836 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



By courtesy The Manual Arts Press 



YELLOW POPLAR BOARDS 



Tangential or bastard cut section 

 of yellow poplar, showing an- 

 nual growth rings as wavy 

 lines, referred to commercially 

 as grain. 



Radial or quarter sawed section 

 of yellow poplar, showing pith 

 rays (streaks and flecks running 

 across board). Dark portion is 

 heartwood and light portion 

 sapwood. 



in that State in 1907 was 205,671,000 feet, or about 11 

 per cent of the stand. In that year the whole country's 

 cut of yellow poplar was 862,8-19,000 feet. If the same 

 ratio of cut to stumpage applies, as in Kentucky, the yel- 

 low poplar stand in the United States at the close of 1907 

 was a little less than eight billion feet. 



What white pine has been in the softwood lumber in- 

 dustry, yellow poplar has been among the hardwoods. 

 While it was plentiful it was used to the exclusion of 

 many others. During the time when both white pine and 

 yellow poplar were plentiful they came into direct com- 

 petition, and the pine crowded poplar out of some lines. 

 But the former rose in price first, and poplar recovered 

 its lost ground and held it until cheaper woods took its 

 place as a common lumber. 



In regions where yellow fwplar grew it was early put 

 to such uses as the first settlers could find for it. They 

 made canoes of it almost exclusively, and the dugout 

 played an important part in frontier development. Trav- 

 elers utilized it upon 

 long and short 



Properties of Wood 



Light, soft, weak, 

 brittle, very close, 

 straight-grained, compact, 

 easily worked, medullary 

 rays numerous, not 

 prominent: color light 

 yellow or brown, 

 thin sapwood, nearly 

 white. 



jour- 

 neys. It was the pio- 

 neer's ferryboat. As 

 a means of extending 

 settlements and facili- 

 tating communication, 

 it was a close second 

 to the pack-horse. It 

 went out of use gradu- 

 ally as roads were 



made and bridges built, but to this day the canoe is oc- 

 casionally seen on the rivers where it has done service 

 since white men settled the country, and where it was 

 the Indian's water-craft long before. 



Yellow poplar was peculiarly fitted for canoes. Its 

 trunk was long, sound and shapely; the wood light and 

 easily worked. It was strong enough to stand the hard 

 knocks of rocky rivers; sufficiently durable to give from 

 ten to thirty years' service, barring accidents. The cost 

 in labor of making a canoe was from $2 to $5. A safe 

 load was from 600 to 1,000 pounds, but records exist of 

 canoes large enough to carry twenty men. 



The early settlers used yellow poplar for troughs of 

 various kinds and sizes. In that portion of its range 

 where maple sugar was made, its wood was hewed into 



By courtesy The Manual Arts Frcss 



MAGNIFIED CROSS-SECTION OF YELLOW POPLAR 

 This shows the annual rings, the fine dark lines marking the limit of 

 the annual growth. There is no change in structure by warping or 

 shrinking in wood which has been properly dried. 



troughs of 4 to 6 gallons capacity, to catch the sap that 



dripped from the maples. Trough makers preferred 



trees 12 to 18 inches in diameter for the purpose, but 



they made large troughs, sometimes of 15 barrels 



capacity, in which to store the maple sap after it was 



hauled to the camp to be boiled. Poplar served for 



other farm troughs, including those for watering stock, 



storing meat, grain, soap, and other domestic products, 



and for mangers and 



feeding troughs. The 



same wood served for 



trays, dishes and bowls 



and was fitted for that 



use, because the wood 



is odorless, tasteless 



and will not stain or 



spoil articles of food 



brought in contact 



with it. 



