willows: their growth, use, and importance. 29 



often list willow as cottonwood, so that available statistics do not 

 indicate the full production of willow lumber. 



Willow lumber is light, 1-inch lumber weighing when thoroughly 

 seasoned from 2 ; 300 to 2,500 pounds per thousand board feet. This 

 makes it as cheap to transport as yellow poplar. The wood varies 

 in color considerably. When first cut it runs from dark reddish 

 brown to blue and almost black, but when dry it is much lighter. 

 Thoroughly seasoned wood is for the most part a light reddish brown 

 with perhaps 10 per cent of it a grayish blue. Willow lumber, cut 

 from only the best trees, as is the custom now, is seldom shaky, and 

 when properly handled it checks scarcely at all. With close utiliza- 

 tion the percentage of shaky lumber would increase considerably. 

 Willow planking is satisfactory where strength is not of prime impor- 

 tance, since it does not warp, splinter, or check, and wears out very 

 slowly. It makes good barn and cell floors. The grades of willow 

 lumber are firsts and seconds, No. 1 and No. 2 common, and the 

 grading rules are similar to those used for cottonwood. 



Willow lumber of the high grades is used mostly in the North for 

 furniture drawers and backing, while the poorer grades are used 

 largely in the South for box material. As a substitute wood willow is 

 very promising and for many uses equal to basswood. In fact, for 

 many of the purposes for which willow was once used and for which 

 it has scarcely a superior, basswood, poplar, and cottonwood were 

 substituted because of their prevalence and relatively low cost. As 

 willow comes back on the market at a lower price than these it bids 

 fair to gam favor. 



A part of the willow lumber now manufactured is being used for 

 refrigerators, pianos, cabinetwork, and furniture. Here it has taken 

 the place of basswood, elm, or sap gum. As yet it has only been 

 used for interior work, but it should eventually find a place in the 

 manufacture of cheap furniture; for although it does not take a high 

 polish, it takes a very attractive dull finish and can be stained to 

 present a very creditable imitation of some of the costlier cabinet 

 woods. 



Willow is suitable for small boats and athletic goods because it may 

 be dented and bruised without splintering, and for keels, wator 

 wheels, paddles, and bungs because it is durable in water. It has 

 always been used by leather workers for lapboards, cutting boards, 

 and cutting tables, for which its lightness and spongy softness make 

 it particularly desirable. Intense heat will not warp or split willow; 

 therefore it is suitable for sleeve or ironing boards and for wheel- 

 barrow-; for carrying ore, coal, or ashes in hot furnace rooms. Toys 

 and novel! ies are now being made of it. For these, low-grade lumber 

 Cftll !><• worked up very closely and the dark color is scarcely a draw- 

 back because most, of such articles are stained or painted. 



