“This, however, is not very significant, as trees of the same species, age, and size, growing side by side under the same conditions of soil and situation, show great variation in their technical value.  It is hard to account for this difference, but it seems that trees growing in wet or moist situations are rather inferior to those growing on fresher soil; also, it is claimed by many hickory users that the wood from limestone soils is superior to that from sandy soils.

“One of the moot questions among hickory men is the relative value of northern and southern hickory.  The impression prevails that southern hickory is more porous and brash than hickory from the north.  The tests ... indicate that southern hickory is as tough and strong as northern hickory of the same age.  But the southern hickories have a greater tendency to be shaky, and this results in much waste.  In trees from southern river bottoms the loss through shakes and grub-holes in many cases amounts to as much as 50 per cent.

“It is clear, therefore, that the difference in northern and southern hickory is not due to geographic location, but rather to the character of timber that is being cut.  Nearly all of that from southern river bottoms and from the Cumberland Mountains is from large, old-growth trees; that from the north is from younger trees which are grown under more favorable conditions, and it is due simply to the greater age of the southern trees that hickory from that region is lighter and more brash than that from the north.”  Bul. 80, pp. 52-55.

SEASON OF CUTTING

It is generally believed that winter-felled timber has decided advantages over that cut at other seasons of the year, and to that cause alone are frequently ascribed much greater durability, less liability to check and split, better color, and even increased strength and toughness.  The conclusion from the various experiments made on the subject is that while the time of felling may, and often does, affect the properties of wood, such result is due to the weather conditions rather than to the condition of the wood.

There are two phases of this question.  One is concerned with the physiological changes which might take place during the year in the wood of a living tree.  The other deals with the purely physical results due to the weather, as differences in temperature, humidity, moisture, and other features to be mentioned later.

Those who adhere to the first view maintain that wood cut in summer is quite different in composition from that cut in winter.  One opinion is that in summer the “sap is up,” while in winter it is “down,” consequently winter-felled timber is drier.  A variation of this belief is that in summer the sap contains certain chemicals which affect the properties of wood and does not contain them in winter.  Again it is sometimes asserted that wood is actually denser in winter than in summer, as part of the wood substance is dissolved out in the spring and used for plant food, being restored in the fall.