Fig. 226.
135. Birch.
—[Fig. 225]. Wood heavy, hard, strong, of fine texture; sapwood whitish, heartwood in shades of brown with red and yellow; very handsome, with satiny luster, equaling cherry. The wood shrinks considerably in drying, works and stands well and takes a good polish, but is not durable if exposed. Birch is used for finishing lumber in building, in the manufacture of furniture, in woodturnery for spools, boxes, wooden shoes, etc., for shoe lasts and pegs, for wagon hubs, ox yokes, etc., also in wood carving. The birches are medium sized trees, form extensive forests northward and occur scattered in all broad-leaved forests of the Eastern United States.
136. Butternut.
—[Fig. 226]. (White Walnut.) Wood very similar to black walnut, but light, quite soft, not strong and of light brown color. Used chiefly for finishing lumber, cabinet work and cooperage. Medium sized tree, largest and most common in the Ohio basin; Maine to Minnesota and southward to Georgia and Alabama.
Fig. 227.
137. Cherry.
—[Fig. 227]. Wood heavy, hard, strong, of fine texture: sapwood yellowish white, heartwood reddish to brown. The wood shrinks considerably in drying, works and stands well, takes a good polish, and is much esteemed for its beauty. Cherry is used chiefly as a decorative finishing lumber for buildings, cars and boats, also for furniture and for turnery. It is becoming too costly for many purposes for which it is naturally suited. The lumber-furnishing cherry of this country, the wild black cherry, is a small to medium sized tree, scattered through many of the broad-leaved woods of the western slope of the Alleghanies, but found from Michigan to Florida and west to Texas.