Part 5 (1/2)

CHESTNUT

The chestnut is a long-lived tree, attaining an age of from 400 to 600 years, but trees over 100 years are usually hollow. It grows quickly, and sprouts from a chestnut stump (Coppice Chestnut) often attain a height of 8 feet in the first year. It has a fairly cylindrical stem, and often grows to a height of 100 feet and over. Coppice chestnut, that is, chestnut grown on an old stump, furnishes better timber for working than chestnut grown from the nut, it is heavier, less spongy, straighter in grain, easier to split, and stands exposure longer.

=26. Chestnut= (_Castanea vulgaris_ var. _Americana_). Medium-to large-sized tree, never forming forests. Wood is light, moderately hard, stiff, elastic, not strong, but very durable when in contact with the soil, of coa.r.s.e texture. Sapwood light, heartwood darker brown, and is readily distinguishable from the sapwood, which very early turns into heartwood. It shrinks and checks considerably in drying, works easily, stands well. The annual rings are very distinct, medullary rays very minute and not visible to the naked eye. Used in cooperage, for cabinetwork, agricultural implements, railway ties, telegraph poles, fence posts, sills, boxes, crates, coffins, furniture, fixtures, foundation for veneer, and locally in heavy construction. Very common in the Alleghanies. Occurs from Maine to Michigan and southward to Alabama.

=27. Chestnut= (_Castanea dentata_ var. _vesca_). Medium-sized tree, never forming forests, not common. Heartwood brown color, sapwood lighter shade, coa.r.s.e-grained. Wood and uses similar to the preceding.

Occurs scattered along the St. Lawrence River, and even there is met with only in small quant.i.ties.

=28. Chinquapin= (_Castanea pumila_). Medium- to small-sized tree, with wood slightly heavier, but otherwise similiar to the preceding. Most common in Arkansas, but with nearly the same range as _Castanea vulgaris_.

=29. Chinquapin= (_Castanea chrysophylla_). A medium-sized tree of the western ranges of California and Oregon.

COFFEE TREE

=30. Coffee Tree= (_Gymnocladus dioicus_) (Coffee Nut, Stump Tree). A medium- to large-sized tree, not common. Wood heavy, hard, strong, very stiff, of coa.r.s.e texture, and durable. Sapwood yellow, heartwood reddish brown, shrinks and checks considerably in drying, works well and stands well, and takes a fine polish. It is used to a limited extent in cabinetwork and interior finish. Pennsylvania to Minnesota and Arkansas.

COTTONWOOD (See Poplar)

CRAB APPLE

=31. Crab Apple= (_Pyrus coronaria_) (Wild Apple, Fragrant Crab).

Small-sized tree. Heartwood reddish brown, sapwood yellow. Wood heavy, hard, not strong, close-grained. Used princ.i.p.ally for tool handles and small domestic articles. Most abundant in the middle and western states, reaches its greatest size in the valleys of the lower Ohio basin.

CUc.u.mBER TREE (See Magnolia)

DOGWOOD

=32. Dogwood= (_Cornus florida_) (American Box). Small to medium-sized tree. Attains a height of about 30 feet and about 12 inches in diameter. The heartwood is a red or pinkish color, the sapwood, which is considerable, is a creamy white. The wood has a dull surface and very fine grain. It is valuable for turnery, tool handles, and mallets, and being so free from silex, watchmakers use small splinters of it for cleaning out the pivot holes of watches, and opticians for removing dust from deep-seated lenses. It is also used for butchers'

skewers, and shuttle blocks and wheel stock, and is suitable for turnery and inlaid work. Occurs scattered in all the broad-leaved forests of our country; very common.

ELM

Wood heavy, hard, strong, elastic, very tough, moderately durable in contact with the soil, commonly cross-grained, difficult to split and shape, warps and checks considerably in drying, but stands well if properly seasoned. The broad sapwood whitish, heartwood light brown, both with shades of gray and red. On split surfaces rough, texture coa.r.s.e to fine, capable of high polish. Elm for years has been the princ.i.p.al wood used in slack cooperage for barrel staves, also in the construction of cars, wagons, etc., in boat building, agricultural implements and machinery, in saddlery and harness work, and particularly in the manufacture of all kinds of furniture, where the beautiful figures, especially those of the tangential or b.a.s.t.a.r.d section, are just beginning to be appreciated. The elms are medium- to large-sized trees, of fairly rapid growth, with stout trunks; they form no forests of pure growth, but are found scattered in all the broad-leaved woods of our country, sometimes forming a considerable portion of the arborescent growth.

=33. White Elm= (_Ulmus Americana_) (American Elm, Water Elm). Medium- to large-sized tree. Wood in its quality and uses as stated above.

Common. Maine to Minnesota, southward to Florida and Texas.

=34. Rock Elm= (_Ulmus racemosa_) (Cork Elm, Hickory Elm, White Elm, Cliff Elm). Medium- to large-sized tree of rapid growth. Heartwood light brown, often tinged with red, sapwood yellowish or greenish white, compact structure, fibres interlaced. Wood heavy, hard, very tough, strong, elastic, difficult to split, takes a fine polish. Used for agricultural implements, automobiles, crating, boxes, cooperage, tool handles, wheel stock, bridge timbers, sills, interior finish, and maul heads. Fairly free from knots and has only a small quant.i.ty of sapwood. Michigan, Ohio, from Vermont to Iowa, and southward to Kentucky.

=35. Red Elm= (_Ulmus fulva_ var. _p.u.b.escens_) (Slippery Elm, Moose Elm). The red or slippery elm is not as large a tree as the white elm (_Ulmus Americana_), though it occasionally attains a height of 135 feet and a diameter of 4 feet. It grows tall and straight, and thrives in river valleys. The wood is heavy, hard, strong, tough, elastic, commonly cross-grained, moderately durable in contact with the soil, splits easily when green, works fairly well, and stands well if properly handled. Careful seasoning and handling are essential for the best results. Trees can be utilized for posts when very small. When green the wood rots very quickly in contact with the soil. Poles for posts should be cut in summer and peeled and dried before setting. The wood becomes very tough and pliable when steamed, and is of value for sleigh runners and for ribs of canoes and skiffs. Together with white elm (_Ulmus Americana_) it is extensively used for barrel staves in slack cooperage and also for furniture. The thick, viscous inner bark, which gives the tree its descriptive name, is quite palatable, slightly nutritious, and has a medicinal value. Found chiefly along water courses. New York to Minnesota, and southward to Florida and Texas.

=36. Cedar Elm= (_Ulmus cra.s.sifolia_). Medium- to small-sized tree, locally quite common. Arkansas and Texas.

=37. Winged Elm= (_Ulmus alata_) (Wahoo). Small-sized tree, locally quite common. Heartwood light brown, sapwood yellowish white. Wood heavy, hard, tough, strong, and close-grained. Arkansas, Missouri, and eastern Virginia.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 10. A Large Red Gum.]