UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
I BULLETIN No. 884 
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Contribution from the Forest Service 
WILLIAM B. GREELEY, Forester 
Washington, D. C. 
October 12, 1920 
UTILIZATION OF SYCAMORE. 
By W. D. Brush, Scientific Assistant. 
CONTENTS. 
Importance 1 
The wood 1 
General appearance 1 
Properties •- 3 
Structure 4 
Supply and demand 5 
Range and size of tree 5 
Commercial supply 5 
Lumber production 8 
Consumption of sycamore 8 
Utilization by industries 9 
Boxes and crates 10 
Slack cooperage 13 
Furniture and fixtures 14 
Planing mill products 15 
Butchers' blocks 15 
Musical instruments 16 
Page. 
Utilization by industries— Continued. 
Agricultural implements 16 
Carpet sweepers 16 
Trunks 16 
Shade rollers 16 
Handles 16 
Sewing machines 17 
Wooden ware and novelties 17 
Other factory uses 17 
Fuel 18 
Lumber and timber values 18 
Lumber prices 18 
Stumpage and log prices 19 
Markets 21 
Grading rules .' 22 
Summary and conclusions 23 
Appendix -. 24 
IMPORTANCE. 
Sycamore is one of the important commercial woods of the United 
States, and is of special value for use in certain containers, such as 
slack barrels and plug-tobacco boxes. It ranks low, however, in 
amount consumed, for about 25 native woods, including 13 hard- 
woods, are used in larger quantities. 
This bulletin gives information on the supply of sycamore, on the 
conditions attendant on its manufacture, and on how it may be used 
most advantageously. 
THE WOOD. 
GENERAL APPEARANCE. 
Sycamore, in general, is a uniformly colored, clean-looking wood, 
and therefore presents a good appearance when manufactured. The 
heartwood is brown tinged wuth red ; the sapwood is lighter. Plain- 
sawed sycamore has little figure, excepting the lighter-colored bands 
which mark off the annual-growth layers from each other. It usually 
185338°— 20— Bull. 884 1 
