Supplies and Production 
According to a 19^9 survey ,^ sen stumpage on Hokkaido island amounted to k6j 
million cubic feet. In Hokkaido, sen veneer makes up 21 percent of the 
native hardwood veneer production and 30 percent of the plywood produced. 
The 1950 production of sen veneer amounted to 60 million square feet in 
Hokkaido alone. About 70 percent of the 1,200,000 board-feet of sen lumber 
exported in 1950 came to the United States, and the remainder went to South 
Africa and Europe. 
Price Range 
Sen is in the medium price range. 
Identifying Characteristics 
Sen 
American elm 
White ash 
Heartwood color 
Pale yellowish 
brown to grayish 
brown 
Brown 
Brown 
Springwood pore zone Single row 
Summerwood pores 
Vessel elements 
In wavy tangen- 
tial lines 
Single row 
In wavy tangen- 
tial lines 
Without spirals With spirals 
Several rows 
In short radial 
groups 
Without spirals 
Commercial white ash can ordinarily be separated from sen because of the wider 
zone of springwood in ash. American elm and sen can be readily confused, 
particularly if the wood surface has been modified by bleaching, staining, 
and finishing. For accurate separation of elm and sen, it is usually desira- 
ble to examine the wood microscopically. The presence of spiral thickenings 
in the vessel elements indicates elm, and their absence sen. 
^Forest Products Research Institute. An Outline of Hokkaido Forestry. 
Forest Products Research Institute, Hokkaido, Japan. August 1952. 
Rept. No. 1979 
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