PREFACE 



THE material on which this volume is based, appeared in 

 Hardwood Record, Chicago, in a series of articles beginning in 

 1905 and ending in 1913, and descriptive of the forest trees of this 

 country. More than one hundred leading species were included in the 

 series. They constitute the principal sources of lumber for the United 

 States. The present volume includes all the species described in the 

 series of articles, with a large number of less important trees added. 

 Every region of the country is represented ; no valuable tree is omitted, 

 and the lists and descriptions are as complete as they can be made in 

 the limited space of a single volume. The purpose held steadily in 

 view has been to make the work practical, simple, plain, and to the 

 point. Trees as they grow in the forest, and wood as it appears at 

 the mill and factory, are described and discussed. Photographs and 

 drawings of trunk and foliage are made to tell as much of the 

 story as possible. The pictures used as illustrations are nearly 

 all from photographs made specially for that purpose. They are a 

 valuable contribution to tree knowledge, because they show forest 

 forms and conditions, and are as true to nature as the camera can make 

 them. Statistics are not given a place in these pages, for it is no part 

 of the plan to show the product and the output of the country's mills 

 and forests, but rather to describe the source of those products, the 

 trees themselves. However, suggestions for utilization are offered, and 

 the fitness of the various woods for many uses is particularly indicated. 

 The prominent physical properties are described in language as free as 

 possible from technical terms, and yet with painstaking accuracy and 

 clearness. Descriptions intended to aid in identification of trees are 

 given; but simplicity and clearness are held constantly in view, and 

 brevity is carefully studied. The different names of commercial trees 

 in the various localities where they are known, either as standing timber 

 or as lumber in the yard and factory, are included in the descriptions as 

 an assistance in identification. The natural range of the forest trees, 

 and the regions where they abound in commercial quantities, are outlined 

 according to the latest and best authorities. Estimates of present and 

 future supply are offered, where such exist that seem to be authoritative. 

 The trees are given the common and the botanical names recognized 

 as official by the United States Forest Service. This lessens misunder- 

 standing and confusion in the discussion of species whose common 

 names are not the same in different regions, and whose botanical names 



