Wood and Forest - LightNovelsOnl.com
You're reading novel online at LightNovelsOnl.com. Please use the follow button to get notifications about your favorite novels and its latest chapters so you can come back anytime and won't miss anything.
25
WHITE CEDAR.
_Chamaecyparis thyoides_ (Linnaeus) B. S. P.
_Chamaecyparis_ means low cypress; _thyoides_ means like _thuya_ (_Aborvitae_).
[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]
HABITAT: (See map); best in Virginia and North Carolina.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 60'-80'; diameter, 2'-4'; branches, low, often forming impenetrable thickets; bark, light reddish brown, many fine longitudinal fissures, often spirally twisted around stem; leaves, scale-like, four-ranked; cones, globular, 1/4"
diameter.
APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, pink to brown, sap-wood lighter; non-porous; rings, sharp and distinct; grain, straight; rays, numerous, obscure; non-resinous.
PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Very light in weight (64th in this list); 23 lbs.
per cu. ft.; sp. gr. 0.3322); weak (64th in this list); brittle (63d in this list; soft (62d in this list); shrinkage 3 per cent.; warps little; extremely durable; easily worked; splits easily; nails well.
COMMON USES: Boats, s.h.i.+ngles, posts, railway ties, cooperage.
REMARKS: Grows chiefly in swamps, often in dense pure forests. Uses determined largely by its durability.
[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.]
26
LAWSON CYPRESS. PORT ORFORD CEDAR. OREGON CEDAR. WHITE CEDAR.
_Chamaecyparis lawsoniana_ (A. Murray) Parlatore.
_Chamaecyparis_ means low cypress.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]
HABITAT: (See map); best on coast of Oregon.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 100'-200'; diameter, 4'-8', even 12'; base of trunk abruptly enlarged; bark, very thick, even 10" at base of trunk, inner and outer layers distinct, very deep fissures, rounded ridges; leaves, very small, 1/16" long, four-ranked, overlapped, flat sprays; cones, small, 1/4", globular.
APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, pinkish brown, sap-wood hardly distinguishable; non-porous; rings, summer wood thin, not conspicuous; grain, straight, close; rays, numerous, very obscure; non-resinous.
PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Light in weight (46th in this list); 28 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr. 0.4621; strong (25th in this list); elastic (12th in this list); soft (50th in this list); shrinkage 3 or 4 per cent.; warps little; durable; easily worked; splits easily.
COMMON USES: Matches (almost exclusively on the Pacific Coast), interior finish, s.h.i.+p and boat building.
REMARKS: Resin, a powerful diuretic and insecticide.
[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.]
27
RED CEDAR.
_Juniperus virginiana_ Linnaeus.
_Juniperus_, the cla.s.sical Latin name; _virginiana_, in honor of the State of Virginia.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]
HABITAT: (See map); best in Gulf States in swamps, especially on the west coast of Florida.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 40'-50', even 80'; diameter, 1'-2'; trunk, ridged, sometimes expanded; branches, low; bark, light brown, loose, ragged, separating into long, narrow, persistent, stringy scales; leaves, opposite, of two kinds, awl-shaped, and scale-shaped; fruit, dark blue berry.
APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, dull red, sap-wood white; non-porous; rings, easily distinguished; grain, straight; rays, numerous, very obscure; non-resinous.
PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Very light in weight (42d in this list); 30 lbs.
per cu. ft.; sp. gr. 0.4826; medium strong (43d in this list); brittle (61st in this list); medium hard (34th in this list); shrinkage, 3 per cent.; warps little; very durable; easy to work; splits readily, takes nails well.
COMMON USES: Pencils, chests, cigar boxes, pails, interior finish.
REMARKS: Fragrant. Pencils are made almost exclusively of this wood, because it is light, strong, stiff, straight and fine-grained and easily whittled; supply being rapidly depleted.
[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.]
28
