titute, owing to its cheapness and
abundant supply. No doubt in the future this wood will be used to a
considerable extent in the manufacture of both "tight" and "slack"
cooperage. In the manufacture of the gum, unless the knives and saws
are kept very sharp, the wood has a tendency to break out, the corners
splitting off; and also, much difficulty has been experienced in
seasoning and kiln-drying.

[Illustration: Fig. 11. A Tupelo Gum Slough.]

In the past, gum, having no marketable value, has been left standing
after logging operations, or, where the land has been cleared for
farming, the trees have been "girdled" and allowed to rot, and then
felled and burned as trash. Now, however, that there is a market for
this species of timber, it will be profitable to cut the gum with the
other hardwoods, and this species of wood will come in for a greater
share of attention than ever before.

=38. Red Gum= (_Liquidamber styraciflua_) (Sweet Gum, Hazel Pine, Satin
Walnut, Liquidamber, Bilsted). The wood is about as stiff and as
strong as chestnut, rather heavy, it splits easily and is quite brash,
commonly cross-grained, of fine texture, and has a large proportion of
whitish sapwood, which decays rapidly when exposed to the weather; but
the reddish brown heartwood is quite durable, even in the ground. The
external appearance of the wood is of fine grain and smooth, close
texture, but when broken the lines of fracture do not run with
apparent direction of the growth; possibly it is this unevenness of
grain which renders the wood so difficult to dry without twisting and
warping. It has little resiliency; can be easily bent when steamed,
and when properly dried will hold its shape. The annual rings are not
distinctly marked, medullary rays fine and numerous. The green wood
contains much water, and consequently is heavy and difficult to float,
but when dry it is as light as basswood. The great amount of water in
the green wood, particularly in the sap, makes it difficult to season
by ordinary methods without warping and twisting. It does not check
badly, is tasteless and odorless, and when once seasoned, swells and
shrinks but little unless exposed to the weather. Used for boat
finish, veneers, cabinet work, furniture, fixtures, interior
decoration, shingles, paving blocks, woodenware, cooperage, machinery
frames, refrigerators, and trunk slats.

Range of Red Gum

Red gum is distributed from F