56 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[34]
51.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,730,000 (average of 30 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[34]
1,460,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
18,700 (average of 30 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[34]
14,800.
Remarks.
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Mocker Nut, Whiteheart Hickory (local and common names).
Bullnut (N. Y., Fla., Miss., Tex., Mo., Ohio., Ill., Minn.).
Black Hickory (Tex., Miss., La., Mo.).
Hickory (Ala., Tex., Pa., S. C., Neb.).
Big-bud, Red Hickory (Fla.).
Common Hickory (N. C.).
White Hickory (Pa., S. C.).
Hickory Nut (Ky., W. Va.).
Hog Nut (Del.).
Hard bark Hickory (Ill.).
Locality.
Ontario to Florida, westward intermittently to Missouri and Texas. Wide range.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height, two and one-half to three and one-half feet in diameter. A tall slender tree with rough, but not shaggy, bark. Thick shell, edible nut.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood rich dark brown, thick sapwood nearly white, close-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Very heavy, hard, tough, strong, and flexible.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Similar to those of shellbark hickory.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
53 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[35]
51.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,320,000 (average of 75 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[35]
1,630,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
15,200 (average of 75 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[35]
16,000.
Remarks.
The most generally distributed species of the genus in the South. Mocker nut or moker nut is said (Britton) to be from a Dutch word meaning hammer, or else (Keeler) from disappointing quality of nuts. [p055]
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Pecan (local and common name).
Pecan Nut, Pecan-tree, Pecanier (La.).
Locality.
Valley of Mississippi, southward to Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico.
Features of Tree.
Ninety to one hundred feet in height, sometimes higher. Two and one-half to five feet in diameter. A tall tree, smooth-shelled oblong edible nuts.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, tinged with red, sapwood lighter brown. Close-grained and compact, medullary rays numerous but thin.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, not strong, brittle.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Fuel, seldom used in construction.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
49 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[36]
44.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,530,000 (average of 37 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[36]
940,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
15,300 (average of 37 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[36]
8,200.
Remarks.
Grows on borders of streams in low rich soil. Largest and most important tree of western Texas. The sweet edible nuts form an important article of commerce. [p056]
The chestnut is found in the temperature regions of central and southern Europe, northern Africa, China, Japan, and eastern North America. The wood is valued in construction, and the much-prized nuts are regarded as a food rather than a confection. European chestnut wood was once high in favor, although examination of structures in which it was supposed to have been used indicates that in some instances oak had been mistaken for it and had been employed in its place.
The North American chestnut affords a weak, brittle, but easily worked and very durable wood, such as is admirably adapted for beams, ties, and sills, where lightness and durability rather than much transverse strength are required. Trees in Europe have attained to great size and age. Micheaux mentions one thirty feet in circumference six feet from the ground and said to have been standing for a thousand years. The famous Mt. Etna chestnut[37] is reported to have measured two hundred and four feet in circumference. Large trunks are apt to be hollow, affording brittle, useless wood. The botanical relation between the American and European chestnuts is not distinct. Some consider the former a distinct species, others a variety only. The name "Chinquapin" applies to two distinct botanical species, one, the Castanea pumila, closely related to the common chestnut; the other, Castanopsis chrysophylla, belonging to the same family (Cupuliferæ), but to quite another genus. Both afford woods resembling, but heavier than, chestnut.
The chestnut may be known by its large prickly burr, [p057] containing from one to three thin-shelled, triangular, wedge-shaped nuts. Both chinquapins have prickly burrs containing one, or sometimes two, sweet edible nuts. Three of the four known species of the genus Castanea grow in North America, one the common chestnut (Castanea vulgaris); another the Chinquapin (Castanea pumila); the third a plant never attaining to the size of a tree. The Chinquapin (Castanopsis chrysophylla) is the only North American representative of a genus including twenty-five species. Keeler says that Castanea is from a town of that name in Thessaly, or from another town of that name in Pontus. [p058]
[37] "Castagno di cento cavalli," so called from having sheltered 100 mounted cavaliers, measured by Brydon in 1770. It had the appearance of five distinct trees, but was probably one trunk. (G. B. Emerson, "Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts," Vol. I, page 192.)
Nomenclature.
Chestnut (local and common name).
Locality.
New England, New York to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan. Best on western slope of Alleghany Mountains.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height, five to twelve feet in diameter. Fine characteristic shape, not easily distinguished from Red Oak in winter. Blossoms in midsummer. Prickly burrs contain three thin-shelled nuts.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood brown, sapwood lighter, coarse-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Light, soft, not strong, liable to check and warp in drying. Easily split. Very durable in exposed positions.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Cabinet-making, railway ties, posts, fencing, sills.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
28.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,200,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
9800.
Remarks.
The nuts of the foreign species (C. vesca) as well as those of the domestic species are much prized. The former are larger and the latter sweeter. One of the latest trees to blossom. [p059]
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Chinquapin (Del., N. J., Pa., Va., W. Va., N. C., S. C., Ga., Ala., Fla., Miss., La., Tex., Ark., Ohio, Ky., Mo., Mich.).
Locality.
Pennsylvania to Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan.
Features of Tree.
A small tree, sometimes forty-five feet in height, one to two feet or over in diameter. Sometimes reduced to low shrub. Small prickly burr with single small chestnut-colored nut.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood dark brown, sapwood hardly distinguishable. Coarse-grained, annual layers marked by rows of open ducts.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Rather heavy, hard, strong. Durable in exposed positions. Liable to check in drying.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Posts, rails, railway ties, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
36.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,620,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
14,000.
Remarks.
The Chinquapin Castanopsis chrysophylla, is a tree with characteristics between oak and chestnut. Its wood is nearly similar to that of the Chinquapin Castanea pumila, and is sometimes used for implements.
Beech is well known on the eastern continent. The common beech (Fagus atropunicea) is the only American representative. Eastern species have figured in literature since the time of Virgil. The northern nations early wrote upon thin tablets of beechwood, and boc, bok, and buche, the northern names for beech, finally gave origin to the word book.[38] American Indians believed that the beech was proof against lightning.
Beechwood is hard, heavy, strong, not durable when exposed, and somewhat subject to attack by insects. European engineers employ it to a considerable extent in construction, but it is seldom used in America save for indoor finish, furniture, handles, flooring, and the like. The small edible nuts, known as beech-mast, are pressed abroad for a fixed oil, resembling and used in place of that from the olive. They are seldom gathered in this country, but are devoured by animals. Beech-trees have smooth, light-colored bark, and are very attractive in their winter appearance. They may be recognized earlier in the season by their small prickly burrs, each containing two triangular, sharp-edged nuts. There are fifteen or more species known to belong to this genus. Fagus is from phago, to eat, and refers to the nut.
The name Ironwood has been applied to Blue Beech (Carpinus caroliniana), to the Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), and to at least eight other North American species affording unusually hard and heavy woods, such as are used for handles [p061] and implements.[39] Trunks of trees affording these woods are generally small and the weight of the woods is so great as to prevent their use in construction. [p062]
[38] Liber, the Latin for book, is from liber, the inner bark of a tree, while papyrus, the Latin for paper, is from an Egyptian reed of that name. The words "book," "library," and "paper" are thus drawn from trees and plants.
† Keeler notes experiments made to prove resistance on part of beechwood.
[39] Prosopis juliflora, Olneya tesota, Guajacum sanctum, Cliftonia monophylla, Cyrilla racemiflora, Exothea paniculata, Bumelia tenax, Bumelia lycioides. (Sudworth.)
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Beech (local and common name).
Red Beech (Me., Vt., Ky., Ohio.).
White Beech (Me., Ohio., Mich.).
Ridge Beech (Ark.).
Locality.
Nova Scotia to Florida, westward intermittently to Wisconsin and Texas.
Features of Tree.
Sixty to eighty feet, occasionally higher; two to four feet in diameter. Small rough burr contains two thin-shelled nuts.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood reddish, variable shades, sapwood white. Rather close-grained, conspicuous medullary rays.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Hard, strong, tough, not durable when exposed. Takes fine polish. Liable to check during seasoning.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Shoe-lasts, plane-stocks, ship-building, handles, and fuel. Carpentry (abroad), wagon-making, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
42.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,720,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
16,300.
Remarks.
The nuts are seldom gathered in the United States, nor is the wood there often utilized in carpentry. This is sometimes divided commercially into Red and White Beech, according to color of wood. Such division has no botanical basis. [p063]
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Ironwood, Blue Beech (local and common name).
Water Beech (R. I., N. Y., Pa., Del., W. Va., Ohio, Ill., Ind., Mich., Minn., Nebr., Kans.).
Hornbeam (Me., N. H., Mass., R. I., Conn., N. Y., N. J., Pa., Del., N. C., S. C., Ala., Tex., Ky., Ill., Kans., Minn.).
Locality.
Quebec to Florida, westward intermittently to Nebraska and Texas.
Features of Tree.
Thirty to fifty feet in height. Six inches to occasionally two feet in diameter. A small tree, dark bluish-gray; bark resembles that of beech save in color.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, thick sapwood nearly white, close-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Very hard, tough, strong, heavy, very stiff, inclined to check during seasoning, not durable when exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Levers, tool-handles, etc.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
45.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,630,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
16,300.
Remarks.
Prized by wheelwrights in Europe. Resemblance of bluish bark to light-gray bark of beech gave rise to name. [p064]
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Ironwood, Hop Hornbeam (local and common names).
Leverwood (Vt., Mass., R. I., N. Y., Pa., Kans.).
Hornbeam (R. I., N. Y., Fla., S. C., La.).
Hardhack (Vt.).
Locality.
Nova Scotia to Florida, westward intermittently to Dakota and Texas.
Features of Tree.
Thirty to forty feet in height, one foot or less in diameter. The bark exhibits long vertical rows of small squares. Small fruit resembles hops. Leaves resemble those of birch.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood reddish brown, sometimes white, sapwood lighter or white. Close-grained, compact structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Very strong, hard, heavy, tough, durable when exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Posts, levers, tool-handles, axe-helves, mill-cogs, wedges.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
51.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,950,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
16,000.
Remarks.
The name Sycamore applies to a maple (Acer pseudo-platanus) in Europe, to a fig-tree (Ficus sycomorus) in the Orient,[40] and to the buttonball or plane tree (Platanus) in North America. Of the plane trees (Platanus) the common or Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) is a native of Europe; the plane, buttonball, or sycamore tree (Platanus occidentalis) is a native and common tree in eastern North America; and the California plane, buttonball, or sycamore (Platanus racemosa) is a native of western North America.
The sycamore stands for curiosity, because of its Biblical association with Zaccheus. Many European sycamores were planted by religious persons during the middle ages because of the belief that they were the trees thus referred to in the Bible.
The woods afforded by the American sycamores have unusually complicated, cross-grained, but beautiful structures, difficult to work, but standing well and valued for cabinet work and small articles. American trees are often very large.
American buttonball or sycamore trees are distinguished by rough balls which remain hanging on long stems throughout the winter. The bark also is shed to an unusual extent; flakes of the outer cover drop away, exposing smooth inner surfaces so white as to appear as if painted. Six or seven species are included in the genus; three occur in North America. Platanus is from platus, signifying broad, and refers to the shape of the leaves. [p066]
[40] Brockhaus, Konversations-Lexicon (B. 15, p. 536).
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Buttonball Tree (local and common names).
Buttonball (R. I., N. Y., Pa., Fla.).
Plane Tree (R. I., Del., S. C., Kans., Nebr., Ia.).
Water Beech (Del.).
Platane cotonier, Bois puant (La.).
Locality.
Maine to Florida, westward intermittently to Nebraska and Texas. Best in bottom lands of Ohio and Mississippi River basins.
Features of Tree.
Ninety to over one hundred feet in height, six to sometimes twelve feet in diameter. Inner bark exposed in white patches. Large rough balls or fruit.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood reddish brown, sapwood lighter, close-grained, compact structures, satiny conspicuous medullary rays. Attractive when quartered.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, hard, difficult to work, not strong, stands well when not exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Tobacco-boxes, ox-yokes, butcher-blocks, cabinet-work.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
35.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,220,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
9000.
Remarks.
Some specimens rank among the largest of American deciduous trees. These are usually hollow. The remarkably rigid bark does not stretch to accommodate the growth and is thus discarded to an unusual degree. [p067]
Nomenclature.
Sycamore, Buttonwood, Buttonball Tree, Buttonball (California).
Locality.
California.
Features of Tree.
Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height, occasionally higher; three to four feet in diameter. The bark exfoliates in irregular patches.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light reddish brown, sapwood lighter, close-grained, compact structure, medullary rays numerous and conspicuous. Beautiful when quartered.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Brittle, very difficult to split and to season. Qualities similar to those of P. occidentalis.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Decoration, furniture, similar to P. occidentalis.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
30.
Modulus of Elasticity.
800,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
7900.
Remarks.
Hough mentions[41] a tree twenty-nine feet seven inches in circumference. [p068]
[41] "American Woods," Part 6, p. 36.
The birches grow in Europe, Asia, and North America, their ranges on the latter continent extending far into the north.[42] Their history is remote and probably began with attention to the bark rather than to the wood.
Birch-bark is smooth, pliable, water-tight, and by reason of its resinous oils so durable that it often remains intact long after the wood inside of fallen trees has disappeared. It is separable into thin layers and was early employed as a writing material.[43] Houses have been covered by it and it has been used for cordage, utensils, "damp courses," and even rude clothing. The American Indians employed it for canoes, tents, troughs, and buckets. The wood is hard, heavy, strong, fine-grained, and beautiful. It shrinks in seasoning, works easily, stands well when not exposed. It is used for spools, woodenware, and other small articles, as well as for interior finish and cabinet work. Figured birch is one of the most beautiful of American cabinet woods.[44] Birch is often stained so as to imitate cherry and mahogany; the best imitations of the latter wood are of birch. Birch is commercially divided, according to the quantity of heartwood present, into white birch and red birch. The wood is "white" when the amount is small, and as heartwood increases with age the same tree might at one time afford white and at another red wood.
Birch trees may be known by their more or less laminated bark with its peculiar long horizontal lenticles or dashes. The [p069] leaves of the several birches differ but little, but the decided colors exhibited by their barks give names and serve to distinguish the species. Nine of the twenty-four known species of birch occur in North America; six are trees and the others low shrubs. Betula is said to be derived from bitumen. [p070]
[42] Birch forms large forests in the North.
[43] Pliny and Plutarch agree that the famous books of Numa Pompilius, written 700 years before Christ, were upon birch-bark. (Keeler.)
[44] The banquet-hall of the famous Auditorium Hotel in Chicago is finished in birch. (Kidder.)
| Yellow Birch Tree (Betula lutea). | White Birch Bark (Betula populifolia). |
| Yellow Birch Foliage (Betula lutea). | Birch Wood. |
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
White Birch (local and common name).
Gray Birch (Me., R. I., Mass.).
Oldfield Birch, Poverty Birch (Me.).
Poplar-leaved Birch, Small White Birch (Vt.).
Locality.
Atlantic coast, Canada to Delaware.
Features of Tree.
Twenty to forty feet in height, about one foot in diameter. Durable, laminated, smooth, white bark on large branches and on trunk, save near ground; is not very easily detached from tree. Tremulous leaves.
Color, Grain, or Appearance of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, sapwood lighter, close-grained.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Soft, light, not strong or durable.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Clothes-pins, shoe-pegs, tooth-picks, paper-pulp.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
35.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,036,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
11,000.
Remarks.
The white bark is distinct from that of the paper birch in that it does not cover the whole trunk and in that it remains more perfectly intact. [p071]
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Paper Birch, White Birch (local and common names).
Silver Birch (Minn.).
Large White Birch (Vt.).
Boleau (Quebec).
Canoe Birch (Me., Vt., N. H., R. I., Mass., N. Y., Pa., Wis., Mich., Minn.).
Locality.
Northern United States, northward into Canada, valley of the Yukon in Alaska.
Features of Tree.
Fifty to seventy feet in height, one and one-half to two and one-half feet in diameter. Smooth white exterior bark on large limbs and trunks away from ground. Brown or orange inner surfaces of bark. Splits freely into thin paper-like layers.
Color, Grain, or Appearance of Wood.
Heartwood brown tinged with red, sapwood nearly white. Very close-grained, compact structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Strong, hard, tough, not durable.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Spools, shoe-lasts, pegs, paper-pulp, fuel, bark used in canoes.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
37.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,850,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
15,000.
Remarks.
Starch is said to be manufactured from inner bark by Northern Indians. Reaches higher latitude than any American deciduous tree. Forms forests. The name White Birch is because of the color of the bark. [p072]
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Red Birch (local and common name).
Black Birch (Fla., Tenn., Tex.).
River Birch (Mass., R. I., N. J., Del., Pa., W. Va., Ala., Miss., Tex., Mo., Ill., Wis., Ohio).
Birch (N. C., S. C, Miss., La.).
Water Birch (W. Va., Kans.).
Blue Birch (Ark.).
Locality.
Massachusetts to Florida, westward intermittently to Minnesota and Texas. Best development in south Atlantic and lower Mississippi valley regions.
Features of Tree.
Thirty to eighty feet in height, one to three feet in diameter, sometimes larger. Dark red brown scaly bark on trunk. Red to silvery-white bark on branches. Bark separates in thin paper-like scales curling outward.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light brown, sapwood yellowish white. Close-grained, compact structure.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Light, rather hard and strong.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Furniture, woodenware, shoe-lasts, ox-yokes. Inferior cask-hoops from branches.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
35.
Modulus of Elasticity.
1,580,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
13,100.
Remarks.
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)
Yellow Birch (local and common name).
Gray Birch (Vt., R. I., Pa., Mich., Minn.).
Swamp Birch (Minn.).
Silver Birch (N. H.).
Merisier, Merisier Rouge (Quebec).
Locality.
Newfoundland to North Carolina, westward intermittently to Minnesota and Texas. Best developed north of the Great Lakes.
Features of Tree.
Sixty to eighty feet or more in height, two to four feet in diameter. A medium-sized tree. Bark on trunk silvery gray to silvery yellow, branches green to lustrous or dull brown. Bark exfoliates, causing a rough, ragged appearance.
Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.
Heartwood light reddish brown, sapwood nearly white, close-grained, compact structure, satiny.
Structural Qualities of Wood.
Heavy, very strong, and hard, tough, susceptible of high polish. Qualities suggest those of maple. Not durable when exposed.
Representative Uses of Wood.
Furniture, buttons, tassel-moulds, pill-boxes, spools, and wheel-hubs.
Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot.
40.
Modulus of Elasticity.
2,290,000.
Modulus of Rupture.
17,700.
Remarks.
Occasional trees have thin outer bark ruptured, and exhibit inner bark of almost metallic yellow. Lutea, signifying yellow, alludes to color of bark. Inner bark has pungent, pleasant flavor. [p074]
Nomenclature. (Sudworth.)