ECONOMIC WOODS OF THE UNITED STATES 69 



TASTE 



Wood substance itself, being insoluble in water or weak 

 alkaline solutions, is necessarily tasteless. The characteristic 

 taste of certain woods is due then to soluble substances deposited 

 in the cell lumina or infiltrated into the cell walls. In any wood 

 the most pronounced flavor is obtained from the sapwood; it 

 is also more pronounced in green material than in dry. This is 

 probably due to the fact that the substances giving wood its 

 flavor were in solution or soluble form in the living sapwood. 

 When submerged in water they may be leached out, and when 

 exposed to air, oxidized. 



Taste is occasionally helpful in identif3ring woods, though, 

 like odor, it cannot be described with accuracy. The wood of 

 Lihocedrus decurrens has a very spicy flavor; that of Pinus palus^ 

 tris terebinthic ; that of Chammcyparis lawsoniana spicy-resinous; 

 that of Sassafras rather spicy. The wood of Castanea has no 

 special flavor, but on account of the tannin in it, has an astringent 

 effect on the mouth. 



LIST OF GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF WOODS 



BoTJLGBE, G. S.: Wood (2d edition, London, 1908), pp. 41-54. 



Brandis, D.: Forest Flora of North- West and Central India, 

 Preface, p. xxx. 



See also Gamble's Manual of Indian Timbers, Introduction, 

 p. xviii. 



DeBaey, a. : Comparative Anatomy of the Vegetative Organs of 

 the Phanerogams and Ferns (English edition, Oxford, 1884), pp. 

 495^96. (Classification condensed from Sanio.) 



FoxwoRTHY, Fred W. : Key to Philippine Commercial Woods, 

 The Philippine Journal of Science, C. Botany, Vol. II, No. 5, 

 Oct. 1907, pp. 364-369. 



Hanausbk, T. F. : The Microscopy of Technical Products (English 

 edition. New York, 1907), pp. 211-243. 



Hartig, R.: Die Unterscheidungsmarkmale der wichtigeren in 

 Deutschland wachsenden Holzer, Munich, 1883. 

 See Gamble's Manual of Indian Timbers, Intr., p. xvii. 



Hartig, Th.: Anatomie und Physiologic der Hojzpflanzen (Ber- 

 Hn, 1878), pp. 177-179. 



