THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight, 45^ Ibs. pei 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 7, compare English Alder. Taste or 

 smell, little if any. Burns well with little or no aroma : embers 

 glow in still air. Solution with water the colour of the wood 

 deepening to dark port-wine colour upon the addition of potash : 

 noppt. Boiled afterwards with alcohol the chips yield a faint 

 brown solution. 



Grain. Very fine. Surface dull. 



Bark. Very smooth with a whitish skin, reddish-brown be- 

 neath : y\ to J inch thick : large pits here and there : hard, 

 woody, not fissured, closely adherent. 



Uses, etc. Unrecorded. Saws easily. Needs careful season- 

 ing, otherwise it will crack badly in drying. 



Authorities. Perceval (91), p. n. 



Colour. Heart- wood uniform deep reddish-brown, occasionally 

 with dusk}' streaks. A sap-wood tree. 



Anatomical Characters. As W. rubifolia (No. 95) with the 

 following differences : 



Pores. Size 4 : usually single : 100-150 per sq. mm. : need 

 lens in all sections. 



Rays. Size 4, and 15-20 per mm. : very obscure : need lens. 

 The dusky ring-like zones are independent of the structure, and 

 are not concentric with the true zones of growth. 



Type specimen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of New Zealand. 



No. 97. SATIN-WALNUT. Liquidambar 

 styraciflua. Linn. 

 PLATE VIII. FIG. 64. 



Natural Order. Hamamelideae. 



Synonyms. L. styraciflua var. mexicana. Oerst. L. mono- 

 phylla. Oerst. 



Alternative Names. Sweet Gum : Red Gum : Bilsted : Star- 

 leaved Gum (100). Satin Walnut : California Red Gum (traders' 

 names in England). Copalm (15). 



Sources of Supply. U.S. America : Mexico. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight, 36f-59 Ibs. 

 per cu. ft. Hardness Grade 7. compare Beech, Alder. Smell 

 and taste none. Burns well and quietly : embers glow in still 

 air. Solution with water faint brown or dirty- white. 



Grain. Extremely fine, close and even. Surface dull, but 

 glistening as though frosted (like micaceous sandstone). 



Bark. " Soft, greyish-brown with rough, narrow, longitudinal 

 ridges" (49). 



Uses, etc. " Furniture, road-paving blocks, shingles. Durability 



112 



