Wood and Forest Part 16

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22

REDWOOD. COAST REDWOOD. SEQUOIA.

_Sequoia sempervirens_ (Lambert) Endlicher.

_Sequoia_, latinized from Sequoiah, a Cherokee Indian; _sempervirens_ means ever living.

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

HABITAT: (See map); best in southern Oregon and northern California, near coast.

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

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 200'-340'; diameter, 10'-15', rarely 25'; clean trunk, much b.u.t.tressed and swollen at base, somewhat fluted, branches very high; bark, very thick, 6"-12", rounded ridges, dark scales falling reveal inner red bark; leaves, small, two-ranked; cones, small, 1" long.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, red, turning to brown on seasoning, sap-wood whitish; non-porous; rings, distinct; grain, straight; rays, numerous, very obscure; non-resinous.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Light in weight (55th in this list); 26 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr. 0.4208; weak (58th in this list); brittle (60th in this list); soft (55th in this list); shrinks little; warps little; very durable; easily worked; splits readily; takes nails well.

COMMON USES: s.h.i.+ngles, construction, timber, fence posts, coffins, railway ties, water pipes, curly specimens used in cabinet work.

REMARKS: Low branches rare. Burns with difficulty. Chief construction wood of Pacific Coast. Use determined largely by durability.

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23

BALD CYPRESS.

Bald refers to leaflessness of tree in winter.

_Taxodium distichum_ (Linnaeus) L. C. Richard.

_Taxodium_ means yew-like; _distichum_ refers to the two-ranked leaves.

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

HABITAT: (See map); best in South Atlantic and Gulf States.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 75', occasionally 150'; diameter, 4'-5'; roots project upward into peculiar knees; trunk strongly b.u.t.tressed at base, straight, majestic and tapering; bark, light red, shallow fissures, flat plates, peeling into fibrous strips; leaves, long, thin, two-ranked, deciduous; cones, nearly globular, 1" in diameter.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, heart-wood, reddish brown, sap-wood, nearly white; non-porous; rings, fine and well marked; grain, nearly straight, burl is beautifully figured; rays, very obscure; non-resinous.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Light in weight (48th in this list); 29 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr. 0.4543; medium strong (48th in this list); elastic (28th in this list); soft (52d in this list); shrinkage, 3 per cent.; warps but little, likely to check; very durable; easy to work, in splitting, crumbles or breaks; nails well.

COMMON USES: s.h.i.+ngles, posts, interior finish, cooperage, railroad ties, boats, and various construction work, especially conservatories.

REMARKS: Forms forests in swamps; subject to a fungous disease, making wood "peggy" or "pecky"; use largely determined by its durability. In New Orleans 90,000 fresh water cisterns are said to be made of it.

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24

WESTERN RED CEDAR. CANOE CEDAR. GIANT ARBORVITAE.

_Thuja plicata_ D. Don. _Thuya gigantea_ Nuttall.

_Thuya_ or _Thuja_, the cla.s.sical Greek name; _plicata_ refers to the folded leaves; _gigantea_ refers to the gigantic size of the tree.

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

HABITAT: (See map); best in Puget Sound region.

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

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 100'-200'; diameter, 2'-10', even 15'; trunk has immense b.u.t.tresses, often 16' in diameter, then tapers; branches, horizontal, short, making a dense conical tree; bark, bright cinnamon red, shallow fissures, broad ridges, peeling into long, narrow, stringy scales; leaves, very small, overlapping in 4 ranks, on older twigs, sharper and more remote; cones, _1/2"_ long, small, erect.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, dull brown or red, thin sap-wood nearly white; non-porous; rings, summer bands thin, dark colored, distinct; grain, straight, rather coa.r.s.e; rays, numerous, obscure; non-resinous.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Very light in weight (60th in this list); medium strong (40th in this list); elastic (26th in this list); soft (60th in this list); shrinkage, 3 per cent.; warps and checks little; very durable; easy to work; splits easily.

COMMON USES: Interior finish, cabinet making, cooperage, s.h.i.+ngles, electric wire poles.

REMARKS: Wood used by Indians for war canoes, totems and planks for lodges; inner bark used for ropes and textiles.

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

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