TIMBER OP THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 1<>5 



Beech (Fagus ferruginea), of which there are several 

 varieties, is found in great quantity hoth in Canada and 

 the States, where it is most abundant in the Ohio and the 

 Mississippi basin. 



Lumber men distinguish them as red and white beech 

 and say that the former is harder, with a redder and thicker 

 heartwood. The red beech, which in some places forms 

 extensive forests, is the most esteemed. The wood of 

 American beech is used for the same purposes as English 

 beech ; it is hard, heavy, stiff and strong, coarse in texture, 

 can be easily split, and is rather liable to warp ; like the 

 English beech, the American timber has broad and numerous 

 medullary rays, very small and almost indistinct pores, and 

 when cut on the quarter it is very beautiful. It is chiefly 

 used for tool handles, carpenters' planes, shoe lasts, mallets, 

 and to a certain extent in the chair-making and furniture 

 trades. The larger quantity of beech used in Great Britain 

 comes from America, although there is probably more 

 English-grown beech used than any other class of native 

 timber. 



Rock Elm or Cork Elm (Ulmus racemosa), a timber which 

 has largely taken the place of English elm although it is 

 not so good, grows in Quebec and as far south as Kentucky, 

 but the supplies come chiefly from Ontario. It is a clean, 

 straight timber, sometimes cross grained, very uniform in 

 texture, and can be had in roughly- squared logs 35 to 40 ft. 

 long and 10 to 15 inches square ; whitey brown in colour, 

 hard, tough and flexible, fairly free from knots, it has 

 only a small quantity of sapwood ; generally difficult to 

 split. It is a tree of rapid growth. 



The White Elm (U. americana) is a noble tree of 80 

 to 100 ft. in height. Other varieties are the Cedar Elm 



