Table 25 Concluded. 



RED GUM. 



( Liquidambar styraciflua). 



Red gum in late years has grown in commercial importance more than any 

 other domestic wood. It was formerly considered of little value, owing to 

 difficulty in seasoning; but with the coming of improved methods of kiln-dry- 

 ing, both for veneer and lumber, these obstacles have been overcome and the 

 wood has become available, for a great number of uses. It was reported in 

 Pennsylvania by twenty-three industries. The red gum tree grows in Pennsyl- 

 vania, especially in the southeastern and middle portions of the State, where 

 its cut was reported by 130 mills. It is not related, as its common name indi- 

 cates, to the other gums, the water gum, and black gum, the cotton or tupelo 

 gum, though often growing with them in the southern extension of its range. 

 The red gum has a starlike leaf and bears its numerous seeds in spiny, round 

 balls. The black gum has an oval leaf, and bears a small bluish black drupe 

 containing a single seed. The wood of the red gum is fairly strong, soft and 

 tough. It has a slightly interlocked grain, a fine, uniform texture, and takes 

 a good polish. The color of the wood is not uniform. The sapwood is almost 

 white and on the market is sold separately as sap gum. The heartwood is 

 generally a reddish light brown. In some trees it is uniformly dark, while 

 in others the dark wood runs in irregular streaks mottling the wood and giv- 

 ing it a figure resembling Circassian walnut. Pennsylvania furniture makers 

 use this wood in the largest quantities, finishing it often to imitate more ex- 

 pensive hardwoods, mahogany, walnut, quarter-sawed oak, and cherry. 



