FOREST UTILIZATION 



Medullary 

 Rays. 



Scarcely 

 visible. 



large pores, or else "diffuse porous," if the ducts are 

 evenly distributed over the entire ring. Sapwood 

 and heartwood are merely distinguished by a differ- 

 ence of color, caused by incrustations of pigments, 

 lignin, tannin etc., in the walls of rings formed a 

 number of years before. The number of years elaps- 

 ing before incrustation takes place is small in catalpa, 

 chestnut, locust; and larger in yellow poplar, white 

 oak, walnut where it is about thirty or forty years 

 old. Beech, maple, basswood etc. do not form any 

 heartwood. 



GENBEIO STRDCTUEE OF HABDWOOPS. 



Broad. 



II. Botanical structure of softwoods. 



(a) The tissue of softwoods is more homogeneous than that 

 of hardwoods. It is mainly formed by tracheae. 

 The cell walls formed in .early spring are thinner . and 

 the lumina formed in early spring are larger than those 

 formed in summer. 



(b) Parenchyma is found in the medullary rays and around 



the rosin ducts. 



(c) Ducts of the form found in hardwoods exist only close 



fo the central pith column. 



(d) The medullary rays are very fine (microscopic), usually 



only one cell wide and about a dozen cells high. The 

 lowest string of cells in the ray is usually formed by 

 tracheae (exception — red cedar). 



(e) Rosin ducts are not cells merely, but, unlike the ducts of 



hardwoods, hollow tubes, the walls of which are 

 formed by parenchymatic cells. These ducts are run- 

 ning horizontally as well as vertically in picea, pinus, 

 larix, pseudotsuga. 

 ■ , The tissue of the genera abies, taxus, juniperus, thuja, 

 tsuga, chamaecyparis etc. lacks the ducts. 



