102 



ELEMENTARY WOODWORKING 



The leaves of the sweet gum, or liquid aniber — so 

 called from the amber-colored gam the tree gives out — 

 remind one of the starfish, being five-fingered and decid- 

 edly different from any leaf in the forest. The tree 

 grows to a height of one hundred and fifty feet, and its 

 wood is a handsome brown color with fine and intricate 



markings. It warps badly, 

 but is valued for wood turn- 

 iua; on account of its soft- 

 ness and even grain. 



54. Tulip. The liunber 

 furnished by the tulip tree, 

 commonly called ivliite- 

 uiood, is less liable to warp 

 than gum wood, and is some- 

 what harder. Just why it 

 should be called whitewood 

 is not clear, as it is much 

 darker than white pine and 

 of a greenish-yellow color. 

 The leaf of the tulip tree is very peculiar, having only 

 four points, without any small teeth, and with an outhne 

 so odd that one often wonders if nature did not use a 

 pair of scissors in cutting it out. 



Each leaf stands -out aggressively on a long stem. 

 The glory of the tree — which gives it its name — is 



Fig. 112. Sweet Gum, or Liquid 

 Amber 



