HOW TO TELL THE WOODS 279 
determining what kind of wood it is but when it is 
a block or board a sharp knife and a pocket microscope 
are helpful, as the grain can only be properly judged 
when sharply cut and in some instances the structure 
Courtesy H. P. Brown 
Fig. 63.—Cross-section of a ring porous wood (white ash), as seen 
through a microscope. Toward the top of the picture the large pores 
of the early spring growth and the dense wood of the late summer 
growth of the preceding year are seen close together. 
can only be made out with the aid of a magnifying 
olass.+ 7 
1For a complete text book on identification of woods see 
‘*Economiec Woods of United States,’’ by Samuel J. Record. 
John Wiley & Sons. 
