Birch. Birch is a very handsome wood of a brown or red color and with a satiny luster. There are two kinds, the red birch and the white birch, but they are both taken from the same kind of tree, the difference being that the red birch consists of more and older heartwood, while the white birch is the sapwood or the younger heartwood. The trees are of medium size and form large forests. They are found throughout the eastern part of the United States and Canada, and in the extreme north. The distinguishing feature of the tree is the bark, which is famous because of its beauty and its usefulness for a number of purposes. This bark is white in color with long dashes of a darker color running around the tree trunk in a horizontal direction. It is water-tight and pliable, which made it useful to the Indians for the covering of their canoes. It was also used in ancient times, before the manufacture of paper, as a material to write upon. The bark has been used for a number of other pur poses. The wood is used quite extensively for inside finish and floors, and to imitate cherry and mahogany, as it has a grain which is very similar to the grain of these woods. It takes a good polish, works easily, and does not warp after it is in place, but it is not durable when exposed to the weather.
Butternut. Butternut is really a branch of the family of wal nuts, and differs from them only slightly. The wood is used to some extent for inside finish, and is cheaper than most of the other hard woods. It is light, but not strong, and is fairly soft. In color it is light brown. The trees, of medium size, arc found in the eastern states from Maine to Georgia.
Cherry. Cherry is a wood which is frequently used as a finishing wood for the interior of dwellings and of cars and steamers, but, owing to the fact that it can be obtained only in narrow boards, it is most suitable for molded work, and work which is much cut up. The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and of fine texture. The heartwood is of a reddish brown color, while the sapwood is yellowish white. It is very handsome and takes a good polish, works easily, and stands well. It shrinks considerably, however, in drying. The timber is cut from the wild black cherry tree, not from the cultivated cherry tree. This tree is of medium size, and is found scattered among the other broad-leaved trees along the western slopes of the Alle ghenies, and as far west as Texas. The fruit of the wild cherry is of a dark purple color, about the size of a large pea. When ripe it tastes slightly bitter. The bark of the tree also tastes bitter. Cherry is often stained to resemble mahogany, and sometimes birch is stained to resemble cherry.
Chestnut. The grain of chestnut somewhat resembles oak but it is much softer and coarser in texture and does not show the medullary rays which form the distinguishing feature of oak. nut is used for cabinet work, for interior finishing, and sometimes for heavy construction. It is light, fairly soft, but not strong. The wood has a rather coarse texture, works easily and stands well, but shrinks and checks in drying. It is very durable and can be safely used in exposed positions. The tree grows in the region of the
Alleghenies, from Maine to Michigan, and southward to Alabama. The wood is dark brown in color, with the sapwood a little lighter. Elm. There arc five species of elm trees in the United States, scattered throughout the eastern and central states. The trees are usually large and of rapid growth, and do not form forests. The timber is hard and tough, frequently cross-grained, hard to work, and shrinks and checks in drying. The wood has not been used very extensively in building, but has a beautiful figured grain, can take a high polish, and is well adapted to staining. The texture is coarse to fine, and the color is brown with shades of gray and red. Gain. The wood of the gum tree has been used extensively for cabinet work, furniture, and interior finish. It is of fine texture and handsome appearance, heavy, fairly soft, yet strong. Its color is reddish brown. The wood warps and checks badly, is not durable when exposed, and is hard to work. It has a close grain, and some pieces are so regular that they have been stained to imitate black walnut and used as veneers for the manufacture of furniture and cabinet work. The species of gum tree, which yields timber of use in carpentry, is known as the sweet gum. It is of medium size, with a straight trunk. The trees do not form forests, though they are quite abundant east of the Mississippi River. The leaves have five lobes which are long and pointed, thus giving them a starlike appear ance. The bark is very rough, and its resemblance in appearance to the skin of an alligator has caused the wood to be called "Alligator Wood" in some localities.
Maple. Almost all of the maple used in building work comes from the hard sugar maple, which is most abundant in the region of the Great Lakes, but which is also found from Maine to Minnesota and southward to Florida. The trees are of medium to large size and form quite considerable forests. They are so abundant in Canada that the maple is the national tree, and the national emblem is a maple leaf. The wood when finished presents a very pleasing appearance, and ranks as one of the best of the hard woods in this respect. It is heavy and strong, of fine texture, and often has a fine wavy grain which gives the effect known as "curly." Other defects which add to the beauty of the grain occur in what is called "blister" and "bird's-eye" maple. These defects are the result of twisting of the fibers which make up the woody structure of the tree, and the maples seem to show them more frequently than any of the other trees, though they sometimes are to be found in birch and various other woods. The color of the sapwood is a creamy white while the heartwood is tinged with brown. The lumber shrinks moder ately, stands well, is easy to work, and is tough, but not very durable when subjected to exposure. The finished wood takes an excellent polish. It is most commonly employed for floors, and in other posi tions where a good wearing surface is required, as well as for ceiling and paneling, and other interior finish.