Part 50

FLORIDA BOXWOOD (Schæfferia frutescens) is of the same family as wahoo but of another genus, and is quite a different kind of tree. The generic name is in honor of Jakob Christian Schaeffer, a distinguished German naturalist who died in 1790. Two species of this tree occur in the United States, one the Florida boxwood, the other a small, shrubby growth in the dry regions of western Texas and northern Mexico. Florida boxwood is a West Indies tree which flourishes in the Bahamas and southward along the other islands to Venezuela. It has gained a foothold on the islands of southern Florida where it has found conditions favorable and it grows to a height of thirty or forty feet, and reaches a trunk diameter of ten inches, but such are trees of the largest size. The leaves are bright yellow-green, about two inches long, and one or less in width. They appear in Florida in April and persist a full year, until the foliage of the succeeding crop displaces them. The flowers which are small and inconspicuous, open about the same time as the leaves. The fruit is a scarlet berry which ripens in November, and has a decidedly disagreeable flavor. The bark is very thin.

When sound wood in sufficiently large pieces is obtainable it is valuable for a number of purposes, but chiefly as a substitute for Turkish boxwood as engraving blocks. The trees are always small in Florida, which is the only place in the United States where they occur, and the largest are often hollow or otherwise defective. The wood weighs 48.27 pounds per cubic foot, thoroughly dry, which is about two pounds heavier than white oak. It is rich in ashes, having about four times as much as white oak. The color of the heartwood is a bright, clear yellow to which is due the name yellow-wood occasionally applied to the tree in the region where it grows, as well as in markets where it is sold. This is not the tree known in commerce as West Indies boxwood, though it may be an occasional substitute. It is said that Florida boxwood was formerly much more abundant in this country than it is now. It was lumbered for the European market at about the same time that the south of Florida was stripped of its mahogany. It is suitable for many small articles where a hard, even-grained wood is wanted.

IRONWOOD (Cyrilla racemiflora) ranges from the coast region of North Carolina to Florida, and west near the coast to Texas. It is known as leatherwood, burnwood, burnwood bark, firewood, red titi, and white titi. Ten woods besides this are called ironwood in some parts of this country. The name is applied because the hardness of the wood suggests iron. It is not remarkable for its weight nor its strength. The medullary rays are thin and inconspicuous. In color it is brown, tinged with red. It is not apparent why it is a favorite fire wood, for its fuel value does not rate high theoretically, being much below many species with which it is associated. The largest trees rarely exceed a height of thirty feet and a diameter of twelve inches. They flourish in shady river bottoms and along the borders of sandy swamps and shallow ponds.

The tree occasionally assumes the form of a bush and sends up many stems which produce almost impenetrable thickets. Aside from its use as fuel, it is in small demand anywhere. In Texas it is sometimes made into wedges, and similar uses for it are doubtless found in other regions where it is abundant. It is named from Domenico Cirillo, an Italian naturalist who died in 1799.

TITI (Cliftonia monophylla) is of the cyrilla family and is one of three species which occasionally pass under that name. It sometimes reaches a height of fifty feet and a diameter of one or more. Its range follows the coast region from South Carolina to Louisiana. It betakes itself to swamps and flourishes in situations that would be fatal to many species. Half under water during many months of the year it is placed at no disadvantage. It grows equally well in shallow swamps which are rarely overflowed. Near the southern limits of its range in Florida it is reduced to a shrub. It is known as ironwood and buckwheat tree. The last name is due to its seeds which are about the size of a buckwheat grain and otherwise resemble it. The flowers appear in early spring on long racemes, and are very fragrant. The wood weighs about thirty-nine pounds per cubic foot, is not strong, but is moderately hard. It is valuable as fuel and burns with a clear, bright flame.

MOUNTAIN LAUREL

MOUNTAIN LAUREL

(Kalmia Latifolia)

This tree belongs to the heath family and not to the laurels, as the name seems to imply. The same is true of rhododendron. The kalmia genus has five or six species in this country, but only one of tree size, and then only when at its best. Mountain laurel reaches its best development in North and South Carolina in a few secluded valleys between the Blue Ridge and the western mountains of the Appalachian ranges. The largest specimens are forty or fifty feet high and a foot or a foot and a half in diameter. Trunks are contorted and unshapely, and lumber is never sawed from them.

The tree has many names, most of them, however, are applied to the species in its shrubby form. A common name is simply laurel, but that does not distinguish it from the great laurel which is often associated with it. Calico bush is one of its names, and is supposed to be descriptive of the flowers. Spoonwood is one of its northern names, dating back to the times when early settlers, who carried little silverware with them to their frontier homes, augmented the supply by making spoons and ladles of laurel roots. Ivy is a common name, sometimes mountain ivy, or poison ivy. Poison laurel and sheep laurel are among the names also. The leaves are poisonous, and if sheep feed on them, death is apt to follow. The exact nature of the poison is not understood. Sheep seldom feed on the leaves, and do so only when driven by hunger. Other names are small laurel, wood laurel, and kalmia. The last is the name of the genus, and is in honor of Peter Kalm, a Swedish naturalist.

The species is found from New Brunswick to Louisiana, but principally among the ranges of the Appalachian mountains. Its thin bark makes it an easy prey to fire and the top is killed by a moderate blaze. The root generally remains uninjured and sends up sprouts in large numbers. Thickets almost impenetrable are sometimes produced in that way.

Flowers and foliage of mountain laurel are highly esteemed as decorations, foliage in winter, and the flowers in May and June. The bloom appears in large clusters, and various colors are in evidence, white, rose, pink, and numerous combinations. The seeds are ripe in September, and the pods which bear them burst soon after.

The wood of mountain laurel weighs 44.62 pounds per cubic foot. It is hard, strong, rather brittle, of slow growth, brown in color, tinged with red, with lighter colored sapwood. This description applies to the wood of the trunk; but in nearly all cases where mention is made of the wood of this tree, it refers to the roots. These consist of enlargements or stools, often protruding considerably above the ground. If the area has been visited repeatedly by fire, the roots are generally out of proportion to the size of the tops. In that respect they resemble mesquite, except that the enlarged root of mesquite penetrates far beneath the surface while that of mountain laurel remains just below the surface or rises partly above it.

The utilization of mountain laurel is not confined to the trunks which reach tree size. Generally it is the root that is wanted. Roots are usually sold by weight, because of the difficulty of measuring them as lumber or even by the cord. The annual product of this material in North Carolina alone amounts to about 85,000 pounds, all of which goes to manufacturers of tobacco pipes and cigar holders. The use of the laurel root for pipes is as old as its use for spoons. Pioneers who raised and cured their own tobacco smoked it in pipes which were their own handiwork. The laurel root was selected then as now because it carves easily, is not inclined to split, does not burn readily, and darkens in color with age. It is cheap material, is found throughout an extensive region, and the supply is so large that exhaustion in the near future is not anticipated.

The wood is employed in the manufacture of many small articles other than tobacco pipes. Paper knives, small rulers, turned boxes for pins and buttons, trays, plaques, penholders, handles for buckets, dippers, and firewood, are among the uses for which laurel is found suitable.

It is of no small importance for ornamental purposes, and is often seen growing in clumps and borders in public parks and private yards, where its evergreen foliage and its bloom make it a valuable shrub. It is planted in Europe as well as in this country.

GREAT LAUREL (Rhododendron maximum) is also in the heath family. More than two hundred species of rhododendron are known, and seventeen are in this country, but only one attains tree size. The generic name means “rose tree,” and the name is well selected. The flowers are the most conspicuous feature belonging to this species, and few wild trees or shrubs equal it for beauty. It is not native much west of the Alleghany mountains, but grows north and east to Nova Scotia. It is at its best among the mountains, thrives in deep ravines where the shade is dense, and on steep slopes and stony mountain tops. It forms extensive thickets which are often so deep and tangled that it is difficult to pass through them. This laurel is seldom found growing on limestone. It reaches its largest size in the South. Trees thirty or forty feet high and a foot in diameter occur in favored localities. It grows on the Alleghany mountains in West Virginia at an elevation exceeding 4,000 feet and there forms vast thickets. Some use is made of the wood for engraving blocks and as tool handles. It is hard, strong, brittle, of slow growth, and light clear brown. It is frequently planted in parks in this country and Europe, and three or more varieties are distinguished in cultivation. This laurel’s leaves have a peculiar habit of shrinking and rolling up when the thermometer falls to zero or near it. Among the names applied to it are great laurel, rose bay, dwarf rose bay tree, wild rose bay, bigleaf laurel, deer tongue, laurel, spoon hutch, and rhododendron.

CATAWBA RHODODENDRON (Rhododendron catawbiense) is a rare, large-flowered species of the mountain regions from West Virginia southward to Georgia and Alabama. The wood is not put to use, and the species is chiefly valuable as an ornamental shrub. It seldom reaches large size.

SOURWOOD (Oxydendrum arboreum) follows the Alleghany mountain ranges south from Pennsylvania, and extends into Florida, reaching the Atlantic coast in Virginia, and Indiana, Tennessee, and Louisiana westward. The best development of the species is found among the western slopes of the Big Smoky mountains in Tennessee. It is called sorrel-tree, sour gum, and sour gum bush, on account of the acidity of the leaves when chewed. Arrow-wood, another name, refers to the long, straight stems between the whorls of branches of young trees--those three or four feet high. The stems are of proper size for arrows, and amateur bowmen use them. Those who designate the tree as lily-of-the-valley have in mind the flowers. The shape suggests an opening lily, but the size does not. The flower is about one-third of an inch long, but panicles several inches long are covered with them. They open in July and August, and in September the fruit is ripe. The seed is pale brown and one-eighth of an inch long.

The sourwood tree at its best is fifty or sixty feet high and from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter. The bark of young trees is smooth, but on mature trunks it resembles the exceedingly rough bark of an old black gum. In fact, many people suppose this tree to be black gum, never having noticed the difference of leaf, fruit, and flower. The genus consists of a single species. The wood is heavy, hard, compact, and it takes good polish. The medullary rays are numerous, but thin, and they contribute little or nothing to the figure of the wood. The annual rings show little difference between springwood and summerwood, and consequently produce poor figure when the lumber is sawed tangentially. The pores are many and small and are regularly distributed through the yearly ring. Heartwood is brown, tinged with red, the sapwood lighter. The strength and elasticity of sourwood are moderate. The wood is made into sled runners in some of the mountain districts where it occurs, but no particular qualities fit it for that use. It is occasionally employed for machinery bearings. It has been reported for mallets and mauls, but since it is not very well suited for those articles, the conclusion is that those who so report it have confused it with black gum which it resembles in the living tree, but not much in the wood. Small handles are made of it, and it gives good service, provided great strength and stiffness are not required. Sourwood is not abundant anywhere, and seldom are more than a few trees found in a group.

TREE HUCKLEBERRY (Vaccinium arboreum) is the only tree form of twenty-five or thirty species of huckleberry in this country. The cranberry is one of the best known species. The range of tree huckleberry extends from North Carolina to Texas, and it reaches its largest size in the latter state where trunks thirty feet high and ten inches in diameter occur, but not in great abundance. The fruit which this tree bears has some resemblance to the common huckleberry, but is inferior in flavor, besides being dry and granular. It ripens in October and remains on the branches most of the winter. The fruit is about a quarter of an inch in diameter, dark and lustrous, and is a conspicuous and tempting bait for feathered inhabitants of swamp and forest. The bark of the roots is sometimes used for medicine, and that from the trunk for tanning, but it is too scarce to become important in the leather industry. The tree is known in different parts of its range as farkleberry, sparkleberry, myrtle berry, bluet, and in North Carolina it is known as gooseberry. The wood is hard, heavy, and very compact; is liable to warp, twist, and check in drying; polishes with a fine, satiny finish. Medullary rays are numerous, broad, and conspicuous; wood light brown, tinged with red. Small articles are turned from it.

OSAGE ORANGE

OSAGE ORANGE

(Toxylon Pomiferum)

Osage orange belongs to the mulberry family. There are fifty-four genera, three of which are found in the United States, the mulberries, the Osage orange, and the figs. Osage orange is known by several names, the principal one of which refers to the Osage Indians, who formerly lived in the region where the tree grows. It is called orange because the fruit, which is from two to five inches in diameter, looks like a green orange, but it is unfit for food. In its range most people call it bodark or bodock, that being a corruption of the name by which the French designated it, bois d’arc, which means bow wood. It was so called from the fact that Indians made bows of it when they could get nothing better. Its value as material for bows seems to be traditional and greatly overestimated. It is lower in elasticity than white oak and very much lower than hickory, and, theoretically, at least, it is not well suited for bows. The wood is known also as mock orange, bow-wood, Osage apple tree, yellow-wood, hedge, and hedge tree. The last name is given because many hedges have been made of it.

Osage orange has been planted in perhaps every state of the Union, and grows successfully in most of them. It is one of the most widely distributed of American forest trees, but its distribution has been chiefly artificial. It was found originally in a very restricted region, from which it was carried for hedge and ornamental planting far and wide. Its natural home, to which it was confined when first discovered, embraced little more than ten thousand square miles, and probably half of that small area produced no trees of commercial size. Its northern limit was near Atoka, Oklahoma, its southern a little south of Dallas, Texas; a range north and south of approximately one hundred miles. Its broadest extent east and west was along Red River, through Cooke, Grayson, Fanning, Lamar, and Red River counties, Texas, about 120 miles. Some Osage orange of commercial size grew outside the area thus delimited, but no large amount. Much of that region, particularly south of Red River, was prairie, without timber of any kind; but scattered here and there were belts, strips, thickets, and clumps of Osage orange mixed with other species. On the very best of its range, and before disturbed by white men, this wood seldom formed pure stands of as much as 100 acres in one body, and since the country’s settlement, the stands have become smaller or have been entirely cleared to make farms. All accounts agree that the Osage orange reaches its highest development on the fertile lands along Boggy and Blue rivers in Oklahoma, though fine bodies of it once grew south of the Red River in Texas, and much is still cut there though the choicest long ago disappeared. Few trees are less exacting in soil, yet when it can make choice it chooses the best. In its natural habitat it holds its place in the black, fertile flats and valleys, and is seldom found on sandy soil. It is not a swamp tree, though it is uninjured by occasional floods. The tracts where it grows are sometimes called “bodark swamps,” though marshy in wet weather only.

The tree attains a height of fifty or sixty feet when at its best, but specimens that tall are unusual. Trunks are occasionally two or three feet in diameter, but that size is very rare. At the present time probably ten trees under a foot in diameter are cut for every one over that size.

Rough and unshapely as Osage trees are, they have been more closely utilized than most timbers. Fence posts are the largest item. The board measure equivalent of the annual cut of posts has been placed at 18,400,000. The posts are shipped to surrounding states, in addition to fencing nearly 40,000 square miles of northern Texas and southern Oklahoma. Houseblocks constitute another important use. These are short posts set under the corners of buildings in place of stone foundations. The annual demand for this kind of material amounts to about 1,000,000 board feet. An equal amount goes into bridge piling. The principal demand comes from highway commissioners. Telephone poles take a considerable quantity, and insulator pins more.