82 IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES 



dressed to a fine, smooth surface, although not esteemed as 

 beautiful when finished without paint. 



Strength of Fibre. Irrespective of the direction or den- 

 sity of the grain or fibre of wood there is a peculiar fea- 

 ture in some wood which adds much to the value of trees 

 possessing it. This is termed its Strength of Fibre, and is 

 that characteristic or quality which fits the wood for the 

 manufacture of what is commercially termed " pulp," from 

 which paper, celluloid, cardboard, and many other useful 

 articles are made. Some species of trees are conspicuously 

 adapted for this and others are not. The poplars stand at 

 the head of the list for pulp for paper, and next after them 

 come the Spruces, Firs, Balsams, Hemlocks, Pines, and some 

 of the broadleaf trees, as Basswood, Yellow Poplar, and 

 some others. 



Seasoning Drying Checking Warping. These 

 features are so intimately connected with each other that 

 they need not be separately discussed. The first two terms 

 are practically synonymous and will be so used. Webster's 

 definition of seasoning is, " To prepare by drying or harden- 

 ing, or removal of natural juices ; as, to season timber." It is 

 a well-known fact that when wood is cut from a live tree it 

 is heavier than when seasoned that is, heavier than when 

 the moisture in the pores or veins has been dried out. The 

 results which arise from seasoning have much to do with the 

 value of the wood and hence become an important economic 

 feature. Unless used where continually-saturated with water, 

 all wood is more serviceable if seasoned, and the rapidity 

 with which that can be accomplished, and the freedom from 

 injury in bringing that about, play an important part when 

 we determine what trees to plant. 



As has been explained (page 66), the pores or veins 

 carry the sap from the roots to the leaves, and hence have 

 more or less moisture in them all of the time. Before sea- 

 soning there is always more moisture in the sapwood than 

 in the heartwood, and therefore wood from trees with a large 

 amount of the former is more difficult to season than the 



