22 WOOD-USING INDUSTRIES 



T'he wood of the tulip tree and of the cucumber so closely resemble 

 each other that they are sold together on the market. Cucumber, 

 however, composes only a small proportion of the lumber, because 

 its stand compared with that of yellow poplar is small. Cucumber 

 possesses the same soft, fine, easily workable qualities that fit yellow 

 poplar to meet more uses in Virginia than any other hardwood ex- 

 cept white oak. Manufacturers in sixteen of the- twenty- four indus- 

 tries use yellow poplar. 



GUMS 



The gums of Virginia are cotton gum, water gum, and black gum. 

 They ane members of the dogwood family, and are not related to the 

 red gum. The cotton gum and water gum inhabit the wet lowlands 

 and swamps of tine Tidewater Region in company with the cypress and 

 the southern white cedar (juniper). Black gum grows in this section 

 but distant from the others and only on well-drained elevations. Un- 

 like the others black gum ranges westward and northward through 

 the Piedmont Region to the slopes of the Allegfaanies. The cotton gum 

 and w^ter gum trees grow side by side and in appearance are easily 

 identified by the thickness of the bark. Cotton gum (Nyssa aquatica) 

 has bark one inch or more in thickness, while the bark of water gum 

 (Nyssa biflora) seldom exceeds one-fourth inch. Tables I and II show 

 that only two species were reported by the Virginia manufacturers; 

 black gum and cotton gum, the former in greater quantities. Owing to 

 the confusion of common names this classification is not reliable be- 

 cause some call these trees black gum, others call them tupelo, which 

 is cotton gum, while others endeavor to separate them. In Virginia 

 the upland gum (Nyssa sylvatica) is seldom cut and delivered to the 

 manufacturers, but what is called "black gum" of the market is water 

 gum. In the wood the three species of gums so closely resemble each 

 other that they are difficult to distinguish from external appearance. 

 Cotton gum wood splits straight and fairly easily, but the wood of 

 water gum and black gum has closely interlaced fibres and is exceed- 

 ingly difficult to split. Water gum wood has a yellowish hue and is 

 darker than the wood of the black gum. Cotton gum is softer and 

 more easily worked than water gum or black gum. 



RED OAK 



The true red oak (Qitercus rnbra) reaches large proportions in 

 western and southwestern Virginia and poduces high grades of lumber. 

 Spanish oak is locally called "red oak." It is found in the hill country 

 of the Tidewater section of the State, south (and east) of Richmond. 



