AMERICAN FOREST TREES 701 



green, brown, black, yellow and of mixed colors, and clouded effects, all 

 in the same block. Small pieces of furniture, like bureau cabinets, 

 present attractive combinations of colors. The wood is of such exceed- 

 ing hardness that it turns, breaks, or batters the carpenter's tools. 

 Candlesticks, egg cups, goblets, vases, checker pieces, dominos, boxes, 

 trays, canes, paper knives, and souvenirs are manufactured in a small 

 way. Trees attain a height of thirty feet and a diameter of two or 

 more. The compound leaves adhere to the branches until those of the 

 following season appear. The fruit is an orange-colored pod three- 

 fourths of an inch long. 



PRICKLY ASH (Xanthoxylum clava-herculis). Some know this 

 species as toothache tree, tear-blanket, sting-tongue, and Hercules' club. 

 The wood shows little difference in color between heartwood and sap, and 

 bears some resemblance to buckeye. It takes good polish and some of 

 it looks like birdseye maple, but the figure does not seem to be due to 

 adventitious buds. It has been made into picture frames and looks 

 well. It is a rapid grower, and since its color fits it for the stencil, it 

 might be worthy of consideration for box material. Trees reach a height 

 of twenty-five or thirty feet, and a diameter of a foot or more. Its 

 range extends from Virginia to Texas. Satinwood (Xanthoxylum 

 cribrosum) is of the same genus, but it does not grow north of Florida 

 where it is sometimes called yellow-wood. Mature trees are a foot or 

 more in diameter and twenty-five or thirty-five feet high; wood heavy, 

 exceedingly hard and brittle, but not strong; color light orange. It has 

 some use as furniture material, and for certain classes of handles which 

 need not be strong. Wild lime (Xanthoxylum fagard) is a similar tree, 

 growing in both Florida and Texas, but it is of small size. Hoptree 

 (Ptelea trifoliata) is another member of the family. Its fruit is some- 

 times substituted for hops for brewing beer. It is known also as wafer 

 ash, wahoo, and quinine tree; the last name being due to its bitter bark. 

 It grows from Canada to Florida, and west to New Mexico, and seldom 

 exceeds twenty feet in height. Baretta (Helietia panrifolia) which 

 occurs as a small tree in southern Texas, is a near relative. Torchwood 

 (Amyris maritima), so named because of its fine properties as fuel, 

 grows in southern Florida, sometimes reaching a height of forty feet and 

 a diameter of one. Canotia (Canotia holacantlia) is a small, scarce tree 

 of Arizona and California and has fine-grained, rich brown wood. 



NANNYBERRY (Viburnum prunifolium), known as black haw, sloe, 

 sheepberry, and stagbush, grows from Connecticut to Oklahoma and is 

 usually a shrub which springs up along highways and hedges, but it 

 sometimes reaches a height of twenty feet and a diameter of eight inches. 

 It is valuable in some localities in the manufacture of canes and um- 



