AMERICAN FOREST TREES 483 



them far, and they drop in heaps beneath the branches. In color they 

 resemble owl feathers, and the suggestion that comes to one's mind, 

 who happens to pass under a cucumber tree the morning following the 

 first frost, is that during the night some prowler picked a roost of owls 

 and scattered the feathers on the ground. 



The range of cucumber extends from western New York to Ala- 

 bama, following the Appalachian mountains; and westward to Illinois 

 and Mississippi, appearing west of the Mississippi river in Arkansas. It 

 occurs on low rocky slopes, the banks of mountain streams, and on rich 

 bottom land. It is of largest size and is most abundant in the narrow 

 valleys in eastern Tennessee and the western parts of the Carolinas. 

 The tree is from two to four feet in diameter, and sixty to ninety feet 

 high. The trunk is of good form for sawlogs. Among its local names 

 are pointed-leaf magnolia, black lin, magnolia, and mountain magnolia. 



The wood of cucumber resembles that of yellow poplar in appear- 

 ance and in physical properties, except that it is ten per cent heavier 

 than poplar. It usually passes for that wood at sawmill and factory. 

 The Federal census credits it with less than a million feet a year as lum- 

 ber. That is much too small. It is valuable and finds ready sale. 

 Manufacturers of wooden pumps regard it as the best material for the 

 bored logs. It is worked into interior finish for houses, flooring for cars, 

 interior parts of furniture, woodenware, boxes and crates, slack cooper- 

 age, including veneer barrels. 



The tree is planted for ornament in the northern states and Europe. 

 The chief value lies in its large, green leaves and symmetrical crown. 

 The red fruit adds to the tree's attractiveness late in summer. 



LARGELEAF UMBRELLA (Magnolia macrophylla) is valuable chiefly as a sort of 

 ornamental curiosity, on account of its enormous leaves and flowers. The leaf is 

 from twenty to thirty inches long and ten to twelve wide. It drops in autumn 

 before its green color has undergone much change. The leaves lack toughness, and 

 the wind whips them into strings long before the summer is ended. Thus what 

 otherwise would be highly ornamental becomes somewhat unsightly. When well 

 protected from wind by surrounding objects, the leaves fare better and last longer. 

 The white, fragrant flowers are likewise remarkable on account of size. They are 

 cup-shaped and some of them are almost a foot across. They pay a penalty no less 

 severe than the leaves pay, on account of large size, and are liable to be thumped and 

 bruised by swinging leaves and branches. 



The large-leaf umbrella is a tree of the southern Appalachian mountains al- 

 though its range extends southwest to Louisiana, and northward from there to Ar- 

 kansas. It is at its best in deep rich soil of sheltered valleys, occurring in isolated 

 groups, but never in pure forests. It is known as large-leaved cucumber tree, great- 

 leaved magnolia, large-leaved umbrella tree, and long-leaved magnolia. The fruit is 

 nearly a sphere, from two to three inches in diameter, and bright rose color when 

 fully ripe. The seeds are two-thirds of an inch long. The smooth, light gray bark is 

 usually less than a quarter of an inch thick. Large trees are forty or fifty feet high 



