UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 1007 £_« 



Contribution from the Forest Service 

 WILLIAM B. GREELEY, Fcrester. 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



June 5, 1922 



UTILIZATION OF BASSWOOD 



By Warren D. Brush, Scientific Assistant. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



Properties of the wood 2 



Supply 5 



Annual drain on the supply 6 



The future of bass wood timber 8 



Utilization by industries 8 



Markets 52 



Summary 56 



Appendix: Classified list of uses reported for 



basswood by factories 58 



INTRODUCTION. 



Basswood is one of the important commercial timbers of the 

 United States. Nineteen other woods are manufactured into lumber 

 in larger quantities, and factories using lumber for the manufacture 

 of various wooden products consume larger quantities of about 12 

 other woods, including yellow poplar and white pine, which are often 

 used for the same general class of products as basswood and are 

 frequently substituted for it. 



Basswood is valued mainly for its white color, light weight, and 

 good working qualities. It is well adapted for certain special uses 

 for which other woods do not serve as well, and, because of the 

 comparatively small supply now available, it is greatly in demand 

 for these purposes. Basswood is valued highly for products made of 

 wood in the natural state, particularly where a clean, attractive 

 appearance and light weight are essential. Boxes and woodenware 

 used for holding food are the main products. 



Basswood lumber is manufactured from several species, but mainly 

 from the species Tilia americana, which grows over nearly all of the 

 eastern part of the United States. Other common names for this 

 tree are linden, linn, bass, limetree, whitewood, and beetree. The 

 species Tilia heterophylla , which is most commonly called white bass- 

 wood and is found mainly in the Allegheny Mountain region, also 



64281°— 22— Bull. 1007 1 



