Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

^ooCAMPING AND WOODCRAFTVery Heavy JVoodsChestnut Oak. Pig-nut Hickory,Shellbark Hickory, Mocker-nut Hickory.Hop Hornbeam, Basket Oak,Overcup Oak, Persimmon,Post Oak,Service-berry,Flowering Dogwood, Swamp White Oak,Big Shellbark Hickory, Osage Orange.Very Light JVoods"White Basswood, White Spruce,Box Elder , Cottonwood,Sweet Buckeye, Balsam Fir,Hemlock, White Pine,Yellow Poplar, Balsam Poplar,Quaking Aspen, White Cedar,Butternut,Arborvitae.The weight of seasoned wood is no criterion ofthe weight of the green wood, which must be learnedt>y experience. For example, the dry wood of theSequoia, or California Big Tree, is lighter than WhitePine, but the freshly cut log is so heavy that itwill scarcely float in water. Black Walnut and SourGum are only moderately heavy when seasoned, butthe green logs willnot float.Woods for Special Purposes.—These tablesare only general guides. Individual trees of the«ame species vary much in their qualities. In selectingwood for a special purpose one will be governed,of course, by the material at hand. Suppose hewants a very hard and close-grained wood : He maychoose, according to circumstances, beech, birch, dogwood,rock elm, mocker-nut (white-heart) hickory,holly, hornbeam, yellow locust, sugar maple, Osageorange, persimmon, service-berry, or whatever hecan get on the spot that will answer his purpose.If it must also be strong, tough, elastic, or havesome other merit, the choice will be narrowed.Timber cut in the spring of the year, when thesap is up is much inferior in quality and durabilityto that which is cut in autumn and winter, whenthe sap is down. Sap softens the fibers, sours in cuttimber, and carries the seeds of dry-rot or decay.Hewing Timber.—To flatten a log, as for a