The American or Bald Cypress (_Taxodium distichum_) is a tree of considerable importance. It grows in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, on submerged lands or in deep swamps where unusual logging methods are necessitated. The seasoned wood resembles white cedar in that it is soft, light, and very durable. It has been called by many names. Pieces were once called black or white cypress according as they sank or floated. All dark pieces are now called black cypress. The tinted woods of some localities are called red or yellow cypress. The name bald cypress was caused by the leafless appearance of the trees in winter. The living trees are subject to a peculiar fungous disease, causing numerous cavities in the wood. These so resemble perforations made by small pegs that the wood is termed "peggy." The trouble ceases as the trees are cut, and the wood is then as durable as that from perfect trees. About one third of the standing supply is thus affected.[102] The roots frequently project upward above the surface in what are known as cypress knees. The single species of this genus may easily be recognized by its deciduous foliage; the little leaves are separated and are not in tufts as with the tamaracks. [p179] FOOTNOTES [Footnote 98: Funk & Wagnalls' Standard Dictionary, quoting Horace Smith, "Gayeties and Gravities," Chapter VII, p. 57.] [Footnote 99: Pliny 16, 214 and 16, 215; Herodotus 4, 16; Virgil, Georgics, 2, 443.] [Footnote 100: Encyclopædia Britannica, B. 6, p. 745.] [Footnote 101: Brockhaus, Konversations-Lexikon, B. 4, p. 654.] [Footnote 102: U. S. Forestry Circular No. 19 (Dr. B. E. Fernow, Chief).] CYPRESS, BALD CYPRESS. _Taxodium distichum Rich._ Nomenclature. (Sudworth.) White Cypress (N. C., S. C., Fla., Miss.). Black Cypress (N. C., S. C., Ala., Tex.). Red Cypress (Ga., Miss., La., Tex.). Swamp Cypress (La.). Deciduous Cypress (Del., Ill., Tex.). Southern Cypress (Ala.). Locality. South Atlantic and Gulf States, Maryland through Florida to Texas, Mississippi Valley from southern Illinois to the Gulf. Occasional in North, as New York. Forms forests in swamps and barrens.[103] Features of Tree. Seventy to one hundred and fifty feet in height, four to ten feet in diameter. Knees on roots often hollow in old age. Flat deciduous leaves. Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood. Heartwood brownish, sapwood nearly white. Close, straight grain. Frequently pitted by disease. Structural Qualities of Wood. Light, soft, not strong, durable. Green wood often very heavy. Representative Uses of Wood. Carpentry, construction, cooperage, railway ties. Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot. 29 (U. S. Forestry Div.).[104] 28. Modulus of Elasticity. 1,290,000 (average of 655 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[104] 1,460,000. Modulus of Rupture. 7900 (average of 655 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).[104] 9600. Remarks.