Wood and Forest Part 14

REMARKS: A valuable lumber tree in the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades. Bark used for tanning.

[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.]

16

TIDELAND SPRUCE. SITKA SPRUCE.

_Picea sitchensis_ (Bongard) Carrire.

_Picea_, the cla.s.sical Latin name for the pitch pine.

Tideland refers to its habit of growth along the sea coast; _sitchensis_, named for Sitka.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]

HABITAT: (See map); best on Pacific slope of British Columbia and northwestern United States.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 100'-150' and even 200' high; diameter 3'-4' and even 15'; trunk base enlarged; bark, thick, red-brown, scaly; leaves, standing out in all directions; cones, 2-1/2"-4" long, pendent, cylindrical, oval.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light brown, sap-wood whitish; non-porous; rings, wide, summer wood, thin but very distinct, spring wood, not plain; grain, straight, coa.r.s.e; rays, numerous, rather prominent; resin ducts, few and small.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, light (52d in this list); 27 lbs. per cu.

ft.; sp. gr. 0.4287; medium strong (53d in this list); elastic (31st in this list); soft (59th in this list); shrinkage, 3 per cent.; warps ...........; durable; easy to work; splits easily.

COMMON USES: Interior finish, boat building and cooperage.

REMARKS: Largest of the spruces. Common in the coast belt forest.

[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.]

17

HEMLOCK.

_Tsuga canadensis_ (Linnaeus) Carrire.

_Tsuga_, the j.a.panese name latinized; _canadensis_ named for Canada.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]

HABITAT: (See map); best in North Carolina and Tennessee.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 60'-70', sometimes 100'; diameter, 2'-3'; branches, persistent, making trunk not very clean; bark, red-gray, narrow, rounded ridges, deeply and irregularly fissured; leaves, spirally arranged, but appear two-ranked; cones, 3/4" long, graceful.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, reddish brown, sap-wood just distinguishable; non-porous; rings, rather broad, conspicuous; grain, crooked; rays, numerous, thin; non-resinous.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, light (53d in this list); 26 lbs. per cu.

ft.; sp. gr. 0.4239; medium strong (44th in this list); elasticity, medium (40th in this list); soft (51st in this list); shrinkage, 3 per cent.; warps and checks badly; not durable; difficult to work, splintery, brittle; splits easily, holds nails well.

COMMON USES: Coa.r.s.e, cheap lumber, as joists, rafters, plank walks and laths.

REMARKS: The poorest lumber. Bark chief source of tanning material.

[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.]

18

WESTERN HEMLOCK. BLACK HEMLOCK.

_Tsuga heterophylla_ (Rafinesque) Sargent.

_Tsuga_, the j.a.panese name latinized; _heterophylla_ refers to two kinds of leaves.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]

HABITAT: (See map); best on coast of Washington and Oregon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 150'-200'; diameter, 6'-10'; branches, pendent, slender; bark, reddish gray, deep, longitudinal fissures between, broad, oblique, flat ridges; leaves, dark green, two-ranked; cones, small, like Eastern Hemlock.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, pale brown, sap-wood thin, whitish; non-porous; rings, narrow, summer wood thin but distinct; grain, straight, close; rays, numerous, prominent; non-resinous.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Light in weight, strong, elastic, hard;[A]

shrinkage, 3 per cent.; warps ..........; durable, more so than other American hemlocks; easier to work than eastern variety; splits badly.

COMMON USES: Lumber for construction.

REMARKS: Coming to be recognized as a valuable lumber tree.