USES OF COMMERCIAL WOODS. 49 



manded a small supply, and shovels somewhat more. Rifle stocks of 

 red maple were common, and the claim was made — probably due to 

 a misunderstanding — that the wood occasionally developed a wavy 

 grain not found in any other maples. 



In most furniture factories where maple is used some of it is red 

 maple, and special mention is often made of the wood by chair fac- 

 tories. When woodenware was handmade, bowls and trays of red 

 maple were preferred. The modern woodenware factory works the 

 wood into pie and picnic plates, platters, and butter dishes. Box- 

 makers and the manufacturers of crates and baskets for shipping 

 berries and vegetables take the red maple on the same footing as 

 other maples. 



In Xorth Carolina it is made into finish for passenger and electric 

 cars. In other regions boatmakers find many places for it, and a 

 considerable quantity goes into the manufacture of vehicles. 



The bark of this maple is valued by inkmakers. It is boiled in 

 soft water, and the tannin is combined with sulphate of iron. It is 

 probable that the pioneers resorted to this process more frequently 

 than present-day manufacturers. Domestic dyes also were made 

 of it. 



Chemical plants where hardwoods are converted into charcoal, 

 acetates, and other commodities find this maple one of the best woods. 



DRUMMOND MAPLE. 



(Acer ruhrum (Iruminondil.) 



The Drummond maple is a southern form of the red maple, but is 

 lighter and lower in ash. It is not a commercially important tree, 

 but it serves the people locally. On the lower Red River, Douisiana, 

 a peculiarly fine class of curly and bird's-eye wood of this species has 

 been made into gunstocks and violins. The tree's range includes 

 parts of Tennessee. Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, 

 and Texas. Though botanists readily distinguish it from other 

 maples, lumbermen generally do not. 



SILVER MAPLE. 



( Acer sdccli a riu ii )n . ) 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. 



WcigJit of dry vood. — 32..S4 ponnds per cubic foot (Sararent). 

 Specific gravity. — 0.5269 (Sargent). 

 Ash. — 0.33 per cent weight of dry wood (Sargent). 

 Fuel value. — 92 per cent that of white oak (Sargent). 



Breaking .strength (modulus of rupture). — 14,000 pounds i)er scpiare inch, or 

 114 per cent that of white oali (Sargent).^ 



1 The breaking strength and factor of stiffness were calculated from a single sample 

 cut near Topstield, Mass. It grew in a low meadow, and broke with long, fine splinters. 



