The following list makes no claim to completeness, but may be of some use to the beginner

Apple

This wood is used for turning, such as handles, etc., and for other small work. It is handsome, fine-grained, and somewhat hard.

Ash

This is a valuable wood, of which there are a number of varieties. It is used for agricultural implements, carriage-building, floors, interior finish, cabinet-work, etc. Ash is flexible, tough, and elastic. It is good to stand a quick and violent strain, as that put on a horizontal bar in the gymnasium, although in time it becomes brittle. White ash is the variety best suited for such purposes. It is good for oars and the like. Ash is of a rather coarse and usually straight-grained texture, and most varieties are not difficult to work.

Basswood

The wood of the American linden, or basswood, is soft and light in substance, white or light brown in colour, is easily bent but not easily split, free from knots but prone to warp, and is used for cabinet-work, carriage-work, and for various minor articles. It can be obtained in boards of considerable width.

Beech

This close-grained wood, hard, firm, strong, and taking a good polish, is extensively used for machine-frames, handles, plane-stocks, some kinds of furniture, and a variety of minor articles, but will not often be needed by the amateur. The medullary rays are noticeable.

Birch

The birch, of which there are many species, is widely distributed in North America, and furnishes an important wood, which is used for a great variety of purposes, - for furniture, floors, interior finish, turning, and a long list of minor articles. It is close-grained, and most varieties are hard and strong, but not difficult to work, and are susceptible of being given a smooth satiny surface and a fine finish. The uses of the bark of the canoe birch are familiar to all. This tree is good not merely for canoes, but its wood is used for paddles, skis, and the like.

The black birch is especially esteemed for furniture and interior work. It is of a beautiful reddish- or yellowish-brown colour, and much of it is beautifully figured with wavy and curly grain. It is frequently stained in imitation of mahogany, a deception much assisted by the resemblance in grain, and not easily detected if skilfully done.

Black Walnut

Large black-walnut trees are practically almost as thoroughly exterminated in America as the bisons of the Western prairies. The wood can be obtained, however, though it is not abundant in very wide boards. It is durable, usually straight-grained, moderately strong and hard, not difficult to work, holds glue well, and can be given a fine finish. It holds its shape well, and is an excellent wood for many purposes in interior finishing, cabinet-work, and for various minor articles. It has been very extensively used for gun-stocks. Its sombre colour is not always admired, but it is an excellent wood for amateur work. When mottled or in the form of burl it is, of course, harder to smooth. The English and Italian varieties of walnut have long been used.