Wood and Forest Part 21

_Betula lenta_ Linnaeus.

_Betula_, the cla.s.sical Latin name; _lenta_, meaning tenacious, sticky, may refer to the gum which exudes from the trunk.

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

HABITAT: (See map); best in Tennessee Mountains.

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

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 50'-80'; diameter, 2'-5'; trunk, rarely straight; bark, dark reddish brown, on old trunks deeply furrowed and broken into thick, irregular plates, marked with horizontal lenticels; resembles cherry; spicy, aromatic; leaves, ovate, oblong, 2"-6" long, irregularly serrate; fruit, erect strobiles.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, dark, reddish brown; diffuse-porous; rings, obscure; grain, close, satiny, polishes well, often stained to imitate mahogany; rays, numerous, obscure.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Heavy (6th in this list); 47 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp.

gr., 0.7617; very strong (4th in this list); very elastic (6th in this list); hard (11th in this list); shrinkage, 6 per cent.; warps, little; not durable if exposed; rather hard to work; splits hard, tough.

COMMON USES: Dowel pins, wooden ware, boats and s.h.i.+ps.

REMARKS: The birches are not usually distinguished from one another in the market.

[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.]

38

YELLOW BIRCH. GRAY BIRCH.

Yellow and gray, both refer to the color of the bark.

_Betula lutea_ F. A. Michaux.

_Betula_, the cla.s.sical Latin name; _lutea_ refers to the yellow color of the bark.

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

HABITAT: (See map); best in northern New York and New England.

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

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 60'-100'; diameter, 3'-4'; branches, low; bark, silvery, yellow, gray, peeling horizontally into thin, papery, persistent layers, but on very old trunks, there are rough, irregular, plate-like scales; leaves, ovate, sharply, doubly serrate; fruit, erect, 1" strobiles.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light reddish brown, sap-wood white; diffuse-porous; rings, obscure; grain, close, fairly straight; rays, numerous, obscure.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Heavy (21st in this list); 40 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.6553; very strong (2nd in this list); very elastic (2d in this list); medium hard (22d in this list); shrinkage, 6 per cent.; warps .........; not durable; rather hard to work, polishes well; splits with difficulty, holds nails well.

COMMON USES: Furniture, spools, b.u.t.ton molds, shoe lasts, shoe pegs, pill boxes, yokes.

REMARKS: The birches are not usually distinguished from one another in the market.

[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.]

39

BEECH.

_f.a.gus grandifolia_ Ehrhart. _f.a.gus americana_ Sweet. _f.a.gus ferruginea_ Aiton. _f.a.gus atropunicea_ (Marshall) Sudworth.

_f.a.gus_ (Greek _phago_ means to eat), refers to edible nut; _ferruginea_, refers to the iron rust color of the leaves in the fall; _atropunicea_, meaning dark red or purple, may refer to the color of the leaves of the copper beech.

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

HABITAT: (See map); best in southern Alleghany Mountains and lower Ohio valley.

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

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 70'-80' and even 120'; diameter, 3'-4'; in forest, trunk tall, slender, sinewy; bark, smooth, ashy gray; leaves, feather-veined, wedge-shaped, serrate; leaf buds, long, pointed; fruit, 2 small triangular nuts, enclosed in burr, seeds about once in 3 years.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, reddish, variable, sap-wood white; diffuse-porous; rings, obscure; grain, straight; rays, broad, very conspicuous.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Heavy (20th in this list); 42 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.6883; very strong (10th in this list); elastic (13th in this list); hard (22d in this list); shrinkage, 5 per cent.; warps and checks during seasoning; not durable; hard to work, takes fine polish; splits with difficulty, hard to nail.

COMMON USES: Plane stocks, shoe lasts, tool handles, chairs.

REMARKS: Often forms pure forests. Uses due to its hardness.

[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.]

40

CHESTNUT.

_Castanea dentata_ (Marshall) Borkhausen.

_Castanea_, the cla.s.sical Greek and Latin name; _dentata_, refers to toothed leaf.