UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 1007 
Contribution from the Forest Service 
WILLIAM B. GREELEY, Forester. 
Washington, D. C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
June 5, 1922 
UTILIZATION OF BASSWOOD 
By Warren D. Brush, Scientific Assistant. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Introduction 1 
Properties of the wood 2 
Supply .* 5 
Annual drain on the supply 6 
The future of basswood timber 8 
Utilization by industries 8 
Markets 52 
Summary 56 
Appendix: Classified list of uses reported for 
basswood by factories 58 
INTRODUCTION. 
Basswood is one of the important commercial timbers of the 
United States. Nineteen other woods are manufactured into lumber 
in larger quantities, and factories using lumber for the manufacture 
of various wooden products consume larger quantities of about 12 
other woods, including yellow poplar and white pine, which are often 
used for the same general class of products as basswood and are 
frequently substituted for it. 
Basswood is valued mainly for its white color, light weight, and 
good working qualities. It is well adapted for certain special uses 
for which other woods do not serve as well, and, because of the 
comparatively small supply now available, it is greatly in demand 
for these purposes. Basswood is valued highly for products made of 
wood in the natural state, particularly where a clean, attractive 
appearance and light weight are essential. Boxes and wooden ware 
used for holding food are the main products. 
Basswood lumber is manufactured from several species, but mainly 
from the species Tilia americana, which grows over nearly all of the 
eastern part of the United States. Other common names for this 
tree are linden, linn, bass, limetree, whitewood, and beetree. The 
species Tilia Jieteropliylla , which is most commonly called white bass- 
wood and is found mainly in the Allegheny Mountain region, also 
64281°— 22— Bull. 1007 1 
