78 
Ohio Biological Survey 
that compose it. Ironwood, black gum, buckeye, and willow are ex¬ 
amples of fine texture, while oak chestnut, coffee tree, and elm are 
good illustrations of coarse texture. 
Grain. —Wood of rapid growth having wide annual rings is coarse 
grained, and wood of slow growth and narrow rings is fine grained. 
Wood is called rough grained when it does not work easily under 
smoothing tools. W^ood that can be split readily is usually straight 
grained. When the fibers are more or less twisted, woven or inter¬ 
locked the wood is said to be cross-grained or spiral-grained. When 
the fibers move in and out but do not cross, the grain of the wood 
is called wavy. Certain twisted or abnormal growths are highly 
prized by cabinet makers and go under the names of birdseye, mot¬ 
tled, curly, etc. Some wood, like oak or sycamore, when quarter 
sawed, show what is called silver grain. 
Odor. —AVhile odor is not an important quality of wood, it serves 
a purpose in certain receptacles for furs or other clothing liable to 
insect injury. It is undesirable in other cases, injuring the flavor 
of food-stuffs and liquids. Sweet birch, sassafras, and red cedar have 
characteristic and useful odors. In the process of seasoning most 
woods lose the odor they have when fresh cut. 
Weight .— As is well known, the same volume of wood of different 
species, shows a marked variation in weight. This variation depends 
mainly upon the amount of pure wood fiber and the amount of mois¬ 
ture that the wood contains. The weight of pure wood fiber is prac¬ 
tically the same for al 1 kinds of wood. It is a little more than one 
and one-half times the weight of an equal volume of water. As a 
rule, the weight of wood is a good indication of hardness and strength, 
but it is not a sign of durability. 
The weight of wood of the same kind is quite variable and de¬ 
pends upon the following factors: (1) percentage of moisture; (2) 
rate of growth; (3) age of tree; and (4) soundness of fiber. Woods 
that weigh less than 25 pounds per cubic foot may be called light, 
those that weigh 25 to 35 pounds may be called medium light. When 
the weight is 35 to 45 pounds they may be regarded medium heavy, 
and when more than 45 pounds they may be considered heavy. 
In a series of tests in the laboratory of the Forestry Department 
of the Ohio State University, where over 60 species of wood were 
used, it was found that among the heaviest were hickory, dogwood, 
