Table 31. Consumption of Elm*, year ending June, 1912. 



9.64% in. 90.36% out. 



*The white and cork elm groups have been combined in this table. 

 In Part II of this report the information is given separately. 



COTTONWOOD. 



(Populus deltoidesj. 



Cottonwood belongs to a widely distributed tree family, which includes the 

 willows, aspen, balm of gilead, and other poplars (not yellow poplar). The 

 cottonwood referred to in this report is the Populus deltoides, the tree found 

 in large sizes and most abundant in the lower Mississippi Valley. It grows 

 in moist soil in almost all the states east of the Rocky Mountains. Owing 

 to the difficulty in seasoning cottonwood, it is better adapted for veneer than 

 lumber. Yellow and white cottonwood are often distinguished in trade. The 

 former refers to the heartwood, the latter to the light colored sapwood of 

 the tree. However, the amount consumed for veneer production in the United 

 States is only about 10 per cent, of the lumber cut. The manufacturers of 

 built up lumber used this wood in large amounts as veneer. On account of 

 its qualities of toughness, flexibility, and its capacity for being easily worked, 

 it is especially adapted for bent work as in vehicle bodies and auditorium 

 chairs. It is also popular with trunk makers for trunk boxes and tops. The 

 lumber serves many uses as a substitute for basswood and yellow" poplar , and , 

 like these woods, is light, weak, and non-durable; but of fine even texture and 

 a lack of taste and odor. The last two named qualities commend it as a 

 material for food containers , while for packing cases and crates its other excel- 

 lent qualities, combined with its whitish color, make it especially desirable as 

 a background for printing and stenciling. This tree is not commonly cut 

 in Pennsylvania, which accounts for the fact that only about one and one- 

 half per cent, of the total amount used was State-grown. Eleven industries 



