PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Heavy (7th in this list); 39 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp.
gr. 0.7504; very strong (6th in this list); very elastic (3d in this list); hard (24th in this list); shrinkage, 4 per cent.; warps little; quite durable; troublesome to work; splits along annual rings in nailing.
COMMON USES: Heavy construction, ship building, railroad ties, docks, bridges, house trim.
REMARKS: Similar to and often sold as Long-leaf Pine.
[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.]
10
TAMARACK. LARCH. HACKMATACK.
_Larix laricina_ (Du Roi) Koch. _Larix americana_ Michaux.
_Larix_, the cla.s.sical Latin name.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]
HABITAT: (See map); prefers swamps, "Tamarack swamps."
[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 50"-60" and even 90", diameter 1"-3"; intolerant; tall, slender trunk; bark, cinnamon brown, no ridges, breaking into flakes; leaves, deciduous, pea-green, in tufts; cone, 1/2"-3/4", bright brown.
APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light brown, sapwood hardly distinguishable; non-porous; rings, summer wood, thin but distinct, dark colored; grain, straight, coa.r.s.e; rays, numerous, hardly distinguishable; very resinous, but ducts few and small.
PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, medium (29th in this list); 39 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr. 0.6236; strong (24th in this list); elastic (11th in this list); medium hard (40th in this list); shrinkage, 3 per cent.; warps .........; very durable; easy to work; splits easily.
COMMON USES: Ship building, electric wire poles, and railroad ties; used for boat ribs because of its naturally crooked knees; slenderness prevents common use as lumber.
REMARKS: Tree desolate looking in winter.
[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.]
11
WESTERN LARCH. TAMARACK.
_Larix occidentalis_ Nuttall.
_Larix_, the cla.s.sical Latin name; _occidentalis_ means western.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]
HABITAT: (See map); best in northern Montana and Idaho, on high elevations.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 90"-130", even 250"; diameter 6"-8"; tall, slender, naked trunk, with branches high; bark, cinnamon red or purplish, often 12" thick, breaking into irregular plates, often 2" long; leaves, in tufts; deciduous; cones small.
APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light red, thin, whitish, sap-wood; non-porous; grain, straight, fine; rays numerous, thin; very resinous, but ducts small and obscure.
PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, heavy (11th in this list); 46 lbs. per cu.
ft.; sp. gr. 0.7407; very strong (3d in this list); very elastic (1st in this list); medium hard (35th in this list); shrinkage, 4 per cent.; warps ..........; very durable; rather hard to work, takes fine polish; splits with difficulty.
COMMON USES: Posts, railroad ties, fencing, cabinet material and fuel.
REMARKS: A valuable tree in the Northwest.
[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.]
12
WHITE SPRUCE.
_Picea canadensis_ (Miller) B. S. P. _Picea alba_ Link.
_Picea_, the cla.s.sical Latin name; white and _alba_ refers to the pale color of the leaves, especially when young, and to the whitish bark.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]
HABITAT: (See map).
[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 60"-100" and even 150"; diameter, 1"-2" and even 4"; long, thick branches; bark, light grayish brown, separating into thin plate-like scales, rather smooth appearance, resin from cuts forms white gum; leaves, set thickly on all sides of branch, finer than red spruce, odor disagreeable; cones, 2" long, cylindrical, slender, fall during second summer.
APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light yellow, sap-wood, hardly distinguishable; non-porous; rings, wide, summer wood thin, not conspicuous; grain, straight; rays, numerous, prominent; resin ducts, few and minute.
PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, light (51st in this list); 25 lbs. per cu.
ft.; sp. gr., 0.4051; medium strong (42d in this list); elastic (29th in this list); soft (58th in this list); shrinks 3 per cent.; warps ........; fairly durable; easy to work, satiny surface; splits readily.
COMMON USES: Lumber and paper pulp; (not distinguished from Red and Black Spruce in market).