2 BULLETIX 1007, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
produces basswood lumber, principally in West Virginia, which is 
similar to that of Tilia americana. There are several other species 
<of basswood in the United States, all of which have wood similar to 
the common basswood species, but contribute only small quantities 
of the timber. As the wood of these different species is very much 
alike, it is not kept separate in the market and is sold as basswood. 
PROPERTIES OF THE WOOD. 
GENERAL APPEARANCE. 
The heartwood of basswood is creamy brown with occasional 
darker streaks. The sap wood is wide and not sharply denned from 
the heartwood. The wood has a very uniform appearance; the sap- 
wood and, particularly, rapid-growth timber has a light-colored, 
clean look very desirable for special purposes. Basswood occasionally 
shows a curly growth, especially near the butt of the tree, which 
gives it an attractive appearance. This is unusual, however, and 
the wood does not normally possess a curly grain nor any figure, such 
as is found in oak and birch, for instance. It is therefore painted a 
uniform color or stained to imitate some other wood, when used for 
such purposes as inside house finish and the exterior woodwork of 
furniture. 
PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES. 
Basswood timber is light in weight, soft in texture, straight-grained, 
and has low strength values and poor shock-resisting ability in general 
comparison with other woods. Compared on the basis of density or 
weight, basswood has nearly average values for most of its properties^ 
but has slightly greater stiffness and much greater shrinkage for its 
density than the average. In the classification of woods by the 
Forest Products Laboratory of the Forest Service into eight groups, 
according to results of tests for each of six physical and mechanical 
properties, basswood is described as follows: 
Property: Classification. 
Density or weight : Light. 
, Strength as a beam or post Weak. 
Hardness Soft. 
Shock-resisting ability Poor. 
Stiffness ; • _' Moderately limber. 
Shrinkage Moderate. 
Table 1 shows actual and comparative properties of basswood 
timber, as determined by the Forest Service from a very large number 
of tests. White oak is the wood generally used as a basis for com- 
parison of properties. The composite values given are a combination 
of several kinds of tests. The hardness value of basswood is very 
low compared with white oak on this basis. This is also true of the 
different strength values, particularly shock-resisting ability. 
