*"In Arkansas, in the hilly and moun- 

 tainous regions on both sides of the Ar- 

 kansas River are over 19,000 square miles 

 in extent of short leaf pine which forms a 

 large part of the tree covering of the 

 siliceous, rocky soil and frequently ex- 

 tensive forests on the wide table lands. 

 On the uplands of yellow loam south of 

 the hills (the exact location of the Bureau 

 mills), the tree predominates, especially 

 on the low ridge of gravel and loam." 

 Thus it is established that the Arkansas 

 Short Leaf is virtually a Simon Pure 

 species, for which reason, the Arkansas 

 tree amid salubrious and favorable en- 

 vironment, unaffected by parasite or en- 

 croaching growths of other species, at- 

 tains perfection. 



The same report continues regarding 

 short leaf as a whole: "Freer from resin- 

 ous matter, softer, more easily worked 

 . . . the lumber of short leaf pine is 

 often preferred by the cabinet maker and 

 house carpenter. It is principally used for 

 lighter frame work in buildings, for 

 weather boarding, floorings, ceiling. . . 



. casings for windows and doors and 

 for frames and sash of all kinds." 



"The sapwood is clearly defined, being 

 quite broad and often in very old trees, 

 forms fully one-half the total volume of 

 the trunk. In thirteen trees 100 to 150 

 years old, the average width of sapwood 

 was found to be about 4 inches, while often 

 in trees over 150 years old, its average 

 width was 3 inches. In the former case, 

 the sapwood estimated 65% to 70% of 

 the volume of the logs. In the latter, 

 50% to 55%, while in a set of trees 50 to 

 100 years old, it formed fully 80% of all 

 the wood. The change from sapwood to 

 heart wood begins when the tree is about 

 25 to 30 years old and is retarded more 

 and more with age, so that in old trees, as 

 many as 80 or even 100 rings are counted 

 in the sapwood while in young and thrifty 

 trees, not more than 30 to 40 occur. 



"As in other pines, the butt is 15% to 

 20% heavier than the top and the wood 

 of the inner 40 to 50 rings excels in weight 

 arid strength the wood of the outer part of 

 old logs." 



Referring to the foregoing paragraph, 

 it is from the heavier butt logs that floor- 

 ing stock is cut in order to take advantage 

 of the more dense growth which in the 



Division of Forestry Bulletin No. 13 revised edition. 



Arkansas Soft Pine 



finished product will stand up under hard 

 wear. Heart face, edge grain, Arkansas 

 Soft Pine flooring is practically indestruct- 

 ible. It is made from the same class of 

 stock as was used for ship decking in the 

 prime days of America's Merchant Ma- 

 rines by the shipbuilders along the South- 

 eastern coast of the United States. 



CHARACTER OF FINISH STOCK 



It is from the thick, clear sapwood with 

 its fine, lustrous texture and virtual ab- 

 sence of resinous oils that the highest 

 grade of interior finish is manufactured 

 and it is because of the large percentage 

 of this clear material peculiar to South 

 Central Arkansas timber that Arkansas 

 Soft Pine attains its maximum of value, 

 merit and beauty when employed as in- 

 terior trim. 



Owing to the physical characteristics 

 already enumerated, combined with well 

 balanced absorbing qualities due to the 

 absence of pitch interior trim of this 

 wood will take stains and enamels with 

 thoroughly satisfying results. A wide 

 choice of figure is possible, due to the 

 variety of grain, and by selection, certain 

 patterns of bold or conservative figure 

 can be assembled for the complete finish- 

 ing of individual rooms. Patterns which 

 resemble the more rare and costly woods 

 can be thus chosen and with appropriate 

 color treatment be made to supply a rich 

 woodwork at moderate cost. When stains 

 or enamels are applied, the first coat of 

 stain or lead and oil is absorbed to a proper 

 degree of penetration. 



INDIVIDUAL TREATMENT 



Contrary to the necessary shellacing or 

 filling of certain pine, which is required to 

 first neutralize the rosin or inherent oily 

 qualities, the stain or flat white coats are 

 applied directly to the raw wood of Ar- 

 kansas Soft Pine first. Thus the stain 

 or white lead is evenly absorbed and a 

 perfectly smooth base upon which to 

 build up the satin-like surface is estab- 

 lished. It is when stains or the flat white 

 must work their way through a priming 

 coat of shellac or fitter that streaky, 

 blotchy results are experienced, to say 

 nothing of raised grain. In using Arkan- 

 sas Soft Pine, however, this contingency 

 is definitely avoided. 



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