334 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



In common with all the hardwood 

 bottomland species ash, cotton wood, 

 and oak its growth is very rapid. It 

 reaches a maximum height of 140 feet 

 and is commonly 30 to 40 inches in 

 diameter, while trees of five feet in diame- 

 ter are not infrequently found. Little 

 red gum has been cut in the past, and 

 at present it hardly pays to cut below 

 1 8 to 20 inches in diameter ; so that 

 this species furnishes a magnificent sup- 

 ply of full-grown timber in regions 

 where culling has removed most of the 

 larger trees of other kinds. The wood 

 is comparatively straight-grained, free 

 from knots and blemishes, and, because 

 of its abundance, cheap. It is now used 

 extensively for building timbers, floor- 

 ing, boxes and barrels, and for numer- 

 ous purposes where narrow boards can 

 be used. It has been found that wide 

 boards are very liable to warp. 



Sixty per cent of the barrels and boxes 

 manufactured in the Mississippi Valley 

 states are now made from this wood in 

 spite of the fact that its heaviness is 

 against it for this use. Large quantities 

 of gum are shipped to England, France, 

 and Germany to be manufactured into 

 furniture and interior furnishings, and 

 it has been used extensively in Europe 

 for paving blocks. It can be success- 

 fully steamed and bent and is thus 

 available for barrel staves, wagon rims,, 

 and carriage wood stock. If the tend- 

 ency of the lumber to warp and stain 

 during seasoning can be prevented, its 

 use will extend into many new fields. 

 Certain facts have lately been discov- 

 ered which show that such an extension 

 is possible if proper methods of hand- 

 ling are employed. The heart wood can 

 be air-dried without great stain or warp. 

 Sapwood, however, if air-dried directly 

 after coming from the saw, usually de- 

 velops a large percentage of sap stain, 

 which is caused in the case of most all 

 conifers and hardwoods by a fungous 

 growth which develops under certain 

 conditions of humidity and temperature 

 in the lumber yard, but it has been 

 found that lumber from logs which 

 have been allowed to remain in water 

 for six weeks stains very little. Treat- 

 ment with live steam has also been 

 found to produce very favorable results 



in the elimination of staining and pre 

 vention of warping. 



In steam kilning the timber is thor 

 oughly soaked in live steam for 48 to 71 

 hours, and is then dried by steam radia 

 tion for from 72 to 144 hours, according 

 to the condition of the timber. The 

 boards should then be air-dried for f ron 

 two to three months. Lumber above 

 one inch in thickness is air-dried only. 

 Care must be taken in piling for aii 

 drying to secure free circulation of air 

 Plenty of open space should be left be- 

 tween the boards, and the piles shoulc 

 not be over six feet wide. " Stickers ' 

 or cross-pieces of non- absorbent wooc 

 should be placed not over three feel 

 apart. For this purpose oak and the 

 heartwood of gum answer excellently, 

 Stickers of sappy or undried wood are 

 very likely to cause stain to develop 

 By following these methods the lumber 

 men are able to furnish a better grade 

 of timber, \vhich has in consequence 

 secured a firmly established place or 

 the market. 



The Bureau of Forestry is now mak 

 ing, at its timber-testing laboratory ai 

 Lafayette, Ind., extensive tests to de 

 termine more fully the value of gun 

 timber in comparison with higher-pricec 

 materials. Mechanical tests are made 

 on timber collected from various part: 

 of the country, including samples taker 

 from both mature and immature timbei 

 at different parts of the trunk. The 

 young trees contain a greater proportior 

 of sapwood than the mature trees, anc 

 show about 35 per cent greater strength 

 The strength of the wood is very uniforn 

 in the trunk between the stump and the 

 first limb. The results of the tests poim 

 to the fact that red gum timber has 

 high degree of strength as compared 

 with other species, not only in smal 

 selected sticks, but also in large joists, 

 Its freedom from knots in large sizes is 

 an advantage in this respect. A joist oi 

 red gum will carry as great a load as 

 joist of North Carolina pine. 



Comparisons have been made by the 

 Bureau between red gum and hickory tc 

 determine the ability of the former tc 

 serve as material for carriage and wagor 

 wood stock. No trouble was found in 

 making satisfactory bent piecesforbugg} 



