﻿COTTONWOOD IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 5 



of lumber. Cottonwood is used but is not popular for flooring, parti- 

 tion, siding, and ceiling. When properly stained it makes a remark- 

 ably attractive wainscoting, door panel, balustrade, etc. When ex- 

 posed to weather as siding it warps and decays unless painted. Cot- 

 tonwood is extensively used for barn framing and roof boards, and 

 is employed to some extent in freight cars and as bridge planking. 

 Because of its clean, white, uniform surface, it is excellent for pyrog- 

 raphy. It is used extensively by the manufacturers of slack cooper- 

 age for staves and heading. 



Cottonwood has for some time been used in the manufacture of 

 pulp. It is reduced usually by either the soda or the mechanical 

 process, but also yields well to the sulphite method. Experiments 

 by the Forest Service show that cottonwood makes a pulp almost 

 identical in character with that from aspen, which is used more than 

 any other wood for the production of soda pulp. At the present 

 time cottonwood is used extensively on the Pacific coast for the 

 production of " news " paper. Cottonwood ground pulp has a com- 

 paratively short fiber and must usually be mixed with about 60 per 

 cent of long-fibered pulp, such as that of spruce, in order to make 

 finished paper. The pulp produced by the soda and sulphite processes 

 is used to some extent in the manufacture of book and magazine 

 paper. 



Cottonwood has also been used considerably for excelsior, for 

 which it is highly prized. Although statistics are not available to 

 show the quantity of fuel cut from this timber, it is undoubtedly 

 large. 



PRESERVATIVE TREATMENT. 



One serious objection to cottonwood is its rapid decay when ex- 

 posed to the weather or when in contact with the soil. To make the 

 wood more durable, preservative treatment will in many cases be 

 necessary. Because of its open, porous texture, cottonwood takes 

 preservatives readily, the treatment requiring comparatively small 

 expense. 



Treated cottonwood fence posts have given excellent service. It 

 is probable, therefore, that cottonwood can be grown to post size 

 and the posts creosoted at less expense than much more durable 

 species of slower growth which require no treatment, Creosoting 

 tanks of the type described in Farmers' Bulletin 387, " The Preserva- 

 tive Treatment of Farm Timbers," can be easily constructed and 

 will prove thoroughly effective in treating stakes, posts, or small 

 poles for farm use. 



Although tests are being made with treated cottonwood railroad 

 ties, it seems doubtful if they will prove sufficiently strong for use 

 under heavy traffic. 



