TIMBER; FORESTRY 



345 



'CJ 



the red kinds but has not so coarse a grain, so that for 

 cabinel^making the red oaks are more ornamental and often 

 in " quartered " cut lumber (sawed tangentially) are very 

 showy. jMore than half of our supply ^m^i^-vir-^^-- 

 of hard-wood timber is furnished by ^^^^jifil 

 the oaks . ^r ! C; _ ^ I - 1 -j. 



Tulip-wood, from the tulip-tree (Liri- 

 odendron), is next in importance to 

 the various kinds of oak, among the 

 woods of broad-leaved trees. It is va- 

 riously known as yellow poplar and 

 white wood and grows in abundance 

 in the Ohio Basin and southward, but 

 does not, like oak, form separate for- 

 ests. The wood is very soft and work- 

 able and has largely taken the place 

 of white pine for the inside finish 

 of houses and in the manufacture of 

 woodenware. 



Ash, beech, birch, chestnut, elm, 

 maple, red gum, and sycamore are some 

 of the most important hard woods for 

 general purposes besides those already 

 mentioned. For especial purposes cer- 

 tain woods not of the greatest value 

 for all-round construction are highly 

 prized, as hickory for ax and other tool 

 handles and for carriage spokes; beech 

 for shoemakers' lasts, saw handles, and 

 carpenters' planes ; persimmon for wood turning and shoe 

 lasts; black locust for posts and railroad ties (on account 

 of its durability in the ground). 



Fig. 233. Cross-Section 

 of Fir Wood. 



s,arosiii passage; m, med- 

 ullary rays. Oluch 

 magnified.) 



