﻿COTTONWOOD IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 3 



Cotton wood is so widely and irregularly distributed that an esti- 

 mate of the amount of standing* timber would be almost impossible 

 to obtain. Its commercial range is confined principally to the bot- 

 tom lands of the Mississippi River and similar situations for some 

 distance up many of its tributaries, especially the Missouri, Ohio, 

 Arkansas, St. Francis, Yazoo., and Red Rivers. Probably the largest 

 supply of valuable cottonwood timber is in the States of Arkansas, 

 Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri. It is also common in the 

 northern Mississippi Valley, especially Minnesota, Iowa^ Illinois, 

 and Indiana, but in this region it attains far less importance than 

 in the South. A large proportion of the cut reported from these 

 States probably comes from planted groves. In the remainder of its 

 range it occurs too scatteringly to warrant extensive lumbering oper- 

 ations. 



Although no estimate is available, there is every indication that 

 the supply is failing.. The output of cottonwood lumber fell off 52 

 per cent between the years 1899 and 1911. The State of Arkansas, 

 which still leads in the production of cottonwood lumber, manu- 

 factured less than one-half as much in 1911 as in 1899. In all prob- 

 ability the maximum cut of this species has long since been passed. 



CHARACTER OF THE WOOD. 



The wood, although relatively not strong,, is strong in proportion 

 to its weight. It is tough, and extremely light when well dried, a 

 cubic foot weighing about 24.25 pounds, or nearly the same as white 

 pine. Its specific gravity is 0.3889 (Sargent). The fuel value is 

 51 per cent of that of white oak, and the amount of ash is 0.96 per 

 cent of the dry weight of the wood (Sargent). The modulus of 

 rupture; which is an index of breaking strength, is 84 per cent, while 

 the modulus of elasticity, which is an index of stiffness, is 67 per cent 

 of that of white oak. 



The wood has a close, even texture, is quite porous, and only 

 moderately hard. It displays numerous although obscure medullary 

 rays. Because of its tendency to warp, it requires care in seasoning, 

 unless properly piled. The heartwood is glossy light brown in color. 

 The sapwood, which seldom is more than 2 or 3 inches thick, is creamy 

 white. When seasoned the wood is almost tasteless and odorless. 

 As a rule it is easily worked and finished, but occasionally trees seem 

 to produce a tougher fiber which tears badly in sawing and planing,* 

 producing a " brashy " or " woolly " surface. Lumber of this char- 

 acter is often termed " white " cottonwood, in distinction from the 

 yellow. 



These two kinds of wood are thought by some lumbermen to come 

 from distinct species. Woodsmen often claim that they can tell 



