TIMBEE OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 89 
J. harhadensis at any rate, generally quite straight. The 
sap is usually only about f inch thick, of dingy white 
colour, the heartwood of bright pinkish red, of uniform 
colour ; fine, even, and straight in grain, very compact and 
durable, light, soft, easily worked, it takes a high polish. 
A good deal used for poles, and makes one of the most 
lasting of sleepers, having 50 per cent, longer life than 
white oak in most situations. Large quantities are used 
for butter churns and tubs. It is a tree with few diseases, 
and these do little harm ; one of the few timbers practi- 
cally immune from fungus. Of late such large quantities 
of red cedar {J. virginiana) are used in the pencil trade that 
supplies are getting scarce. 
Something like 315,000,000 pencils are manufactured in 
the United States yearly, requiring about 7,500,000 cubic 
feet of timber, of which by far the larger proportion is red 
cedar. The cedar mills are continually moving to fresh 
fields to get nearer the supplies, whilst, where that is not 
the case, old rails and knotty logs are now being used 
which a few years ago would have been rejected wholesale. 
It is its softness, straightness of grain, and freedom from 
defects which render this wood peculiarly adapted for 
pencil-making, an industry which is practically dependent 
upon this one wood. Only the heartwood is used for 
pencils, the sapwood being made into penholders, but as 
not so many of these are required, much of it goes to 
waste. There is nearly 70 per cent, of waste in the con- 
version of the wood into pencils, and this has little market 
value except for fuel, although some of it is now manu- 
factured into thick paper for underlaying carpets, and some 
is converted into fine shavings and used instead of camphor 
for the protection of furs and woollen goods. A good deal 
of red cedar is used in Germany for cigar boxes, and its 
beautiful red colour makes it much appreciated by turners. 
