I vaguely recall that Hoadley says something similar but it was
concerning hardwood v softwood rather than hemispheres. Too late to
look it up at the moment. That ring a bell w/anyone?

From Textbook of Wood Technology, Panshin and De Zeeuw, Vol 1 1949, 2nd
ed 1964.

Reaction wood is produced on the wide side of eccentric cross sections.
The reaction wood of gymnosperms is called compression wood because it
forms on the lower or compression side of leaning stems. The reaction
wood in hardwoods ...... the name tension wood arises from the fact that
the increased growth takes place on the upper or tension stress side of
leaning trees.

It then goes into considerable detail about the cellular, chemical and
physical properties of both types of reaction wood. Most notably the
longitudinal shrinkage when drying increases, typically by 100% but upto
300% in white oak.

--
Derek Andrews, woodturner

http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com
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