CATAWBA RHODODENDRON (_Rhododendron catawbiense_) is a rare, large-flowered species of the mountain regions from West Virginia southward to Georgia and Alabama. The wood is not put to use, and the species is chiefly valuable as an ornamental shrub. It seldom reaches large size. SOURWOOD (_Oxydendrum arboreum_) follows the Alleghany mountain ranges south from Pennsylvania, and extends into Florida, reaching the Atlantic coast in Virginia, and Indiana, Tennessee, and Louisiana westward. The best development of the species is found among the western slopes of the Big Smoky mountains in Tennessee. It is called sorrel-tree, sour gum, and sour gum bush, on account of the acidity of the leaves when chewed. Arrow-wood, another name, refers to the long, straight stems between the whorls of branches of young trees--those three or four feet high. The stems are of proper size for arrows, and amateur bowmen use them. Those who designate the tree as lily-of-the-valley have in mind the flowers. The shape suggests an opening lily, but the size does not. The flower is about one-third of an inch long, but panicles several inches long are covered with them. They open in July and August, and in September the fruit is ripe. The seed is pale brown and one-eighth of an inch long. The sourwood tree at its best is fifty or sixty feet high and from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter. The bark of young trees is smooth, but on mature trunks it resembles the exceedingly rough bark of an old black gum. In fact, many people suppose this tree to be black gum, never having noticed the difference of leaf, fruit, and flower. The genus consists of a single species. The wood is heavy, hard, compact, and it takes good polish. The medullary rays are numerous, but thin, and they contribute little or nothing to the figure of the wood. The annual rings show little difference between springwood and summerwood, and consequently produce poor figure when the lumber is sawed tangentially. The pores are many and small and are regularly distributed through the yearly ring. Heartwood is brown, tinged with red, the sapwood lighter. The strength and elasticity of sourwood are moderate. The wood is made into sled runners in some of the mountain districts where it occurs, but no particular qualities fit it for that use. It is occasionally employed for machinery bearings. It has been reported for mallets and mauls, but since it is not very well suited for those articles, the conclusion is that those who so report it have confused it with black gum which it resembles in the living tree, but not much in the wood. Small handles are made of it, and it gives good service, provided great strength and stiffness are not required. Sourwood is not abundant anywhere, and seldom are more than a few trees found in a group.