UTILIZATION OF BASSWOOD. 15 



Table 4 gives the number of mills in the different States reporting 

 the manufacture of basswood lumber in different years. New York, 

 Pennsylvania, Vermont, Ohio, and Indiana produce relatively small 

 amounts in proportion to the number of mills cutting basswood. 

 Wisconsin and, to a lesser degree, Michigan produce relatively large 

 amounts per mill cutting basswood. 



Table 5 shows the proportionate amounts of basswood lumber 

 manufactured by different size-classes of mills in different States in 

 1918. There has been a great reduction in the number of mills 

 sawing basswood lumber for the last few years, particularly in Ohio, 

 Indiana, and Pennsylvania, which indicates that the timber is largely 

 cut out in those States. 



Manufacture. — In sawing basswood lumber from the log, manufac- 

 turers generally try to get wide, clear stock, for which there is a 

 demand. Such stock 2\ and 3 inches in thickness is often wanted 

 for special uses. Basswood lumber that is all white brings a better 

 price than when the brown wood is mixed with it. 



Practically all basswood logs have a discolored central portion 

 (PL IV, a), and lumber manufacturers generally saw as much wide, 

 clear, white stock as possible from two sides of the log down to the 

 discolored wood. Narrower stock is then sawed from the other two 

 sides. Logs with large hollow or defective centers are sawed simi- 

 larly. Such logs will yield as much according to the log scale as 

 sound logs, because, in scaling, the central defective portion is de- 

 ducted. The sound wood in such a log is often entirely clear; and, 

 since the whiter wood is toward the outside, these logs generally 

 produce a large percentage of high-grade stock. Probably the most 

 common thicknesses of basswood lumber manufactured are 1, 2£, and 

 3 inches. 



The quantities of different grades of basswood lumber sawed from 

 logs naturally depend on the size and quality of the timber. Reports 

 from several large mills in northern Michigan and Wisconsin indicate 

 that the average proportions of different grades of basswood lumber 

 produced are about as follows : 



Grades: Percent. 



Firsts and seconds 25 



No. 1 common 30 



No. 2 common 25 



No. 3 common 20 



The principal defects found in basswood lumber are black and 

 rotten streaks and rotten knots (PI. IV, b, c, d, e). Basswood timber 

 has few knots, however, in comparison with most other hardwoods. 

 The dark, brown-colored wood near the center of the log is not val- 

 ued so highly as the light-colored wood, even though it may be per- 

 fectly sound and clear of defects (PI. IV, a, b). Discoloration also 

 often takes place in the white wood, which reduces its value. This 



