30 CALIFORNIA TANBARK OAK. 



HARDWOODS USED ON THE COAST. 



The hardwoods at present used in the Pacific coast States come 

 from many foreign markets, and only a very small proportion of 

 them are local woods. From the Eastern States are imported oak, 

 ash, hickory, maple, cherry, basswood, black walnut, tulip poplar, 

 birch, and elm; from Honduras, mahogany; from Mexico, Mexican 

 mahogany, prima vera, or jenizero; from Hawaii, koa; from Aus- 

 tralia, iron bark (one of the eucalypts) and red bean; and from 

 Japan, Siberian oak. 



The hardwoods from the Eastern States come for factory use in 

 the rough or ' i club " form; for the vehicle industry as roughly finished 

 parts, such as spokes, hubs, bent rims, and sawed felloes; and for 

 cooperage as rough staves and heading. The rest are in the form of 

 1-inch and 2-inch boards and 3 to 6 inch planks from 6 to 16 inches 

 wide and from 10 to 30 feet long. A small proportion comes in the 

 form of squared timbers up to 20 by 20 inches by 24 feet long. This 

 is for special-order work. The Mexican, Australian, Hawaiian, and 

 Japanese woods generally come in the shape of roughly hewn timbers, 

 the sizes ranging from 14 by 14 inches up to 36 by 36 inches and from 

 10 to 20 feet long. These rough timbers are sawed into veneer stock, 

 boards, and planks, as wanted. 



Eastern oak makes up by far the largest amount of hardwood used 

 in California, with hickory next, followed by maple, ash, and cotton- 

 w'ood. 



Some of the hardwoods have a variety of uses, while others are con- 

 fined to special lines. Of the eastern woods, ash, maple, hickory, 

 elm, and birch are used chiefly for wagon stock, only a small part 

 being used as lumber. Oak is largely used for cooperage, lumber, 

 and wagon stock, in the order named. The term "lumber" includes 

 boards, planks, and timbers. Oak lumber is imported for such uses 

 as flooring, inside finish, furniture, cabinet work, bank, store, and 

 office fixtures, paneling, wainscoting, picture molding, and doors. 

 The black walnut, cherry, and tulip poplar from the East, the prima 

 vera, poplar, and mahogany from Mexico, the koa from Hawaii, the 

 red bean from Australia, and the Siberian oak from Japan also go 

 very. largely into special lumber orders like the oak. Basswood is 

 used in the upper parts of wagons and carriages and especially for 

 work in pyrography. 



A California-grown eucalypt, the blue gum, has been made into 

 insulator pins which have proved very satisfactory. It is also used 

 quite extensively for cordwood, to some extent for piling, and is being 

 tried in the form of veneer for furniture and interior finish. It is very 

 probable that the use of blue gum in California will be considerably 

 enlarged in the near future. The black cottonwood is used princi- 



