As the official wood identification agency of the United States Government, the Forest Products Laboratory annually receives thousands of requests for identification service from industry, other branches of the Federal Government, units of State and local governments, and the general public. This service is requested in connection with business transactions, civil lawsuits, criminal cases, building codes for homes and other structures, industrial standards, and Government purchase specifications. The Laboratory has also been called upon to identify wood from tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs, sunken pirate ships, prehistoric forests, and the beam that supports the
Liberty Bell.

In the great majority of day-to-day transactions, however, wood identification is a relatively simple problem. By acquiring a little know-how, many lumbermen, dealers, builders, manufacturers, consumers, students, and home-workshop hobbyists could solve their identification problems on the spot. Consequently, this publication was prepared as an aid to those persons concerned with
identifying the more common native species of wood.