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ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS:
MULTINATIONALS

Volume 6

THE MULTINATIONAL
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
C\ Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
�- http://tayl o ra ndfra nci s.com
 THE MULTINATIONAL
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

HOWARD SEYMOUR
First published in 1987 by Croom Helm Ltd
This edition first published in 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 1987 Howard Seymour
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-138-28116-5 (Set)

ISBN: 978-1-315-27111-8 (Set) (ebk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-24294-4 (Volume 6) (hbk)

Publisher’s Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but
points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.
Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome
correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.
 The
Multinational
Construction
Industry
•
Howard
Seymour

CROOM HELM
London• New York• Sydney
© 1987 Howard Seymour
Croom Helm Ltd, Provident House, Burrell Row,
Beckenham, Kent, BR3 lAT
Croom Helm Australia, 44-50 Waterloo Road,
North Ryde, 2113, New South Wales

Published in the USA by

Croom Helm
in association with Methuen, Inc.
29 West 35th Street,
New York, NY 10001
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Seymour, Howard
The multinational construction industry.
1. Construction industry 2. International
business enterprises
I. Title
338.8'87 HD9715.A2
ISBN 0-7099-5438-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Seymour, Howard, 1961-
The multinational construction industry / Howard Seymour.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Construction industry. 2. International business enterprises.
I. Title.
HD97l5.A2S49 1987 87-21720
338.8'87 - de 19
ISBN 0-7099-5438-7

'
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham Ltd, Kent
CONTENTS

1. Chapter 1: Introduction 1

1.1 The international construction

environment 1
1.2 Developments in analysis of the
industry 7
1.3 Definition of term 9
1.4 The research framework 10
1.5 Objectives and hypotheses of the
research 11
1.6 Footnotes 14

2. Chapter 2: A Literature Review of

Multinational Enterprise Theory 16

2.1 Behavioural aspects of foreign

investment 19
2.2 Industrial Organisation Theory 20
2.3 Internalisation theory and the MNE 31
2.4 Location theory and the MNE 48
2.5 General theories of the MNE 54

3. Chapter 3: An Economic Overview of the

Construction Industry 58
3.1 The client in construction 59
3.2 Raw materials 61
3.3 The construction process 62
Contents

3.4 The final product 68

3.5 Demand and Supply in the construction
industry 70
3.6 Structure of the construction industry 74
3.7 Aspects of international construction 79

4. Chapter 4: Application of Multinational

Enterprise Theory to International
Construction 85
4.1 The research framework 85
4.2 Ownership advantages 87
4.3 Location advantages 100
4.4 Internalisation advantages 106

5. Chapter 5: Empirical Analysis of Ownership

Advantages 127

5.1 Methodology of the research 127

5.2 Ownership advantages 129
5.3 Firm specific factors 129
5.4 Country specific advantages 143
5.5 Footnotes 176

6. Chapter 6: Internalisation and Locational

Factors 177

6.1 Internalisation factors 177

6.2 Locational advantages 196
6.3 Political risk in international
con tr acting 225
6.4 Oligopolistic reaction in international
construction 229
6.5 Footnotes 230

7. Chapter 7: The Financing of International

Projects 232
7 .1 Financing operations in the MNE 233
7.2 The export credit mechanism 237
Contents

7.3 Export credit financing as a country

specific O advantage 240
7.4 Summary 257
7 .5 Footnotes 258

8. Chapter 8: Summary and Conclusions 260

8.1 Summary of the thesis 260

8.2 Relevance of the hypotheses of
the research 262
8.3 Theoretical conclusions 263
8.4 Practical conclusions 265
8.5 Limitations of the research and
suggestions for future work 272
8.6 Footnotes 274

9. References 276

10. Bibliography 287

Subject Index 290

Author Index 294

C\ Taylor & Francis
�- Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylora ndfra ncis.com
LIST OFT ABLES

3.1 Client demands for construction works 61

3.2 Assessment of the level of competition
in the construction industry 80
4.1 Country specific factors that generate
ownership advantages 94
4.2 Country specific factors that generate
location advantages 102
4.3 Strategic issues affecting the choice
of contractual arrangements in
international construction 114
4.4 Options open to the international
contractor in foreign markets 118
5.1 Response rate of contractors approached 128
5.2 Sample breakdown of participants in
survey 128
5.3 Perceived competitive advantages/
disadvantages of firms with respect to
Arab contractors 130
5.4 Perceived competitive advantages/
disadvantages of firms with respect to
other international contractors 132
5.5 Services offered by firms in survey 134
5.6 Services demanded by Middle Eastern
clients 136
5.7 Types of bonds required within
international construction 142
5.8 Size of top 10 contractors according
to total value of awards 1982 148
5.9 Number of South Korean nationals
working in the Middle East 1975-78 150
List of Tables

5.10 Top 25 international contractors in general

building construction 1981 150
5.11 Top 25 international contractors in power
and process plant construction 1981 151
5.12 Diversity of services offered by top 15
contractors from major contracting
countries 1982 152
5.13 Top 20 lead managers in syndicated loans
1981 157
5.14 Top 200 international design consultants in
developing countries by nationality 1983 161
5.15 Defence and capital goods sales in Middle
East by nationality of seller 1984
(first half) 163
5.16 Home government legislation of direct
influence on contractors' overseas
operations 164
5.17 Summary chart of major contractors' country
specific advantages 170
6.1 Participants reasons for not undertaking
licensing of the firm's name 178
6.2 The hierarchy of control of the
international construction firm 180
6.3 Participants' reasons for opening local
subsidiary or changing from exporting to
establishing a local office/subsidiary 186
6.4 Relationship between HQ and Middle Eastern
subsidiary of participants in survey 188
6.5 Advantages and disadvantages of joint
venturing 191
6.6 Initial incentives to overseas work of
participants in survey 198
6.7 Locational influences on contractors in
Middle Eastern market 200
6.8 Major incentives of location by mean 203
6.9 Major disincentives of location by mean 204
6.10 Factors considered important as criteria
of temporary/permanent subsidiary set up
from survey results 205
6.11 Share of Middle Eastern market by country
of origin of contractor 1980-84 212
6.12 Share of South East Asian market by country
of origin of contractor 1980-84 216
6.13 Share of African market by country of origin
of contractor 1980-84 220
List of Tables

6.14 Share of Latin American market by country

of origin of contractor 1980-84 222
6.15 Political risk measures taken by contractors
in survey 228
7.1 A comparison of export financing systems of
major contracting countries 242
7.2 Percentage cover of commercial and political
risks of major contracting countries 245
7.3 OECD arrangement terms on officially
supported export credits 1985 246
7.4 Effective interest rate with aid component
of export finance 249
7.5 Aid commitment of major contracting
countries 1983 253
7.6 Tying status of bilateral aid provided by
major contracting countries 1983 255
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LIST OF FIGURES

1.1 Invisible earnings of UK construction

industry overseas 1978-83 4
1.2 Invisible earnings of UK construction
industry overseas 1978-83, real changes 5
1.3 Foreign earnings by nationality of top
250 international contractors 1984 6
3.1 The construction process 58
3.2 Construction as a vertical relationship 65
4.1 Buckley and Casson model for a simple
product 109
4.2 Buckley and Casson model for a complex
product 110
5.1 Overseas awards of major contracting
countries 1980-84 144
5.2 Domestic awards of major contracting
countries 1980-84 147
5.3 UK consultants' overseas earnings 1974-84 159
6.1 Subsidiary operation of the international
contractor 182
6.2 Pure export or 'one off' operation of the
international contractor 183
6.3 Export and FDI situation where local
office has construction capabilities
(ie LO/PO) 184
6.4 Export/FOi situation with separate LO
and PO facilities 185
6.5 Location of offices/subsidiaries and
construction works carried out by
survey participants 1982 206
C\ Taylor & Francis
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ABSTRACT

Over the past ten years the international construction

industry has become characterised by fierce competition as
contractors have entered the industry from the less
developed regions of the world in search of hard currency,
and workloads have dropped in the major regional markets.
As a consequence the environment in the industry has
changed so that the international contractor in the 1980s
faces a complex competitive situation in which success only
partially depends upon price competition, and increasingly
reflects the need for other factors that differentiates the
contractor's product from all others.
By integrating an economic assessment of the
international construction industry with elements of the
theoretical framework of international investment and
production the objective of the research outlined in this
thesis is to outline and justify the motives and methods of
overseas operations of the international contractor. This has
been carried out for both the individual contracting
enterprise and the major nationality groups in the industry
(UK, USA, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, Italy and
Turkey). Much of the empirical analysis comes from a
questionnaire survey carried out on twenty major
international construction companies with offices in the UK,
although also relies on government publications of the
respective countries and information from trade magazines
for the macro analysis of markets and competitors in the
industry. The combination of the theoretical predictions and
empirical study provide interesting results both for
economic theory and for the contractor working in the
industry, that involves outlining the major competitive
Abstract

features of the industry in relation to the contractor's

organisational hierarchy and the markets in which firms
operate. Above all the analysis tends to suggest that the
theoretical framework is a useful tool for investigation of
the industry, and that project financing arrangements and
home government support for contractors are major
determinants of success in the industry. The thesis
recommends that contractors need to assess their overseas
interests as part of a globally coordinated strategy if they
are to remain competitive in the next 5-10 years.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis and the research I have been involved with would
not have been possible without the cooperation and help of
many people. I am therefore grateful to all who have
contributed to my work over the past three years and hope
that it accurately reflects their input. All errors remain my
responsibility alone.
The empirical work of the thesis owes a great deal to
all those people involved with the international construction
industry who were willing to discuss the subject with me.
Confidentiality prevents the mentioning of individuals
names, but I would like to thank all the executives of the
companies which I visited, and also the consulting engineers,
bankers, civil servants and journalists for their time.
For much help and advice throughout my research I am
deeply indebted to Professor J.H. Dunning and Professor
Roger Flanagan, who have provided continued support and
constructive criticism through my years at Reading.
Professor George Norman also deserves thanks for his
encouragement in the first and subsequent years of my
research, and for introducing me to the topic of
international construction and showing me the high
standards expected in a PhD. Several of the staff and
postgraduates of the Economics department at Reading are
thanked for helping to clarify certain matters and discussing
various aspects of the research, and Mrs J. Turner and Mrs
M. Lewis are acknowledged particularly for help with typing
relating to my research. Mr P. Hodgson of the Major
Projects Association, Templeton College Oxford, introduced
me to the complex world of project finance and export
credit funding and I would like to thank him in this respect.
Acknowledgements

Personal thanks go to many of the above, but also

include various friends from Workington, Maryport,
Liverpool and Reading who provided relief and an escape
from work where necessary. Names are not given because of
space restrictions, but M. Brown and J, Courage deserve a
special mention in this respect. Peter Hayes is thanked for
getting all the tables in the thesis typed, especially since
this was carried out at very short notice. However, the
greatest personal acknowledgements must go to my family
and Christine, all of whom have been there when needed and
have provided much support and motivation. Christine also
patiently proof-read the thesis and therefore deserves a
special mention for this, and for giving encouragement when
it was most needed. Any acknowledgement of the support
given especially from my dad, Jim, and Christine is
insufficient to the debt I owe for their personal help.
Finally I thank my mother for the help, love, and
support she gave me that goes far beyond this thesis, and I
regret I was never able to tell her how much I appreciated
it. This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my mother.
Chapter One

INTRODUCTION

1.1 TI-IE INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION ENVIRON-

MENT

Although the origms of the international construction

industry can be traced back to the post World War II era of
reconstruction and development of the Colonial states, two
factors have emerged within the past 10-15 years that have
had a significant effect upon the situation as it exists in the
industry in the 1980s. It is argued here that both of these
factors are a consequence of the great surge in demand for
infrastructure development programmes that were a
dominant feature of the 1970s, and can be attributed to
increased revenue for construction projects. This in turn was
a consequence of the greater prosperity which followed the
early 1970s oil price boom and the relatively unrestricted
capital market for development oriented loans in the period.
The major areas in which the effects of this were felt were
Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and to a lesser
extent South East Asia.
The first factor to have emerged in international
contracting over the past 10 years is the influx of
contractors into the industry from Less Developed Countries
(LDCs). (1) This is a direct consequence of the availability
of finance for major development projects in the late 1970s,
particularly in the Middle East where extensive financial
reserves from oil revenues pushed demand for construction
projects to a level unprecedented in any region. Backed by
home government support, the ability of LDC contractors to
undercut Developed Country (DC) (1) contractors on
projects requiring little technical expertise but a high input
Introduction

of semi skilled and unskilled labour is almost entirely due to

LDC contractors 'exporting' entire construction teams
(including unskilled labourers) from their home countries,
and so taking advantage of lower wage rates. This has
invariably been reflected in extremely low bid prices by
LDC contractors that could not feasibly be matched by DC
contractors without making a loss. Of this group of LDC
contractors the South Koreans are the best known and most
successful, (2) but the competition that DC contractors have
faced in the Middle East especially from Indian, Pakistani,
Eastern Bloc and more recently Chinese contractors has
been a significant factor in the contemporary situation.
The second factor to have evolved in the 1980s has been
the lower level of demand worldwide for international
contractors services; in 1985 the American periodical
Engineering News-Record (ENR) reported a 14% drop in
foreign earnings of the top 250 international contractors in
all developing markets during 1984. Although this can
partially be put down to the lower workload that exists in
the Middle East as a consequence of the completion of much
of the infrastructure, the lack of development finance
available for Africa and Latin America as a result of the
worldwide recession and dismal conditions in those markets
has also had a limiting effect.
When taken together, these two factors adequately
summarise the international construction environment in
1985; the fall in demand and increasing numbers of
contractors in the industry has led to a state of
overcapacity. This in turn has caused an increase in the
ferocity of competition and a falling off of profit margins to
a level never experienced in the industry. Consequently the
situation now involves a number of complex factors, and
competition can no longer be characterised by price alone;
home and host country political links, sophisticated
marketing techniques and incentives, and particularly the
ability of the contractor to provide project finance have all
become factors that determine success in the industry. The
ability to provide a specific project within the time
allocated for construction has become overshadowed in the
bidding process by the competency of the firm to
differentiate its tender from others on the tender list. While
the importance of a low price should not be underestimated,
other significant factors may contribute, or even exceed
this factor, to guarantee success. Clearly factors
attributable to the firm are relevant here, but increasingly

2
Introduction

the size and scale of projects, and the level of finance

necessary has meant that ultimately provisions made by
home country governments to help contractors compete
overseas have become a critical factor in the industry. In
some cases this has reached the point where contractors of
certain nationalities can attribute their success abroad
almost solely to the help provided by their home country
government in the procurement of overseas construction
contracts. Within this environment contractors from
countries that do not provide against extensive government
support have faced increasing problems, especially against
the quasi nationalised construction industries from some
LDCs and DCs (eg France), that compete as an integrated
body incorporating finance, access to home country
materials and equipment related to the project, and
powerful government support as competitive advantages.
In the face of such a competitive and aggressive
environment the UK construction industry as a whole has
appeared to retain a significant share of the market over
the last 10 years. Figure 1. 1 illustrates the contribution
made by UK architects and surveyors, construction
contractors, and engineering consultants to UK invisible
earnings as the 'TOT AL' figure. From 1978-83 total invisible
earnings from overseas construction activities rose from
£646 million in 1978 to £796 million in 1983, an increase of
approximately 23%. These statistics however, overshadow
the trend that emerges if this total is broken up into the
respective sections; Figure 1.1 also illustrates that while UK
construction contractors have maintained a steady return,
much of the increase in invisible earnings can be attributed
to overseas activities of consulting engineers and to a lesser
extent architects and surveyors. In 197 8 consulting
engineers contributed 57% of total UK invisible earnings
from overseas construction work, with construction
contractors contributing 33%. By 1983 the share of
construction contractors had dropped to 16%, while that of
consulting engineers had risen to 70%. If real changes of
earnings overseas are introduced by comparing percentage
change of earnings with UK rate of change of inflation
(given by the consumer price index), the situation reflects
the contemporary trend of the UK construction industry
abroad shown in Figure 1.1. Figure 1.2 illustrates this
situation, using the consumer price index as the UK rate of
inflation; the 'Total' figure shows that post 1980 the UK
construction industry has increased earnings ~bove the rate

3
Introduction

Figure 1.1: Invisible Earnings of UK Construction Industry

Overseas, 1978-83

800

700

IC----IC
600

IC
/ Consulting

----
/ Engineers
c, 500

IC/
.5

IC---
~
cii
(/)

-g
:,
400
0
c.. .
C

~
:E 300

IC----
200 ~
~ Construction

IC----IC
Contractors
1C----1C----1C----1C
100 ____ 1C____ Architects &
x----1C--1C Surveyors

0.....-.-~~~~~~~~~~~~~..-.-,~~~~~~~~
1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983
Year

Source: CSO 'United Kingdom Balance of Payments, 1984

Ed.'

of inflation, indicating that real earnings have also

increased. Much of this can be attributed to the increases in
awards of UK architects and surveyors abroad as well as
British consulting engineers overseas earnings, although in
1983 UK consulting engineers experienced a major fall in
awards abroad. Figure 1.2 also shows that UK contractors

4
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 SYCAMORE MAPLE
Acer pseudo-platanus
Page 30
Chapter IV
THE ASHES
1. Red Ash. 2. White Ash. 3. Black Ash. 4. European Ash.
 Chapter IV
THE ASHES

Family Oleaceæ

I N winter there is little to attract us in ash trees beyond a certain

bold strength of trunk and limb. There is no grace or delicacy
whatever in the branches, the twigs are coarsely moulded, and the
buds are thick and leathery. The popular prejudice existing against
ash trees in summer, when the contrast of their light foliage and
heavy trunks makes it less deserved, is fully warranted in winter; but
if the ash is ugly, the wood of few trees is as generally useful, and its
literary history dates back to the “Odyssey” and to the Eddas of
Norse mythology.
The generic name, Fraxinus, comes from the Latin phraxis
(separation), and probably alludes to the wood of the European
species which splits easily. There are about fifteen different species
in the United States, three of which are found commonly in New
England. The green ash, which used to be considered a distinct
species, is now thought to be a variety of the red ash.
All the ashes have opposite leaf-scars.
A large tree with a straight trunk. Bark furrowed
White or with irregular ridges, the hollows forming diamond
American Ash shapes frequently. Buds smooth, thick and hard
Fraxinus like leather, and a rusty brown color. Twigs smooth,
americana
without down. Leaf-scars opposite, and the stems
are flattened at the nodes. Cross-shaped branching of the twigs
against the sky.
 AMERICAN ASH
Fraxinus americana
Page 36

The white ash is a tree which we find frequently along roadsides

and in the woods everywhere in New England. The characteristics
which distinguish it from other trees in winter are the close diamond-
shaped fissures of the bark, the rusty brown buds, and often the old
clusters of paddle-shaped fruit hanging on the tree. On some ash
trees black, berry-like excrescences are found hanging in dry
clusters on the ends of the branches. These are not clusters of fruit,
as might at first be supposed, but the diseased and undeveloped
remains of the panicles of staminate flowers which have been injured
by mites,—curious freaks resembling oak-apples and the outgrowths
of other insect poisoned plants. Occasionally these berry-like
clusters have been gathered as seeds, by mistake, instead of the
true fruit, a mistake which does not seem remarkable when the fruit-
like appearance of the clusters is considered.
The wood of the white ash is heavy, tough, and strong, and is
much used for agricultural implements, tool handles and oars, for the
interior finish of houses and in the construction of carriages.
Emerson tells of an ash which was felled in Granville many years
ago, the wood of which furnished three thousand rake stalks. The
tree from which I took the following photograph, stands on a farm in
Sterling, Massachusetts, and measures over fourteen feet in
circumference, five feet from the ground. This trunk illustrates the
massive strength which gives the ash its one æsthetic quality.
This tree resembles the white ash, but is
Red or Downy distinguished from it by the down on the recent
Ash Fraxinus shoots. It is a smaller tree than the white ash, more
pennsylvanica spreading in shape. The twigs are less coarse and
branch more frequently, with less space between
the buds,—shorter internodes,—on shoots of the same age. Buds
inconspicuous, smaller and blacker than those of the white ash. Bark
closely furrowed, like that of the white ash. Leaf-scars opposite.
 The red ash is much less coarsely moulded than the white ash,
and in its leafless season, particularly, the contrast between its
branches and those of the white ash is plainly seen. The fissures in
the bark of the red ash seem a little finer and nearer together than
those of the white ash bark on trees of the same age. The soft down
on the recent shoots remains through the winter; and this, with the
finer twigs, which branch more frequently, and the smaller, darker
buds, makes the tree easily distinguished from the white ash in
winter,—more easily even than in summer.
The staminate flowers of the red ash are afflicted by mites in the
same way as those of the white ash, producing unsightly clusters
which hang on the tree all winter.
The wood is much less valuable than that of the white ash.
A slender tree, 40 to 70 feet high. Trunk dark
Black Ash gray, often disfigured with knobs. The buds are
Fraxinus nigra black, and the young shoots greenish. Coarse
twigs; opposite leaf-scars.
The black ash is distinguished from the white and red ashes by its
darker buds and by having a less pinched, flattened appearance at
the nodes on the stem. It grows throughout New England in swamps,
in wet woods, and in moist, muddy ground near rivers. In the woods
its trunk is found frequently without branches to a great height, and
Emerson calls it the most slender deciduous tree to be found in the
forest. It is sometimes seventy or eighty feet high, with a trunk
scarcely a foot in diameter.
The wood of the black ash is heavy but not strong. It is used for
fences, for the interior finish of houses, and, after being separated
into thin strips, it is used in making baskets and the bottoms of
chairs. Its sap was an old remedy for earache, obtained by holding a
green branch before the fire.
The specific name, nigra, refers to the color of the buds.
A large tree, with a lofty, spreading head and
European Ash short, thick trunk. The bark is ash-colored when
Fraxinus old, and dark gray when young. Very black buds
 excelsior distinguish it from the American species. Opposite
leaf-scars.
The European ash is planted frequently along roadsides and in our
parks and gardens. It is indigenous to Northern, Central, and
Southern Europe. Its jet black buds distinguish it from other ash
trees. In the chapter called “A Visit to an old Bachelor,” in Mrs.
Gaskell’s “Cranford,” Mary Smith tells us how she was talking to Mr.
Holbrook in the fields, and how he quoted poetry to himself and
enjoyed the trees and clouds and glimpses of distant pastures, and
how he suddenly turned sharp round and asked, “Now, what color
are ash buds in March?”
“Is the man going mad? thought I. He is very like Don Quixote.
‘What color are they, I say?’ repeated he vehemently. ‘I am sure I
don’t know, sir,’ said I, with the meekness of ignorance. ‘I knew you
didn’t. No more did I—an old fool that I am!—till this young man
comes and tells me. Black as ash buds in March. And I’ve lived all
my life in the country; more shame for me not to know. Black: they
are jet black, madam.”
The “young man” he refers to is Tennyson, and the quotation,
“Black as ash buds in the front of March,” is a simile used in “The
Gardener’s Daughter,” and it shows how acute Tennyson’s powers of
observation were, and how true his descriptions of nature.
The buds of the ash open later in the spring than those of other
trees, and the leaves unfold very slowly. Tennyson also noted this
characteristic:—

“Why lingereth she to clothe her heart with love,

Delaying as the tender ash delays
To clothe herself, when all the woods are green?”

The rare fitness of this simile might pass unheeded if we did not
study trees first and poetry afterwards.
In Europe ash seeds were used for medicine. They were called
lingua avis by the old apothecaries, on account of a fancied
resemblance to the tongues of birds; young ash seeds were also
pickled and used in salads. Evelyn says the wood “is of all others the
sweetest of our forest fuelling, and the fittest for ladies’ chambers.”
The horsechestnuts, the maples, and the ashes are the three
genera of large trees which have opposite leaf-scars.
 Chapter V
THE WALNUTS AND HICKORIES
1. Butternut. 2. Black Walnut. 3. Pignut Hickory. 4. Mockernut
Hickory. 5. Shagbark Hickory. 6. Bitternut Hickory.
 Chapter V
THE WALNUTS AND HICKORIES

Family Juglandaceæ

F EW trees are more lofty and majestic than certain species of

walnuts and hickories. They are stately in summer, but in winter,
when the foliage has gone and every branch and twig is thrown in
black relief against the sky, their beauty is truly imposing.
Both walnuts and hickories are valuable timber trees, and the nuts
of several species are sweet and edible.
Two genera of this family are found in America,—Juglans and
Hicoria. Of the first genus there are two species native in the
Northeastern States,—the butternut and the black walnut.
A low, spreading tree, branching a short way up
Butternut the trunk. Gray bark, slightly fissured, the clefts not
Juglans cinerea running together. Recent shoots downy, with a
fringe of hair over the leaf-scar. Leaf-scars
conspicuous, alternate, the bundle-scars horseshoe (U) shaped.
Light brown buds destitute of scales. Terminal bud encloses pistillate
flowers, which are fertilized by the staminate flowers enclosed in the
pineapple-like bud over the leaf-scars. These staminate flowers hang
in one long catkin, which drops off after shedding the pollen in
spring. The superposed buds (two or three over the leaf-scars)
contain the side branches. Pith light brown and chambered,—by
cutting a twig lengthwise this can be seen,—a characteristic of the
Juglans family.
 BUTTERNUT
Juglans cinerea
Page 46
 TRUNK OF A BUTTERNUT
Page 47

Among all the native trees, the butternut is perhaps the most
interesting for winter study. The naked buds, the irregular leaf-scars,
with horseshoe bundle-scars, the superposed buds containing the
lateral branches and the queerly marked buds of the staminate
flowers, the chambered pith, and the little fringes of down on the
stems, every structural detail of this tree is interesting and unusual.
The butternut is one of the few trees among the Juglandaceæ which
is not tall and beautiful in outline. It is a low tree, with wide-
spreading, rather straggling branches, frequently ill shapen and
uncouth in appearance. It is usually associated in our minds with
country lanes, and growing by the walls and fences bordering open
pastures and farm lands, and in these surroundings it seems
pleasing and appropriate; but when we find it planted in parks and
cultivated grounds it seems commonplace and insignificant. It is
found in all the New England States, in New York, and in
Pennsylvania. Very large specimens grow in the valley of the
Connecticut River.
The wood of the butternut is light brown in color, it is light, soft, and
easily worked, and is much used for furniture, gunstocks, and for the
interior finish of houses. The inner bark is used medicinally, and a
dye is made from the bark and nutshells. An excellent pickle is made
from the young nuts, and the kernels are sweet and edible, although
rather rich and oily. Professor Gray tried the experiment of making
sugar from the sap of the butternut. He found that it took four trees to
yield nine quarts of sap (one and a quarter pounds of sugar), the
amount that one sugar maple yields.
The generic name, Juglans, comes from Jovis glans, the nut of
Jove, in reference to the excellence of the fruit, and the specific
name, cinerea (ash-colored), probably alludes to the color of the
bark.
 A large tree, 50 to 120 feet high, with spreading
Black Walnut branches and rough bark, darker in color than that
Juglans nigra of the butternut. The buds are gray instead of light
brown like those of the butternut, and they are
shorter. The twigs are smooth in winter, without hair, and the pith is
chambered. Alternate, conspicuous leaf-scars. Characteristic
difference between the two trees is that the fringe of hair over the
leaf-scar in the butternut is absent in the black walnut.
The black walnut is a striking contrast to the butternut. It is tall and
erect, with a broad, spacious head and vigorous, wide-spreading
branches. The bark is much darker and rougher than that of the
butternut, and the buds are smaller, and gray rather than yellowish in
color, like those of the other species.