Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-02-23
FROM THE FOREST.
SPECIMENS OF THE VARIOUS TREES
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Portions of the Bark and Transverse aud
Longitudinal Sections Of the Wood
-ENtraoriinsry Growths-Ps
CuliaT Formations.
-Scientihc Am.rlcan

hibilion. al the New York Museum Of
Natural History. an almost comp etc rep
resentatIOu of the trees of the | nited
Ntates, between 400 and 800 trunk sec
tiOns OF the different species These speCi-
mems are about five feet eight inches long
each, cut in such manner as 10 display
their harkS and the transverse and lUngi-
tudiuai section, Of the wood This IS
done 10y cutting away one side of each
specimen At the top to the depth
OF one half the diameter Of the trunk
aud for one third OF lis length One half
of each exposed portion is polished TO illus.
trate the effect OF this treatment Of the
wood. the remainder being left in the
natural condition. with the top of he up
uer divided part finished by bcveliug. In
the case of trees of commercial impOr
lance this form OF representation is sup
plcmcutcd 10y carefully selected planks,
or by burIs showing better than the logs
the true industrial value of the wood
Among specimens of this kind is n plank
of redwood >cJuOia scmpervircnsr meas
urlng eight and one half feet in width \
species remarkable for slow growth and
which is only twenty four inches in diam
eter. shows an age of 40 years being the
oldest tree in the collection. This is the
PiCca / fngclmanui. named for its disCov
crer DIR. Engeimaun,, and known also as
Engelmanns spruce An example Of slow
growth is seen in the Pinus eduliS. or ed
ible pine from Arizona. called also nut
pine. The seed of this pine which re-
sembles good sized bean. is used BY the
Indians for food. A tree Of this species
which is 1852 years old measures only tif
teen inches in diameter Another speci.
h5,.h - old skn.rs ii
ameter of thirty seven inches 1t is the
western shell bark hickory e arya suleala
from Allentown Mo. The same locality
is represented by specimen of the Tilia
Americana or Eastwood. which is forty
inches in diameter and $50 years old
This valuable collection. numerically
exceeding that made in connection with
the census reports includes examples OF
many curious and interesting species, of
which probably the complete natural ser.
les could never have been viewed in their
native soil l.y any single traveller, how
ever diligcnt Among the specimens of
such interest is that OF the GleditsOhia
trIaCanthus, or honey locust, from Mis-
souri, This is tree of singular appear
anCe lis trunk is covered with thorn
clusters, the spikes shooting raylike in all
directions from their growth CenIers.
These thorn formations have thei. basis
in the arE alone. without any source
whatever in the wood itself not even
reaching it and are easily dc ched Ii
was, tn refOre necessary to uspend the
iree from the ceiling of the car in its jour
nev from the west
Another ua ly extraordinary tree is a
representative Of Texas This is the { e
rcus gigautus. which resembles I uted
column II is Il tree which can be readily
taken all to pieces Its component parts
are in the form of vertiCle sections OF
twisting Curvatures in the line of their
circumference, whereby one portion is
fitted exactly to another. They can be
separated without the slightest diff Guilty.
in the absence of any heart al the center
for their attachment The ash.ngtou
palm " ashingtoniani nlifera from south.
ern { alifOrnia is also curious The spec
linen includes the top of the tree which
is severed from the body. and bears lis
dried and ye""w wide spreading leaves
Its PECULIARLY is in the ring formations Il
the trunk, which are almost wholly de
taChed from each other. standing one
within another like q succession Of forms
of bark They are easily detached from
each other
The cocoanut tree from Key West and
the finely OdOrous nutmeg tree from Cali
fornia are among other specimens of i'm,
portance The catalpa IS represented As
s. eCies most remarkable for its dura
bilty Some of this wood known to
have been buried in the earth for seventy
five years has been brought out in per
fectly sound condition Specimens of
beautiful woods are seen in the hOlapen
sis, the arbutus, sweet bay / ersea caro-
linensis. Alaska cedar , ham T. CYL ari=
nutkansas, and the beautifully figured
maple burl from Missouri
With only seven unimportant exceD-
tions the specific gravity, ash and fuel
value of the wood of every indigenous
aborescent species of the nited States
have been scientifically determined