The American Woods

Welcome to The American Woods Project American Woods by Shelly E. Schoonover was published in 1951 (1st Edition) by Watling & Co. Santa Monica, California. The book is a quick reference tool that was researched and written by Mrs. Schoonover with a concentration on the trees and the medium of wood that comes from trees that are grown mainly in the U.S.A. and Canada. While the book is over 60 years old, the content is still very relative to the arts, crafts and trades that is woodworking toda

A thing of beauty is a joy forever, Its loveliness increases, it will never pass into nothingness. ~John Keats~ Introduction A hobby may be thought of as a favorite avocation or secondary occupation, or a diversion of attention from one’s normal daily occupation or vocation. Woodworking is an absorbing and fascinating hobby, which is not only a diversion but a means of cultivating skill and creating worthwhile products. Most of us appreciate the beauty of growing trees. For many, there is in add

Usually a tree has two names, the common or local name and the “real name,” or scientific or botanical name, in Latin, generally used by botanists and others having a more technical interest. The generic name is used to include a group of closely related species. For example, “Pinus,” the classical Latin name for the pine tree group, includes all the species (kinds) of true pines. The secondary Latin name signifies the particular species of that tree group, as “Pinus strobus,” the scientific or bot

Introduction You are viewing the "State Trees" section from the book title "American Woods" by Shelley E. Schoonover. The table below is a representation of our states official and or adopted trees from the publish date of 1951. You may notice that the state of Alaska is not represented in the table below, since statehood was approved by Congress on July 7, 1958. Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on January 3, 1959. Also Hawaii is not included in the states list below, statehood was grant

The accompanying illustrations gives a graphic picture of the physical properties of a tree. There are three primary parts to a tree: the roots, the trunk, and the crown. The roots extract from the soil the water and mineral salts needed by the tree in its growth. They also store up the food manufactured by the leaves, and hold the tree firmly in place. The trunk is the main body of the tree from which lumber is manufactured. Each year a new layer of wood is added to the trunk of the tree. These

Definitions A. - CAMBIUM. A very thin layer of living cells lying between the inner bark and sapwood, where the new wood and bark cells develop each year. B. - INNER BARK. Serves to carry the food manufactured by the leaves to the cambium layer. C. - OUTER BARK. The inner bark gradually transforms into the outer bark, a corky layer of dry dead cells forming a protective covering. D. - SAPWOOD. The lighter colored band of wood between the inner bard and darker heartwood. It carries the sap from t

A live tree contains a great amount of water in the walls and cell cavities of the fibers of the wood. When the log is cut into lumber and exposed to the air, the fibers shrink and dry out as the water in the wood is evaporated. The seasoning process consists of the elimination of water from the wood pores. If the drying process is not done properly the wood checks, warps, splits and is subject to stain and insect attack. The degree to which the water content is removed from the wood depends upo

There are three methods used in producing lumber from logs so as to obtain economical utilization or develop the beautiful grains and figures found in the various kinds of trees, namely:   (a) Plain-sawed - When the log is sawed lengthwise and tangent to the annual growth rings or at right angles to the medullary rays the cut is called "plain-sawed" lumber in hardwoods and "flat-grain" or "slash-grain" lumber in softwoods. This is the most economical manner of producing lumber with the least was

Introduction Burls, knots, medullary rays, annual growth rings, grains in the lumber such as wavy grain and cross grain, variations in the coloring matter irregularly distributed in the wood, or other distortion formed in the tree either from injury or the hazards of nature, form different patterns or figures in wood. The beauty of these figures or patterns may be greatly enhanced by the various methods of cutting the lumber from the log as previously explained. Some semblance of pattern or figure