Wood and Forest Part 12

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Heavy (7th in this list); 39 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp.

gr. 0.7504; very strong (6th in this list); very elastic (3d in this list); hard (24th in this list); shrinkage, 4 per cent.; warps little; quite durable; troublesome to work; splits along annual rings in nailing.

COMMON USES: Heavy construction, s.h.i.+p building, railroad ties, docks, bridges, house trim.

REMARKS: Similar to and often sold as Long-leaf Pine.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Radial Section, life size.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tangential Section, life size.]

10

TAMARACK. LARCH. HACKMATACK.

_Larix laricina_ (Du Roi) Koch. _Larix americana_ Michaux.

_Larix_, the cla.s.sical Latin name.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]

HABITAT: (See map); prefers swamps, "Tamarack swamps."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 50'-60' and even 90', diameter 1'-3'; intolerant; tall, slender trunk; bark, cinnamon brown, no ridges, breaking into flakes; leaves, deciduous, pea-green, in tufts; cone, 1/2"-3/4", bright brown.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light brown, sapwood hardly distinguishable; non-porous; rings, summer wood, thin but distinct, dark colored; grain, straight, coa.r.s.e; rays, numerous, hardly distinguishable; very resinous, but ducts few and small.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, medium (29th in this list); 39 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr. 0.6236; strong (24th in this list); elastic (11th in this list); medium hard (40th in this list); shrinkage, 3 per cent.; warps .........; very durable; easy to work; splits easily.

COMMON USES: s.h.i.+p building, electric wire poles, and railroad ties; used for boat ribs because of its naturally crooked knees; slenderness prevents common use as lumber.

REMARKS: Tree desolate looking in winter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Radial Section, life size.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tangential Section, life size.]

11

WESTERN LARCH. TAMARACK.

_Larix occidentalis_ Nuttall.

_Larix_, the cla.s.sical Latin name; _occidentalis_ means western.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]

HABITAT: (See map); best in northern Montana and Idaho, on high elevations.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 90'-130', even 250'; diameter 6'-8'; tall, slender, naked trunk, with branches high; bark, cinnamon red or purplish, often 12" thick, breaking into irregular plates, often 2' long; leaves, in tufts; deciduous; cones small.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light red, thin, whitish, sap-wood; non-porous; grain, straight, fine; rays numerous, thin; very resinous, but ducts small and obscure.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, heavy (11th in this list); 46 lbs. per cu.

ft.; sp. gr. 0.7407; very strong (3d in this list); very elastic (1st in this list); medium hard (35th in this list); shrinkage, 4 per cent.; warps ..........; very durable; rather hard to work, takes fine polish; splits with difficulty.

COMMON USES: Posts, railroad ties, fencing, cabinet material and fuel.

REMARKS: A valuable tree in the Northwest.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Radial Section, life size.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tangential Section, life size.]

12

WHITE SPRUCE.

_Picea canadensis_ (Miller) B. S. P. _Picea alba_ Link.

_Picea_, the cla.s.sical Latin name; white and _alba_ refers to the pale color of the leaves, especially when young, and to the whitish bark.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]

HABITAT: (See map).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 60'-100' and even 150'; diameter, 1'-2' and even 4'; long, thick branches; bark, light grayish brown, separating into thin plate-like scales, rather smooth appearance, resin from cuts forms white gum; leaves, set thickly on all sides of branch, finer than red spruce, odor disagreeable; cones, 2" long, cylindrical, slender, fall during second summer.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light yellow, sap-wood, hardly distinguishable; non-porous; rings, wide, summer wood thin, not conspicuous; grain, straight; rays, numerous, prominent; resin ducts, few and minute.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, light (51st in this list); 25 lbs. per cu.

ft.; sp. gr., 0.4051; medium strong (42d in this list); elastic (29th in this list); soft (58th in this list); shrinks 3 per cent.; warps ........; fairly durable; easy to work, satiny surface; splits readily.

COMMON USES: Lumber and paper pulp; (not distinguished from Red and Black Spruce in market).