Qualities and Uses of the Woods of Ohio 
77 
slight and imperfect as they are, will incite some of our numerous 
wood users and students to observe more closely, and take a greater 
interest in our rapidly disappearing Ohio woods. 
I desire to express my obligation to Mr. O. W. Pflueger, and 
Mr. W. L. DuBois for assistance in the preparation of Table II, and 
for many of the photographs used. 
QUALITIES OF WOOD. 
Wood is one of the most abundant products of nature. It is 
found wherever trees grow and people live. Excepting food staples 
no material is so universally used, and no product contributes more 
to the convenience and comfort of mankind. More than one-half of all 
the houses of the world are built of wood and most of the other half 
use wood for doors, window frames, floors, and other interior parts. 
Nearly all barns and out-buildings are made of wood. W^ood warms 
the dwellings and cooks the food of more than two-thirds of all the 
people on the earth. When we sit down it is on chairs or benches 
made of wood; every day we eat from wooden tables. The news¬ 
papers, magazines, and books we read are printed on paper made of 
wood. Whenever we ride out it is in a wagon, carriage, or car made 
largely, or at least partly, of wood. Our furniture, musical instru¬ 
ments, household utensils, toys, and ornaments are mainly wood. 
We ship the products of our farms, orchards, gardens, and fac¬ 
tories in baskets, crates, barrels, and boxes made of wood. For 
transportation by land or water we rely on wood, and for communica¬ 
tion by telegraph and telephone millions of wooden poles are used. 
We cannot work our farms or our mines without wood. So de¬ 
pendent are we upon wood that our progress and our well-being can 
be measured by its use. 
Why is wood so useful, and for what special purposes are our 
different woods best adapted? Let us briefly consider. 
The reason wood can be put to so many uses is the fact that it 
has many qualities that make its use desirable. These qualities may 
be divided into outer and inner qualities. The outer qualities are 
those that can be recognized by the eye, by touch, or by scent. 
Color. —Color is one of these qualities and wood that has an 
agreeable or attractive color is in demand for the interior of our 
houses, for fine furniture, and for many other uses. Wood that 
comes from trees that grow in tropical countries is usually rich in 
