492 FOREST RESOURCES OF WEST VIRGINIA. 



Wild Cherry {Cerasus serotina). From 40 to 70 feet high and 2 to 6 and 7 feet in 

 diameter; not very abundant nor of largest size except on the table-lauds imme- 

 diately below tbo AUegbany summits ; wood tine-grained and valuable. 



Hard or Sugar Maple {Acer saccharinum). On rich ground, 80 feet bigh; abundant 

 all over the State, especially in tbo mountainous counties, where iu several sec- 

 tions it constitutes half of the timber. 



Black Maple (A. nigrum). Foliage daiker and wood coarser than the preceding. 



SwKKT Gum (Liquidambar Styracijlua). A tall, slender tree, not often very straight, 

 but with twisty wood that canuot be split ; used for mill-work and carriage-hubs, 

 and resists fire longer than any timber in the country. 



Sour or Black Gum (J^^yssa imdliflora). From 50 to 60 feet high; on bottom-land; 

 wood tough and twisted as the preceding. 



Birch (Betula). The white, red, and sweet or cherry birch are represented iu various 

 parts, as on Elk River and tributaries, and on table-lands, where it grows 40 to 70 

 feet in height. 



Alder {Alnus serrulata). From 10 to 15 feet high ; along river-banks. 



Water Beech {Carpimus Amei-icana). From 18 to 20 feet high, rough, intricate 

 branches ; wood tough, but not used. 



Ironwood (Osfrya Firginica). From 30 to 40 feet high ; wood tougber than hickory, 

 and unsurpassed as a lever. 



ASFEN {Pojmlus tremuloides). Rare; not properly identified in West Virginia ; grows 

 50 to GO feet high in the central counties. 

 In a chapter on forest trees, shrubs, and medicinal plants, in the " Beeourcea of Wegt 



Virginia," ' the following additional species are mentioned as growing in this State : 



Black Ash (Fraxinus samiueifolia). Grows 70 to 80 feet high, and 2 to 2i feet in 

 diameter. 



Blue Ash, (F. quadrangulata). Found mainly in Tennessee and Southern Ohio. 



Green Ash {F. viridis). Usually grows 25 to 30 feet high, and 4 to 5 inches in diameter. 

 Found most abundantly on the banks of the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. 



Sweet Buckeye (JEsculus fiava). Grows 50 to 60 feet high, and is 2 to 3 feet in 

 diameter. 



Coffee Tree {Gymnocladus Canadensis). Sometimes 50 to 60 feet bigh, and 1 to 2 feet 

 in diameter, often clear of branches for 30 feet or more. 



Cottonwood (Populus htttrophylla). Not very abundant in this State. 



Dogwood {Comics florida). Rather a shrub than a tree; sometimes, however, growing 

 30 to 35 feet bigh. 



Box Elder {Negundo aceroides). On bottom-lands along rivers, where the soil is deep, 

 moist, and fertile, with locust, wild cherry, and coft'ee-tree timber. It is not long- 

 lived, and used only for fuel. The heart-wood of old trees would afford a hand- 

 some cabinet-wood. 



Red or Slippery Elm ( Ulmus fulva). Widely diff"u8ed, but not abundant. 



Wahoo ( U. alata). A small tree, not over 80 feet high, and 9 or 10 inches in diameter ; 

 usually on river-banks. 



Fir {Abies Fraseri). On the highest points of the Alleghanics, in Pocahontas, Pendle- 

 ton, and Eastern Randolph. 



Hackberry {Celtis occidentalis). Sometimes 80 feet high, with a trunk 18 to 20 inches. 

 It prefers a cool, shady situation, aud a deep, fertile soil, on the borders of rivers, 

 and among other trees. 



Silver Maple {Acer dasycarpum). Grows 30 to 50 feet high, with a diameter of 2 to 4 

 feet and more. It is found iu a sandy loam on the banks of the limpid rivers, with 

 a gravelly bed, and is rare iu miry, black soils. 



Red Maple {A. rubrum). Grows 50 to (50 feet, and flourishes in the grounds that some- 

 times overflow, but west of the AUeghanies on high grounds, but of smaller growth. 



Red Mulberry {Morus rubra). Grows 60 to 70 feet, with a diameter of 2 feet. 



SASSAFitAS {Sassafras officinale). Often grows 70 to 80 feet high, with a diameter of 3 

 feet. 



SouRWOOD {Oxydendrum arioreum). Grows 15 to 40 feet high, and sometimes 2 to 2^ 

 feet in diameter. It has a large proportion of sap-wood. It is not abundaut, and 

 grows in rich woods, along the AUeghanies. 



The exi)ortatiou of logs, ship-timber, staves, barrels, and lumber from 

 West Virginia was computed, iu 1870, at $2,500,000 in value annually. 



Of the 10,040,000 acres in the State, about 14,000,000 were unim- 

 proved, and about 9,000,000 or 10,000,000 in native forest. Reliable 

 statistics are not obtained concerning the amount of forest within 

 the reach of "raftable" streams. Single logs may be floated nearly 



1 A centennial publication by M. F. Maury and Wm. M. Fontaine, p. 430. The chap- 

 ters on forests and timber are hj Professor Fontaine. 



