New Orleans, La., June 15, 1912.] 



THE LUMBER TRADE JOURNAL 



33 







of the sapwood. The heartwood Is usually of a 

 dirty, red color, the sapwood lighter. In small arti- 

 cles the color is attractive but it does not show very 

 well in panel work Where wide pieces are used. The 

 best utilization of alligator juniper would seem to 

 be in the manufacture of articles consisting of small 

 pieces. 



American Holly. This is the common holly of the 

 eastern and southern United States, the same that 

 yields the red berries and green leaves for Christ- 

 mas decorations. In Texas it reaches a size of ten 

 inches or over. The wood is white, and the largest 

 trunks are usually of one color from the bark to 

 the center. Local shops use holly for furniture, and 

 lathes make novelties of It. Sometimes it is worked 

 into parquet floors. Turned candle sticks and cur- 

 tain rings are among commodities made of this 

 wood in the state. 



Anacahuita. A little of this wood is used in Tex- 

 as in the Rio Grande valley for chair rounds, but it 

 has little to recommend it except convenient to 

 those who use it. The wood is brown, and rather 

 fine in appearance, but the trees are too small to be 

 valuable for general purposes. 



Anagua. This wood, 'which in color and general 

 appearance somewhat resembles maple, is usually 

 .called "Knackaway," which is evidently a careless 

 attempt to pronounce the real name. The tree 

 ranges from the upper San Marcos river to the Rio 

 Grande. It is of rapid growth, and trunks up to 

 nine inches in diameter examined in course of the 

 wood-using study in Texas, showed no heartwood. 

 The wood has a slight yellowish tinge. A little of 

 it is made into molding for interior house finish, 

 also for picture frames. It has little figure, is not 

 plentiful, its size is small, and its future importance 

 is dou'bhtful. 



Angelica Tree. This is a small tree in Texas, and 

 usually develops little or no heartwood. A six-inch 

 log at Austin showed twenty-seven annual rings. The 

 springwood, or the inner and porous part of the 

 rings, is broad and yellow, the summer wood, or 

 exterior part of the ring, is narrow and dark. The 

 wood's figure, due to the marked contrast between 

 the outer and inner portions of the rings, is strong. 

 When finished it shows a rich yellow, but somewhat 

 lighter than dwarf sumach which it resembles. It 

 is made into small shop articles, like 'button 'boxes, 

 photograph frames, pen racks, stools, ,and arms for 

 rocking chairs. 



Bitternut. This is one of the Texas species of 

 hickory not separately reported for any purpose, 

 but it is used like other hickory, and besides is 

 made into furniture, balusters, and thin strips with 

 which to fasten screens in doors. 



Black Haw. A small, scarce tree, and of slow 

 growth. A five-inch trunk that was measured had 

 fifty-four annual rings, and had not yet developed 

 any heartwood. It has little figure, and is whiter 

 than iron wood which it resembles. It takes a 

 splendid polish. Canes are made of it and small 

 articles of turnery. Its color fits it for parquetry, 

 and the wood's smoothness suggests that it might 

 make shuttles, though it is doubtful if enough of It 

 exists to make it commercially important. 



Black Jack. Black jack grows In most of the 

 eastern part of the United States, and is neglected 

 and not without cause everywhere. It is usually 

 too small, and of grain too coarse to tempt the wood 

 worker. It has some good qualities, however. A 

 trunk of fourteen inches In diameter had one and a 

 half inches of sapwood, annual rings vague, the 

 heartwood ringed and splotched with different col- 

 ored woods, but the general tone dark. The Texas 

 University collection at Austin has moldings, spin- 

 dles, and balusters that show the grain well, and 

 also broad panels made up of quarter-sawed narrow 

 strips, which exhibit the dark flecks in the wood to 

 good advantage. It has evidently not been put to 

 its 'best in furniture making or in grill and spindle 

 work. 



Blue Beech. In Texas this plain, fine-figured, 

 strong wood is used to a small extent for repairing 

 wagons, and for sledge-hammer handles. The trunk 

 is short and is usually ribbed and angular. The 

 best in Texas grows in the eastern part of the state. 

 Some know it as water beech. 



Blue Gum. It is an Australian tree and grows 

 fairly well in Cameron county and in other extreme 

 southern parts of the state; but the effect of occa- 

 sional light frosts is seen in stunted twigs. Some 

 of the trees first planted are now eighteen inches in 

 diameter and the wood has been tried for ax handles 

 and singletrees. It is pronounced satisfactory as 

 to toughness and strength, but it warps and checks 

 so persistently in seasoning that persons who have 

 experimented with it see little promise of turning it 

 to practical account. It does not grow as rapidly 

 nor does it appear as healthy in Texas as in central 

 and southern California. It is locally known as 

 eucalyptus in Texas. 



Blue Jack. This tree, often called Durand oak, 

 grows among the rolling hills west of Dallas. Wagon 

 shops use it as a repair material, and it has served 



for bridge floors, though it is too small for much, 

 use in that line. 



Blue Oak. Sawmills call this blue whistler oak 

 and cut a little of it and sell it as white oak. It is 

 made Into furniture, stairwork, and agricultural 

 implements. A measured trunk twenty-four inches 

 in diameter had sapwood one and a half inches 

 thick. 



Bluewood. Paper knives paper weights, curtain 

 rings, dominos, and card receivers are some of the 

 local uses for this wood along the Rio Grande. At 

 Brownsville it is known as Brazil wood and purple 

 haw is another of its names. Trunks are seldom 

 more than six inches in diameter, and ten feet long. 

 The wood is very hard and heavy and takes fine 

 polish. le has been locally used for dye by boiling 

 the chips; but there is difference of opinion as to 

 its value for that purpose. Some call it logwood 

 because of its similarity to the well-known dyewood 

 from Belize. 



Box Elder. Furniture makers employ some of 

 this wood in their business and call it soft maple. 

 It resembles that wood, and the name elder is mis- 

 leading. 



Bur Oak. This oak is not considered of very 

 high grade in Texas, but a little finds its way into 

 wagon repair shops. 



Cedar Elm. Cedar elm goes into the various uses 

 for which other elms are fitted. It is worked into 

 inside parts of furniture and is liked for refrigera- 

 tors 'because it whitens under repeated scrubbings 

 and is easily kept clean. Wagon makers regard it 

 a little tougher than the other elms and make wheel 

 hubs of it. The species reaches its best in the val- 

 leys of Trinity and Guadalupe rivers where it is 

 fairly abundant. 



Chalky Leucaena. This tree has leaves like the 

 acacias. It is sometimes called mimosa and is also 

 known as "tepeguaja," which in the Spanish lan- 

 guage is said to be equivalent to "hardwood." The 

 best representatives of the species are found near 

 the mouth of the Rio Grande, but the tree has been 

 reported nearly as far north as San Antonio. It 

 has been so much planted for ornament that it is 

 now not easy to determine its exact natural range. 

 It is a beautiful, finely-proportioned tree. A twelve- 

 inch trunk that was measured had one inch of yellow 

 sapwood, and the heartwood resembled mesquite but 

 was not quite so dark. The wood is very hard, solid 

 and smooth, and, judging from its appearance, It 

 might make shuttles. It is used in grill work, small 

 pieces of furniture and tool handles. Sample jew- 

 elry boxes made of it suggest the lighter shades of 

 mahogany. A sample of this wood that has been 

 several years in the State University collection at 

 Austin is badly perforated 'by some small bor- 

 ing insect, but the riddling affects the sapwood only 

 and does not penetrate the heart. 



Chinquapin. A little of this wood goes into fur- 

 niture factories where it passes as chestnut. It is 

 not a large tree anywhere in the United States, 'but 

 that in Texas is nearly at the species' best. 



Cholla. A species of cactus which assumes tree 

 form, and attains a height of perhaps ten feet in 

 western Texas, maybe a foot in diameter, is known 

 as cholla. The medullary rays decay after the stem 

 dies, leaving the other fibers intact. The trunk is 

 thus perforated, resembling carved work. Small 

 stems from the dry regions of western Texas are 

 made into canes which are very light and strong, 

 and into shoe buttoner racks. 



Cow Oak. The name of this species is given it 

 because cattle eat the acorns. It belongs to the 

 chestnut oak group, its leaves being toothed like 

 those of the chestnut. Manufacturers class the 

 wood as white oak. It is found in Texas as far 

 west as Trinity river. It is used for wagons, fur- 

 niture and stairwork, and in fact for most purposes 

 where white oak is used. 



Deciduous Holly. Eastern Texas furnishes a 

 small amount of this wood which goes to furniture 

 factories where some of it is turned for drawer 

 knobs. The wood differs little from the common 

 holly. 



Devil's Claw. An unseemly name and a mass of 

 curved thorns are calculated to repel an approach 

 to this, one of the handsomest cabinet woods of 

 Texas. At Brownsville and at other points along 

 the Rio Grande, cabinet makers use it to make 

 small pieces of furniture, novelties, and ornaments 

 of extra 'beauty. The wood is dark red, but is 

 clouded with streaks and patches of other shades 

 and tints which may be artistically combined to form 

 pleasing patterns. Sometimes the wood is grayish 

 green. So hard is the wood that those who work it 

 drill holes for nails and screws. An ordinary gim- 

 let meets poor success in boring. It is so saturated 

 with oil that it is greasy to the touch. In that re- 

 spect, it resembles junco. In Austin this wood has 

 been made into grills, combined with certain other 

 woods, and at San Antonio it makes tool handles, 

 and small turned ware. 



Though not plentiful, it is entitled to a place 

 among the commercial woods of Texas. Trunks 

 reach a size above one foot in diameter. The an- 



nual rings of a log eleven inches in diameter, meas- 

 ured in the course of this study, was thirty-one 

 years old, with half-inch of sapwood. The wood is 

 inclined to be contorted, due to the presence of pits 

 and cavities which slowly close as the tree ad- 

 vances in age. These add to rather than detract 

 from the wood's beauty. The tree is sometimes 

 called "unadegato," which name is also applied to 

 the Texas cat's claw, a different but closely related 

 species, and confusion occasionally results. Both 

 are acacias. The devil's claw is known also as 

 ramshorn. 



Downy Basswood. The difference between this 

 species and the common basswood is too slight to 

 be easily recognized in the wood. Both are used for 

 the same purposes. 



Drooping Juniper. This scarce and graceful ever- 

 green grows among the Chisos Mountains of west- 

 ern Texas. It can never be of much commercial 

 importance. The wood has been made into candle 

 sticks, pin boxes, picture molding, and small square 

 boxes. Its grain and color resemble alligator juni- 

 per. It has been planted for ornament in this coun- 

 try, Europe and North Africa. 



Dwarf Sumach. The name applied to this wood 

 is unfortunate. It is one of the largest of the Texas 

 sumachs, and trunks of sufficient size for turned 

 articles are reported. It is richly striped with yel- 

 low and black. Balls turned of it, seven inches in 

 diameter, are used for newel-post ornaments and 

 smaller balls are made for use in darning stock- 

 ings. Cups are turned on the lathe, and the bright 

 stripes in the wood give the wares a striking ap- 

 pearance. A measured trunk ten inches in diam- 

 eter was forty-seven years old. 



Emory Oak. Not much can be said for this wood 

 from the standpoint of use. Balusters and mold- 

 ings made of it are to be seen in the university col- 

 lection at Austin, and they present a rather poor 

 appearance. The tree belongs among the moun- 

 tains of western Texas where Indians and Mexicans 

 eat the acorns. A measured trunk thirteen inches 

 in diameter showed very little sap. The wood was 

 coarse, very dark, with but little figure, and with 

 numerous black knots. 



Flowering Dogwood. Dogwood is one of the best 

 materials in this country for shuttles, but none was 

 reported cut for that purpose in Texas, although it 

 there attains size proper for shuttles. Sticks seven 

 inches through or larger are found and with little 

 or no heartwood. It has been tried for small turned 

 articles, such as small rollers. It is very hard and 

 wears well. Some use has been made of it for 

 rounds and other small parts of chairs, where 

 strength is a desirable property. Small wedges used 

 in stone quarries are made of it. The wood is lack- 

 ing in figure and there is nothing attractive in its 

 dull white color. It polishes smoothly and is valua- 

 ble as cogs in small wheels. 



Fremont Cottonwood. This species does not com- 

 pare favorably with the common cottonwood in 

 Texas. It is usually smaller where it occurs among 

 the mountains of the western part of the state. A 

 trunk fifteen inches in diameter was all sapwood 

 as cottonwoods usually are and the annual rings 

 scarcely visible. Rude clumsy carts are made of it 

 by Mexicans, and the amount of service they stand 

 is proof that the wood is tough. A little of it finds 

 its way into towns and is made into furniture and 

 sideboards for wagon beds. 



Frijolito. Some call this the coral bean from its 

 red seeds which hang in knotted pods. The beans 

 contain a narcotic poison. The wood is yellow, and 

 handsome canes have been made of it. In the ab- 

 sence of something 'better, it is used for small tool 

 handles in southwestern Texas. 



Gambel Oak. This species is plentiful on the 

 high mountains of western Texas and along nearly 

 the whole course of the Pecos river, but except a 

 little wagon-repair material, it was not found in 

 use for anything in course of the study of wood uses 

 in the state. The Texas university at Austin has 

 balusters, spindles, and small panels of this wood 

 in the collection. 



Green Ash. In the south of Texas green ash is 

 a repair material for vehicles, and is used for spokes, 

 felloes, 'hubs and poles. Factories employ it for fur- 

 niture and stairwork, but call it white ash. It is 

 considered more brittle than white ash. 



Honey Locust. No manufacturer reported the use 

 of honey locust, but it occasionally goes to furniture 

 shops and appears to a small extent in general mill- 

 work. The medullary rays show in broad 'bands, 

 and the wood is quarter-sawed to advantage. Its 

 general tone is dark but with light flecks and 

 streaks. When made into furniture it bears some 

 resemblance to sycamore, but is not quite as coarse 

 in texture. Stair balusters are handsome, the flecks 

 adding much to the wood's appearance. Picture 

 molding shows the grain well, while large stair 

 posts are satisfactory from the artistic standpoint. 

 A tree with forty-two annual rings was thirty inches 

 in diameter. 



Hornbeam. Hornbeam has little figure except that 

 due to prominent medullary rays. The color is 



