COTTONWOOD IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 5 
of lumber. Cottonwood is used but is not popular for flooring, parti- 
tion, siding, and ceiling. When properly stained it makes a remark- 
ably attractive wainscoting, door panel, balustrade, etc. When ex- 
posed to weather as siding it warps and decays unless painted. Cot- 
tonwood is extensively used for barn framing and roof boards, and 
is employed to some extent in freight cars and as bridge planking. 
Because of its clean, white, uniform surface, it is excellent for pyrog- 
raphy. It is used extensively by the manufacturers of slack cooper- 
age for staves and heading. 
Cottonwood has for some time been used in the manufacture of 
pulp. It is reduced usually by either the soda or the mechanical 
process, but also yields well to the sulphite method. Experiments 
by the Forest Service show that cottonwood makes a pulp almost 
identical in character with that from aspen, which is used more than 
any other wood for the production of soda pulp. At the present 
time cottonwood is used extensively on the Pacific coast for the 
production of “news” paper. Cottonwood ground pulp has a com-— 
paratively short fiber and must usually be mixed with about 60 per 
cent of long-fibered pulp, such as that of spruce, in order to make 
finished paper. The pulp produced by the soda and sulphite processes 
is used to some extent in the manufacture of book and magazine 
paper. 
Cottonwood has also been used considerably for excelsior, for 
which it is highly prized. Although statistics are not available to 
show the quantity of fuel cut from this timber, it is undoubtedly 
large. 
PRESERVATIVE TREAQMENT. 
One serious objection to cottonwood is its rapid decay when. ex- 
posed to the weather or when in contact with the soil. To make the 
wood more durable, preservative treatment will in many cases be 
necessary. Because of its open, porous texture, cottonwood takes 
preservatives readily, the treatment requiring comparatively small 
expense. 
Treated cottonwood fence posts have given excellent service. It 
is probable, therefore, that cottonwood can be grown to post size 
and the posts creosoted at less expense than much more durable 
species of slower growth which require no treatment. Creosoting 
tanks of the type described in Farmers’ Bulletin 387, “ The Preserva- 
tive Treatment of Farm Timbers,” can be easily constructed and 
will prove thoroughly effective in treating stakes, posts, or small 
poles for farm use. 
Although tests are being made with treated cottonwood railroad 
ties, it seems doubtful if they will BrO%e sufficiently strong for use 
under heavy tratflic. 
