar may have been the northern white cedar often 

 called arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) , but there was nothing in the informa- 

 tion received to indicate it. Arborvitae is found on high elevations as far 

 south as North Carolina but south of New York State rarely attains sufficient 

 size to be of any commercial importance. 



Table 18. Consumption of Cedar, Southern White, year ending June, 1912. 



REDWOOD 



(Sequoia sempervirens). 



This tree is closely related to the famous "Big Trees," which attain the 

 largest size of any known tree. Practically all of the redwood lumber 

 produced in this country comes from California. Redwood, and the sugar 

 pine, the other California wood described above, are the highest priced 

 softwoods that the Pennsylvania manufacturers report. Owing to its fine 

 texture, great durability, stability in place, and excellent quality, redwood 

 is more and more entering the eastern markets in spite of its cost. Its name 

 is due to the red color of its wood, which fades when long exposed to the 

 weather. 



