992 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



READY FOR SHIPMENT 



Black locust squares V/2 x V/2 in. by 12 in., 20 in., 24 in., 32 in., 36 in., 40 in., 46 in., long to be shipped 



for treenails. Keyser, West Virginia. 



to find the wood that furnishes the greatest total of 

 desirable qualities when air dry as excess of moisture 

 constitutes a defect. Quantity and availability often 

 are decisive 

 factors. 



Strength is 

 a term that is 

 often loosely 

 used to indi- 

 cate the power 

 of resistance to 

 a strain with- 

 out reference 

 to other quali- 

 ties, as weight, 

 toughness, 

 stiffness, etc. 

 Thus hickory 

 and white oak 

 are strong to 

 sustain a load, 

 but in a beam 

 may be less 

 service able 

 than longleaf 

 pine or Doug- 

 las fir because 

 the latter are 

 stiffen Pine 

 on the other 



hand makes a poor hoe handle because it is compara- 

 tively brittle; oak is better but is apt to become bowed 

 and is too heavy ; ash is best because it combines suffi- 

 cient strength with stiffness, flexibility and moderate 

 weight. An- 

 other sort of 

 strength is 

 that which re- 

 sists shock 

 and "shear" 

 the qualities 

 r e q u i red in 

 a hammer 

 handle, an ax 

 helve and a 

 wheel spoke. 

 For such use 

 no wood known 

 answers so 

 well as young, 

 (|uickly-grown 

 hickory. 



Durability as 

 d e s c r i p tive 

 of wood quali- 

 t y is even 

 more loosely 

 used than 

 "strength." 



SUGAR PINE SHAKES 

 This picture was taken in the Sequoia National Forest, California 



Most of those who deal with woods in a technical 

 way understand it to be the quality which resists decay. 

 When kept perfectly dry, or when entirely immersed, 



any kind of 

 wood lasts in- 

 definitely, but 

 if exposed to 

 warm air and 

 moisture it be- 

 haves quite 

 d i ff e r e n tly. 

 Poplar, beech, 

 maple and 

 most pines de- 

 cay so quickly 

 in contact with 

 the ground 

 that they are 

 unfit for use 

 as fenceposts, 

 telegraph 

 poles, railroad 

 ties, etc. they 

 are not dur- 

 able. Other 

 kinds, as black- 

 locust, red ce- 

 dar, black wal- 

 nut, chestnut, 

 will last for 

 many years under similar conditions. 



For many purposes the greatest value is found when 

 durability is combined with other qualities. Black 

 locust or white oak makes a good railroad tie, for 



instance, be- 

 cause it is 

 hard to resist 

 the cut of the 

 rail as well as 

 durable to 

 withstand de- 

 cay ; a bridge 

 sill must be 

 strong to car- 

 ry a load, 

 hard to en- 

 dure wear, and 

 durable to re- 

 sist decay. 



Within re- 

 cent years 

 durability has 

 lost much of 

 i t s practical 

 i m p o r t a nee 

 through the 

 d e v e lopment 

 of processes by 

 which non- 



