Timberlines Explores Natural History With Hough’s American Woods

Over at Timberlines, Woodchuck has started a natural history series aimed at exploring “the history of early naturalists as well as the development of various scientific disciplines within the broad field of natural history.” Below is a brief excerpt from the post, which promises to be the first of many.

An Excerpt from Timberlines’ Natural History Post

Hough’s American Woods: 141 Incense Cedar

“This post initiates an extended project I’ve given long consideration to pursue on Timberlines. That is, writing more extensively on my long running interest in the study of natural history and in particular the history of early naturalists as well as the development of various scientific disciplines within the broad field of natural history…

My first post in this series covers Hough’s American Woods. I’ve selected this work as a first post not so much due to Hough being an early pioneer of natural history study, though the scope of his work and focus on documenting physical wood samples of American tree species was indeed pioneering in many respects, but rather as this work strikes a bit closer to home for me with respect to the influences of my Grandfather and his interest in area relative to wood processing and treatment.”

WoodChuck goes on to discuss Hough’s sample number 141, Libocedrus Decurrens, or California Incense Cedar, and how it became the wood of choice for pencil manufacturers around the world.

If you are interested in natural history, pencil history, nature studies or any other type of historic or scientific study, I encourage you to head over to Timberlines and read the entire post. It is not only informative and well written, but also personal and compelling. And, don’t forget to check back often for more entries into this natural history series and let us know what you think in the comments section below!.