FIGURE IN WOOD 



615 



have been named. The fiddle-back mottle appears a series of hills and 

 valleys and derives its name from the common use of maple with such 

 figure in making the backs of violins. The figure results from the proper 

 cutting of wavy grained material and the efifect from different lighting is 

 the same as described in roe or ribbon grain. 



And then there are plum mottle, wrinkle mottle, landscape mottle ox 

 grain and bird's-eye. The last is found in many woods, but is most com- 

 mon in hard maple. The cause of bird's-eye has never been satisfactorily 

 explained. In some instances it may be due to small buds, in others to 

 the action of woodpeckers, but in all of the ordinary cases examined 

 by the writer there is no evidence of these factors. The surface of the 

 log is pitted and spines on the inner bark project into these pits. Where 

 buds have been noted the projections are outward. In pine, elm, Douglas 



fir and especially in Sitka spruce it 

 is common to find the surface of 

 logs irregularly grooved with so- 

 called "bear scratches," with ridges 

 of inner bark fitting into them. 

 The cause is unknown. The fin- 

 ished wood shows peculiar worm- 

 like tracings due to the distortion 

 of the fiber. Many instances of 

 this were found in airplane spruce 

 |IIM' ^^^^^^V'flf , ^^'^ ^^s erroneously ascribed by 



1 (^ ^^B^^B inly / some inspectors to the action of 



mistletoe. In lodgepole pine a pe- 



A SATIN-WOOD PANEL 



This wood has a rare luster which makes 

 the name satinwood very appropriate. 



of pile fabric is changed by the di- 

 rection in which the nap is 

 smoothed. If one takes a panel of 

 ribbon-grained wood and rotates 

 it slowly in the light he will see the 

 shifting of the light and dark rib- 

 bons. This is well illustrated in 

 mahogany and our native syca- 

 more. 



Wavy grain is very common in 

 some woods and likely to occur 

 in any species. Here the fibers 

 weave back and forth in a single 

 plane. If the pattern is small it is 

 usually called curly grain, though 



though this term is also applied to various irregularities of growth. In the 

 crotch of a forked tree, at the junction of limbs and at the flare of the 

 root the fibers are folded and wrinkled and local deposits of pigment are 

 common. This results in highly figured material which in the cabinet 

 woods is in demand by the trade. Most of the figured walnut comes from 

 the stumps, though not all of the stumps by any means are suitable for 

 this purpose. Some of the finest figured mahogany is from the forks of 

 the tree and the figure varies with the angle of the crotch, the tightest 

 grown producing mahogany "curls," some of which resemble the spray 

 of a fountain or a cluster of plumes. 



When any figure appears on a smooth surface, as though in relief, it 

 is called mottle. There are innumerable kinds of mottle, some of which 



BALD CYPRESS 



Most of the figure is due to color varia- 

 tions. 



FIGURED BLACK WALNUT PANEL 



Always distinctive and beautifully rich 



in color. 



