THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



Westermeier (129), p. 24. Boppe (11), p. 67. Hartig (42) 

 Sehwartz (106), p. 479, pi. 1. De Mornay (70), p. 48. Laslett 

 (60), p. 149. Holtzapffel (48), p. 73. Stevenson (113), p. 41. 

 Mathieu (69), p. 314. Petsche (92), p. 117. Wiesner (130 and 



Usually confused with Fagus ferruginea, Maple or Sycamore. 



Colour. Reddish-white. A sap-wood tree. " Heart-wood 

 in extremely old trees : only becomes reddish on exposure " (69). 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section :— 



Pores. Need lens, size 5, fine, varying somewhat, decreasing 

 gradually to the Autumn wood : uniformly scattered, rather more 

 numerous in the Spring wood : numerous, 60-130 per sq. mm. : 

 single or in groups of 2-5. 



Rays. Prominent, size 2-3, very variable and irregularly 

 spaced : the larger rarely less than 1 mm. apart and sometimes 

 as much as 3 : quite straight : short, bold, shining : abruptly 

 tapering both ends, the thin ends continuing indefinitely : the 

 thin ends 12-15 per mm., avoiding the pores in the Spring pore- 

 ring : brown : swelled at the junction with the ring-boundaries : 

 denser than the ground- tissue. Wiesner (130) says there are three 

 kinds of rays in this wood, but they are all the same except as 

 regards the number of rows of cells, which are not constant, 

 and vary in different portions of the same ray. 



Rings. Clear, the boundary a line of contrast : contour convex 

 between the thicker rays. 



Soft-tissue. A few isolated cells here and there. 



Pith. Reddish : three to five-cornered : about 1 mm. thick : 

 hard. 



Radial Section. Pores need lens : minute shining lines. Rays 

 prominent, bright yellowish or reddish flakes. Rings faint, but 

 sharp fines of contrast. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays appear as 

 small brown, spindle-shaped lines to about 5 mm. high, pro- 

 minent through their numbers and darker colour : their outer 

 ends project into the bark. The rings are merely vague zones. 



Type specimens f rom commercial sources and from trees known, 

 before felling. 



No. 203. RED BIRCH. (New Zealand) Fagus 

 fusca. Hook. 



Plate XV. Fig. 129. 

 Natural Order. Cupuliferae. 



Alternative Names. Tooth-leaved Beech : Tawhai raunui (91). 

 Towai (in). Birch (A.G.). Hutu Tawhai (12). 

 Source of Supply. New Zealand only. 



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