Northeastern Hardwoods

(PART FOUR)

This is the fourth in a four part segment on the major and minor commercial hardwood species of the Northeastern United States.ed.

Minor Specles

Northeastern hardwoods include several other species with characteristics and qualities that make them especially suitable for specific uses and applications, With the exception of soft maple, they are not generally available in sufficiently large quantities to justify special attention.

Northeastern Soft Maple (Acer saccharinum and Acer rubrum)

These two botanical classifications of species comprise "soft maple" in the Northeast. The tree grows in mixed hardwood forests, although it thrives best in the damp lowlands.

The properties are quite similar to those of hard maple; though, as the name implies, it is not so hard, strong or stiff. Northeastern soft maple is used largely for the same purposes as hard maple, except where strength and hardness are primary requisites.

Story at a Glance

A brief review of the hardwood species of the Northeast. . . major spe- cies include yellow birch, hard maple, black cherry, beech and red oak. .. minor species are soft maple, basswood, ash, whitebirchand yellow poplar or tuliptree. Part four.

Basswood (Tilia slabra)

American linden is another name for this species. It grows widely throughout the eastern part of the United States, but its important commercial range is confined to the Northeastern States. the Lake States and the Appalachian region.

The wood is whitish to creamy white or pale brown, sometimes with reddish tinge. It has a faint characteristic odor, especially when wet, and is straight-grained, light and soft. It is easy to work, which accounts for its wide use for hand carvings, and also for the fact that the early pioneers fashioned many of their household utensils and even furniture from it. Basswood shrinks and swells very little and holds its shape well.

One of the famous and distinctive uses of the lumber is the manufacture of piano keys. For that purpose the logs are cut into lumber when frozen, carefully selected for straightness or grain, then airseasoned in diffused light to preserve the color. Another important use isin the manufacture of venetianblind slats.

Basswood logs are in demand for veneer, which is eventually used for drawer panels, mirror backings and basket stock. Smaller quantities are used for dairy boxes and crates, millwork, core stock, trunks and valises, woodenware and novelties.

Northeastern basswood, because of its light color, its ability to remain flat without distortion. and to take enameled finishes, has consistently remained in the list of preferred woods.

Ash (Fraxinus omericana)

Northeastern tough white ash has had almost as important a part in the commercial development of our country as oak.

The wood of ash has a characteristic brownish color in the heartwood, but the sapwood is nearly white. It is straight-grained, heavy, hard, strong, stiff, high in shock resistance, with excellent bending qualities, and it wears smooth with use.

As a rule, the tree grows in mixture with other species and forms only a small proportion of the stand. The Northeastern species reaches its maximum in the uplands of central and southern New York, north central and western Pennsylvania.

Probably less than half the ash that is cut goes into lumber. Much of it is cut into short logs or bolts to be utilized for handles of various kinds.

It is, by all odds, the preferred wood for baseball bats, because of its lightness, toughness, shock resistance and resilience. It is also the standard wood for shovel, spade, rake and other long handles, as well as athletic goods such as short oars and paddles, tennis racket frames, snowshoes, ski poles, polo mallets and hockey sticks.

In lumber form, it is used primarily for furniture and cabinet work where an open-grained wood is allowable. More particularly, it is desirable for bent parts and chair bottoms. It can be easily split into thin but tough and elastic strips, a quality which makes it a most desirable wood for basket work.

White Birch

(Betula papyrifera)

The Northeastern white or paper bark birch is another of the special purpose woods, suitable for specialty uses, that are very important in the economy of some parts of the Northeast.

The growth range of the tree is extremely wide, but it is found chiefly and most abundantly in the Northeast and the Lake States. It occurs in both pure stands and scattered through forests composed largely of other trees. Unlike its distant relative, the yellow birch, it is comparatively short lived, fast growing, and a relatively small tree.

The wood is uniform in texture, (Please turn to page 80)

Steam Schooners

I ha.'c just finished reading (iagc N'1cKinne1 's e \e e llcnt articlc (.rcc I/rc ,\'lcrchanr. Jul.v. p.l1-I5) on stcanr schooners in the- P,rcitlc C'oust lunrhcr trade.

It brough t hirck nunl nrr-nrorics of' this lascinating scgnr.nt of'thc- inrlr-rstr).

thclpcd unlriurl u gootl nranv stcirr.r.r schooncrs at thc old Plttcn-[]linn [)ock in Wilnringlon. ('u.. dunng thL- sLrnrnrcrs f'ronr l9J-S through l9l9 g hilc I u:t\ ,t \llt(l\'ttl ,rt L ( l \

I ltlso hlcl thc rlre' r'\l)r'ricncc irt 1.+ ol' rluking l lrip in thc sLrnrcr ol' 1929 l-ronr l-os Angclc's to Br-llinghlnr. \'\'a.. rtborrrrl thc LJ'lrinrc.t Olsorr of'thc Olive r J. Olson ('o uith ('rrpt. ilutton in conrnt il n (1. 'l hc ship. a douhlc cnclcr. ulis unclrr churlcr to nrl luthcr. Robert Forgir-. lncl ciirricd lLl-nbcr lront the Blocclcl. [)onor un nrills lt Bcllinghant.

[)Lrring thc riar. I was the c\ccltti\ c olllccr ot'thc task l'orcc on Bakcr lsllrncl in the Pacific and had the plcasurc of seeing the Lumber Larl.r' firrmerly' owned b1' Owens-Parks Lumbcr Co.. Los Angclcs. Ca., arrive with some badl-v- needecl cargo. lt was quitc a sight to see the littie beautl so nrany thousands o1' milcs 1'rom hcr home wltters.

The N{aritinrc N{useum in San Francisco is a grcat institution and I hope !lt:rt ('rlr (r$n hudrllnU orgunizlrtion in San Pcdro. Ca.. *ill en.jo1'the same succcss.

Thlnk I ou f or publishing Gage's llnc article

Jim H. Forgie

Robcrt S. Osgood. Inc.

.500 Shatto Pl Los Angeles, Ca.90075

OBJECTIVE: RETIREMENT

Aftcr wcil ovcr half u ccnturl in lumber. I llnd that whilc thc rcst of thc nation is sr-rfftring 1'ronr an cncrgt shortugc. I huVc clcrclopccl lr pcrs0nal onc. Nothirrg critical arrrl lpropose to rupplr thc tirllou ing rcnrcrll

.\s ol' Jr-rlr 2. 1979. Sau'nrill Sales ( o. hus bccn on un inuctivc basis, with r\'lire ltt\'rtt ,rr lhu .h;e rtir e fh is closcs ()Lr t .r carecr wh ich stlrt.(l rrr thc'20 s * ith Pope & Talbot n hr'n thr-r' hutl ri rctail vard in San

Francisco. After that with their successors. then a long gone retatl yard. time out for Marine Corps in WW Il after which was with Lumber Sales Co. whose parent compan) owncd the '49ers and finallv Sau'mill Salcs Co. I retire with some rcgrcts al losing the close contacts with nrl nranl friends but intend to keep in tor,rch Meantime. best to 1ou uncl contincd success with the .lft'rchont.

J. Wendell Paquette

P.0. Box 622

Millbrac. C'a 94030

Personals

/( rtrttinuctl lront page 121 l-arrl Fuller is ncw to the Sonora divrsion lumber sales for LouisianaPacrfi c. Jim Costello is now supcrintendent of the remanulucturing plant at Standard, Ca.. according to James Murra;-. salcs nr gr.

Bruce Johnson. Cal-Pacific \{fg. Co.. Arcata. Ca.. is back f'ronr a sulnrorr fishing trip in thc C'lnldian Sln Juan Islands.

Ed Strother is thc ne* bnrnch nrgr. o1' Palmer G Lervis Co.. ['-ugcnr-. Or. Craig Herritv is at thc [)istriirution Center. Auburn. Wu.. us clircctor ot' purchascs. John Ruud. is ncrl r.ngr. ol lhe Bre mc-rton. Wu.. branch.