"P van Rijckevorsel" wrote in message
...
Gene Royer schreef
What are the botanical dynamics of that wood that make it so unspeakably
incorrigible?

+ + +
Surely that is pretty simple.
The wood is selected (Natural Selection) to do the job of keeping up the
branches against animal enchroachments for the longest time. If a tree is
only fast growing all the wood needs to do is lift the leafs to the sun as
high as possible, quicker than the competition, and the wood will be
pretty
straight and stressfree (think balsa). If a tree is out there for the
longest time and has to stand up to whatnot it will have all the scars and
tensions of its unrecorded history.
PvR



Surely the botanical anatomy of a hardwood tree has more credit to its
texture than merely being a slow-grower. My southern magnolias grow very
slowly as opposed to the tallow trees that crowd it out; yet its wood is
hardly worthy of consideration for building anything. In fact, the wood
splits easily with a stringy texture, and the tree itself will burn to the
ground if a fire is lit beneath it.

--Geno