willows: their growth, use, and importance. 29 
often list willow as cottonwood, so that available statistics do not 
indicate the full production of. willow lumber. 
Willow lumber is light, 1-inch lumber weighing when thoroughly 
seasoned from 2,300 to 2,500 pounds per thousand board feet. This 
makes it as cheap to transport as yellow poplar. The wood varies 
in color considerably. When first cut it runs from dark reddish 
brown to blue and almost black, but when dry it is much lighter. 
Thoroughly seasoned wood is for the most part a light reddish brown 
with perhaps 10 per cent of it a grayish blue. Willow lumber, cut 
from only the best trees, as is the custom now, is seldom shaky, and 
when properly handled it checks scarcely at all. With close utiliza- 
tion the percentage of shaky lumber would increase considerably. 
Willow planking is satisfactory where strength is not of prime impor- 
tance, since it does not warp, splinter, or check, and wears out very 
slowly. It makes good barn and cell floors. The grades of willow 
lumber are firsts and seconds, No. 1 and No. 2 common, and the 
grading rules are similar to those used for cottonwood. 
Willow lumber of the high grades is used mostly in the North for 
furniture drawers and backing, while the poorer grades are used 
largely in the South for box material. As a substitute wood willow is 
very promising and for many uses equal to basswood. In fact, for 
many of the purposes for which willow was once used and for which 
it has scarcely a superior, basswood, poplar, and cottonwood were 
substituted because of their prevalence and relatively low cost. As 
willow comes back on the market at a lower price than these it bids 
fair to gain favor. 
A part of the willow lumber now manufactured is being used for 
refrigerators, pianos, cabinetwork, and furniture. Here it has taken 
the place of basswood, elm, or sap gum. As yet it has only been 
used for interior work, but it should eventually find a place in the 
manufacture of cheap furniture; for although it does not take a high 
polish, it takes a very attractive dull finish and can be stained to 
present a very creditable imitation of some of the costlier cabinet 
woods. 
Willow is suitable for small boats and athletic goods because it may 
be dented and bruised without splintering, and for keels, water 
wheels, paddles, and bungs because it is durable in water. It has 
always been used by leather workers for lapboards, cutting boards, 
and cutting tables, for which its lightness and spongy softness make 
it particularly desirable. Intense heat will not warp or split willow; 
therefore it is suitable for sleeve or ironing boards and for wheel- 
barrows for carrying ore, coal, or ashes in hot furnace rooms. Toys 
and novelties are now being made of it. For these, low-grade lumber 
can be worked up very closely and the dark color is scarcely a draw- 
back because most of such articles are stained or painted. 
