COTTONWOOD - COMMERCIAL WOOD The cottonwoods or true poplars yield light, soft, even-grained, easily worked woods, more closely resembling basswood than any other species. Cottonwood, however, is tougher and stiffer than basswood, and, because of its interwoven fibers, resists wear extremely well for such a soft wood. The bulk of the cottonwood lumber is manufactured from the common Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), which is most abundant in the lower Mississippi valley. In Oregon and Washington, the black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) yields a lumber which is used for the same purposes as that of the Eastern species.
Because of its lightness and strength, cottonwood is a favorite material with box makers, as will be seen from Table 77.
Table 77 Factory Uses of Cottonwood Purpose Per Cent Boxes and Crates 56 Excelsior 14Vehicles 9 Mill Work 6 Agricultural Implements 4 Woodenware and Novelties 4 Furniture and Fixtures 2 Refrigerators and Kitchen Cabinets 1 Other Uses 4 Total 100 Particular uses reported for Eastern cottonwood are for: Agricultural implements Frames (canopy) Backs (washboards) Furniture (inside work) Baskets Incubators Berry boxes Interior trimmings Bevel siding Ironing-boards Bookcases (inside work) Kitchen cabinets Boxboards (heavy vehicles) Ladders Boxes Manure spreaders (beds) Boxes (manure spreaders) Millwork Box shooks Mortar boards Brooders (poultry) Music cabinets (inside work) Buggy backs Packages (fruit and vegeCar construction (rafters) table) Car repairing parts Panels (light vehicle bodies) Carts Panels (spring wagon China closets bodies) Clothboards Piano cases (veneer cases) Coffins Refrigerators Commodes Saddle trees Corn binder parts Sample cases Corn shellers Seeders, boxes (farm impleCornice ments) Cultivator parts Self-feeders (threshing maCupboards (kitchen) chines) Crating Separator sides (threshers) Dowels (chair) Shelving Drawers Shipping cases (butter) Drill boxes (farm ample- Siding (washboards) ments) Stacker parts (farm maDrills (farm implements) chinery) Drop siding Tables Egg cases Trunks Ensilage cutters Vehicle bodies Envelope cutters Vehicle seat backs Eveners (harrow) Vending machines Fixtures (bar) Wagon beds Fixtures (store and office) Wheelbarrows Fodder shredders Woodenware The Oregon or black cottonwood is used in Oregon and Washington for: Baskets, boxes, candy barrels, caskets, cores of veneered products, excelsior, farm machinery, furniture (chair seats, couch heads, drawer bottoms, shelving), fixtures (drawer bottoms, shelving), pack saddles, pulleys, trunks, veneer, woodenware.