What is it?

[mfh]

Not sure if the attachment will work....but wondering what I have here. They told me ash - but it is not, and I am thinking beech...what do you all think>

Thanks,
Matt

View attachment 77660

 

[aandabooks]

Looks like beech to me. The only difference is the beech we have here are white barked.

 

[mga]

not ash.

i'll go with something along the beech family like aandabooks said.

 

[PA Plumber]

Kinda looks like American Beech to me.

Appears seasoned. Is it pretty dense/heavy?

If it is Beech, very good firewood. One of my top 5 favorites. (at least for now.)

 

[coog]

I'll guess Tree of Heaven, since I'm not familiar with Beech.TOH is an invasive pest, and I believe it to be in most parts of the country.

 

[thebeerman_2000]

Beech

 

[excess650]

looks like the beech we have here in Pa..thin, smooth, silvery bark

 

[Ductape]

Beech....... most definitely not ash.


Wouldn't mind finding some ash tonight myself though!

 

[KsWoodsMan]

Why wouold they lie and say it was Ash ? If they are going to be selling it they should at least know what it is. Right ?

Beech is good firewood , very good. And It looks like it has had long enough to dry out for burning this winter.

Be glad it isn't green, even if it isnt Ash.

 

[mfh]

Thanks all - I thought it was Beech. And yes, I think it will burn this winter if needed. I think I have enough for this year - but may need it in the spring....if not, it will be the first to go next fall.

As for them not telling the "truth" they are passing along what the tree service told them. Unfortunately in this area, there are a lot of crews that will do all sorts of work, and near all of them do not have experience or scruples....
Cheers,
Matt

 

[ray benson]

American Beech

 

[Wood Doctor]

Here's what the book says about beech. I love this wood:

"Beech wood is an excellent firewood, easily split and burning for many hours with bright but calm flames. Chips of beech wood are used in the brewing of Budweiser beer as a fining agent. Beech logs are burned to dry the malts used in some German smoked beers, to give the beers their typical flavor. Beech is also used to smoke some cheeses.

Beech wood is excellent for furnitures as well. Some drums are made from beech, which has a tone generally considered to be between maple and birch, the two most popular drum woods.

Also, beech pulp is used as the basis for manufacturing a textile fibre known as Modal.

The fruit of the beech, also called "Beechnuts", are found in the small burrs that drop from tree in Autumn. They are small and triangular, are edible, have a sweet taste and are highly nutritious. (~ 20% protein and also ~ 20% oil content). However, they do contain organic substances which are slightly toxic (it has been reported that eating approx. 50 nuts may make you ill) so that they should not be eaten in larger quantities.[citation needed] The oil pressed from them does not have this effect any more. It was in common use in Europe in times of abundant labor but scarce food sources, such as in Germany in the years immediately after World War II; people would go into the woods and collect beechnuts, then swap them for oil at small private or community-owned oil mills; the mill would keep and sell a certain percentage to cover its operating costs. As collecting beechnuts is time-consuming work, use of the oil dropped sharply when mass-produced oils became more available again."

In my living room I have an original oil painting by Byron Tarlton (circa 1952) of beech wood trees growing in Brown County, Indiana where original stands have been preserved and can be viewed today by visitors. They are truly spectacular trees. In autumn, their colors are breathtaking.

 

[ray benson]

Byron Tarlton - beech

 

[PA Plumber]

We have quite a few at our place. I'm planning to thin some out to let the Oak and Hickory trees have more light and room.

The deer, turkey, woodcock, and grouse really like the Beech groves. Beautiful trees in the fall.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Byron Tarlton - beech

Ray, et al. hang on! I'm now taking a picture of the original oil in my living room. I have never photographed it in my entire life. It is very similar to the image you have posted but it looks like your image has been cropped slightly. Prints of this painting have been published numerous times. I think Tarlton's painting talents often exceeded Robert Wood's.

I should have this Pic posted in a few minutes. I'll take a couple of views. This is indeed a first. :jawdrop:

 

[Chuck Diesel]

Great wood to burn, high heat, low ash.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Here is a Pic of the original oil painting of beech trees in Brown County, Indiana by Byron Tarlton, circa 1952:

History: My parents gave this painting to me about 35 years ago. I believe Dad originally won this painting in the winter of 1953 in a company lottery when South Bend Central high school in Indiana won the Indiana State High School basketball championship. Ray, you can check the date on this for me. Byron Tarlton's paintings have been exhibited nationwide and appeared numerous times on calendars and in prints.

This painting is truly a family treasure, and I have often considered reframing it but never have. Tarlton captured this scene in oil as well as any artist could possibly have done so. His timing was perfect--mid-autumn, about 56 years ago. I am sure most of the beech trees he painted here are no longer alive, but I have often wanted to go back to Brown County just to be sure.

Thank you, Ray, for jogging my memory and reminding me that some marvelous things never really die and should be admired forever--the American beech.

 

[Erick]

I live about 30-40 minutes from those Beech trees Ed, I'd say some of them are still there.

 

[ray benson]

The picture I posted was a painting dated 1940 and sold in 2006 by Treadway galleries. The painting came from John Toomey Gallery, Oak Park, Ill. This was the info on the painting.
C.B. Tarlton (American, 20th century), “Indiana Landscape”, c. 1940; gouache, 23” x 31”, signed. Tarlton worked in Richmond, Indiana painting landscapes.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I live about 30-40 minutes from those Beech trees Ed, I'd say some of them are still there.

Wonderful! They live a long time. My grandfather had a huge beech living in his front yard near Kokomo, IN. It was so big that we used to hide inside the hollowed out section of the tree's center. The crown must have had a 90 ft spread. No one could remember when it was planted. The buildings on the property were all built around it.

I recall camping out in a park near Terre Haute, IN back in the spring of '70. Beech trees were everywhere, shading the entire campground. Unfortunately, at the time I didn't realize the rarity of that situation. I imagine there isn't a beech tree growing within 300 miles of Nebraska.