102 ELEMENTARY WOODWORKING 
The leaves of the sweet gum, or liquid amber — so 
called from the amber-colored gum the tree gives out — 
remind one of the starfish, bemg 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- 
ing on account of its soft- 
ness and even grain. 
54. Tulip. The lumber 
furnished by the tulip tree, 
commonly called white- 
wood, is less liable to warp 
than gum wood, and issome- 
what harder. Just why it 
should be called whitewood 
is not clear, as it is much 
Fic. 112. Sweet Gum, or Liquid darker than white pine and 
aes 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 outline 
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 
