USES AND SUPPLY OF WOOD. 9 



not plentiful in Arkansas. The most common tree of the red oak 

 group in the State is the Texan or spotted oak (Quercus texana) . Wil- 

 low oak (Quercus pTiellos), yellow or black oak (Quercus velutina), 

 water oak (Quercus nigra), and Spanish oak (Quercus digitata) are cut 

 in large or small amounts and listed as red oak. In some industries, 

 such as machinery and vehicle, the white and red oaks are valued 

 "chiefly for their strength, while in others, like the furniture and inte- 

 rior finish, the figure and grain of the wood are most important. 

 Some of the oaks possess much handsomer grain than others, and 

 sell for more. The grain is best brought out by quarter sawing, which 

 exposes the flat sides of the medullary rays, the bright clear streaks 

 or flakes so prominent in the oaks. 



Hickory. — Without counting pecan, there are Rve species of hick- 

 ory cut and manufactured in Arkansas, but all go under one name. 

 The kinds are known separately as mocker nut (Hicoria alba), pale- 

 leaf hickory (Hicoria villosa), shagbark (Hicoria ovata), bitternut 

 (Hicoria minima), and pignut (Hicoria glabra). All of these bear a 

 general resemblance. The wood is strong, tough, and elastic, and 

 these properties fit it for special purposes, chiefly for vehicles and 

 handles. It is perhaps the most nearly indispensable wood growing 

 in this country, and none is known anywhere that will satisfactorily 

 take its place for slender handles and certain parts of light vehicles. 

 In Arkansas it stands fifth in quantity and fourth in value. 



Ash. — The single name, ash, covers in Arkansas, white, green, 

 black, and blue ash. These are sometimes distinguished in the woods, 

 but at the mills it is not customary to pile them apart or sell them 

 separately. There is some difference in the weight, strength, and 

 color of the wood of the four species, but not enough to call for sepa- 

 rate use. 



Cottonwood. — The common cotton wood and the swamp cotton- 

 wood are both cut in Arkansas, but manufacturers make no distinc- 

 tion between them. 



Cypress. — Manufacturers in the State demand 12,000,000 feet of 

 cypress a year, but the sawmills are cutting four times that much. 

 The timber grows very slowly, and it is evident that the demand will 

 shortly exhaust the supply. 



Elm. — Two elms are listed as one in this State, the common or 

 white elm and the wing elm. It is not apparent that one is preferred 

 to the other. Both are tough and strong, and are used because of 

 those properties, and not for any beauty of figure or grain. The wing 

 elm is so named because a thin, corky ridge or wing grows along oppo- 

 site sides of the small twigs, giving them a wide, flat appearance. 



Tupelo. — Tupelo has always been used in a small way for a few 

 purposes, but, like red gum, it was not appreciated until a few years 

 32113°— Bull. 106—12 2 



