45 



expensive cabinet woods. It has an intermediate grain, is hard, dense, heavy, 

 moderately stiff, tough and durable, rather difficult to season, hard to split, 

 and rather easy to work. Curly birch is an accidental structure in the wood, 

 due to cross grain corresponding to the similarly figured maples and is 

 highly prized by cabinet makers and manufacturers of high class furniture. 

 Yellow birch is also an excellent wood. Much of it is marketed with sweet 

 birch without distinction. In Pennsylvania it was not possible to determine 

 to what extent the two woods were desired for similar purposes, or for what 

 uses the manufacturers preferred the one to the other; so accordingly they 

 have been presented in this report under one name. 



In vehicle making birch bolts are used extensively in competition with elm 

 for hubs, and it is in this industry that the red or river birch finds its chief 

 market. Birch lumber cut from river birch is usually of low grade and most 

 of that used in Pennsylvania was reported by the box makers, who used 

 birch of all species in larger amounts than any other industry. The planing 

 mills and fixture makers demanded birch for interior trim in imitation of 

 mahogany, and the furniture makers called for it for the same reason be- 

 cause it is the nearest approach to mahogany of any of the domestic woods. 



Table 28. Consumption of Birch, year ending June, 1912. 



