THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



red shining flakes of darker colour, forming a pretty figure. 

 R ngs clea in lighter and darker loops and lines. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays need lens, 

 about o - 5 mm. high. 



Type specimens from commercial sources and also authenti- 

 cated by Hough. 



No. 127. MADRONA LAUREL. Arbutus Menziesii. 



Pursh. 

 Plate IX. Fig. 81. 



Natural Order. Ericaceae. 



Alternative Names. Strawberry-tree : Madrona (49). Mad- 

 rona Madera (57). 



Sources of Supply. North America, United States, Canada 

 and Mexico. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 44 (57) to 

 55 lbs. per cu. ft. Hardness Grade 4, compare Maple. Smell 

 none when dry. Taste slightly astringent. Burns well with a 

 quiet steady flame : embers glow brightly : very little ash. So- 

 lution with water reddish, darker than the wood : with alcohol 

 afterwards, practically none. 



Grain. Very fine, even and dense. Surface bright, chiefly due 

 to the shining pores. 



Bark. Red, leathery, quite smooth. " Brownish-grey, checked 

 longitudinally and cross-wise with thin irregularly-oblong and 

 square scales" (49). " By exfoliation, reddish " (66). 



Uses, etc. Extremely tough : often badly grown with large 

 faults due to the attacks of insects. " Apt to check and warp, if 

 cut up before it is well seasoned, usually small but one has been 

 measured which was 23 feet in girth at 3 feet from the ground " 

 (49). " Charcoal for gunpowder " (100). 



Authorities. Hough (49), pp. 6, 31. Anderson (2), p. 14. 

 Macoun (66), p. 294. Kew Guide (57). Sargent (100), p. 166. 



Colour. Heart-wood reddish-brown. Sap-wood " thin, pinkish, 

 white "(49). 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Need lens, size 3 to 4 : uniform : evenly distributed : 

 a few rather larger in a single-rowed pore-ring : sometimes more 

 numerous in the Spring zone than elsewhere : inclined to waved 

 (in the Spring) or concentric (in the Autumn) lines or concave 

 loops : not very numerous, 20-50 per mm : a few subdivided ? 

 radial groups of 2, 3 or 4 pores : round : empty. 



Rays. Need lens, size 3 : irregularly distributed : much more 

 than a pore-width apart with attenuated ends : long : numerous, 



146 



