Local Woods Research Articles

Lebanese Cedar, Skeuomorphs, Coffins, and Status in Ancient Egypt

In ancient Egypt, as with many cultures, funerary objects often communicated aspects of access, power, and social status. Lebanese cedar, for instance, was selected as a particularly desirable material from which to craft the coffins of Egypt’s upper echelons. This imported timber was both structurally superior to local woods and had important social and religious significance. For the slightly lower-ranking elite of Egypt, for whom cedar was inaccessible, local wood skeuomorphs that imitated cedar coffins were created in their place. The skeuomorphs enabled these individuals to demonstrate their knowledge of elite styles and tastes, and, due to the power of the image in ancient Egypt, also allowed for them to borrow the religious power of cedar wood to protect and enhance their own coffins. In this paper, a selection of Old to Middle Kingdom coffins are discussed to demonstrate the ways that cedar was emphasized as a construction material by the upper elite and mimicked by the middle and lower elite. This helps to demonstrate both the value of cedar in ancient Egypt, as well as the means by which imagery could be manipulated to gain access to the power of this potent material.

Delignified wood biocomposites as sustainable and transparent materials for passive cooling applications

ABSTRACT Wood possesses unique structural and functional properties that make it a promising material for the development of windows. In this study, the potential use of wood biocomposites as a window materials was explored by delignification of local Indonesian woods, such as mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), sungkai (Peronema canescens), mindi (Melia azedarach), and maple (Acer laurinum), using NaOH and H2O2 followed by epoxy resin impregnation. Macroscopic observations, optical transmittance (τ), tensile and bending strength tests were performed to evaluate their optical and mechanical properties. An infrared exposure simulation was also conducted to assess the material passive cooling capabilities in a room model. The results revealed that mahogany and maple had the highest τ values (86.03% and 81.43%, respectively). Transparent mahogany wood exhibited haze due to optical scattering but showed strong mechanical properties with an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 78.83 MPa and a strain (ϵ) of 2.67%. Transparent maple wood had UTS of 84.67 MPa and ϵ of 2.32%. The use of transparent mahogany and maple in room model reduced the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor environments by up to 11.5°C and 10.5°C, respectively, which suggests that transparent wood can be used as a window material for sustainable passive cooling applications.

Effect of the Fungus Neoscylitiadium dimidiatum Penz. Reduction of Dry Weight and Specific Weight of Sapwood and Heartwood of the Trunks of Populus and Eucalyptus Trees

The study was carried out in the Forest Diseases Laboratory, Department of Forest Sciences, College of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Al Mosul. During the academic year 2021-2022, the Sakla wood is available in the wood stores in the city of Mosul. The study aimed at the effect of decay fungi on some local commercial woods, including populus and Eucalyptus The results of the field survey of wood stores in the city of Mosul showed that most of the wood was infected with brown rot fungus. As the severity of the infection varied in different proportions, the percentage of infection of populus wood columns was 75%, and the percentage of infection of Eucalyptus wood columns was 40%. The fungus Neoscylitiadium dimidiatum penz. caused a decrease in the dry weight of populus wood and Eucalyptus columns from the first month of incubation and continued gradually until the fifth month As the percentage of loss in the fifth month was 4.41% for the populus poles, and the percentage of loss was 3.33% for the Eucalyptus poles. The increase in the losses in the weight of the sap wood continued during the incubation stages and to a greater degree than the increase in the loss percentages in the heart wood.

Optimizing species selection for the structural timbers of traditional farmhouses in a snowy rural area of northeastern Japan

AbstractVernacular houses constructed using local woods contain information about forest‐resource use. To clarify how timber was used to construct wooden farmhouses, we identified the timber species composition of 11 houses built between 1845 and about 1940 in Tadami, a snowy rural area in northeastern Japan, and interviewed 70 residents. We recorded 2004 timber parts (99–308 parts per house) and 171.2 m3(1828 parts) of known species (14 taxa).Cryptomeria japonica(cedar) andPinus parvifloravar.pentaphylla(white pine) were used for all essential structural parts and accounted for 44% and 39% of the total timber volume, respectively.Fagus crenata(beech) was the third most commonly used species (7%), for roof supports, beams, and girders. The interviews revealed that the timber was typically sourced from local private or common woodlands within 1 km and that local craftsmen selected and hauled the trees. Considering the region's unique and complex vegetation, as land‐cover distribution is strongly influenced by frequent avalanches, the timber was likely managed within local stands of tall trees, and the most available species would have been cedar (although whether native or planted is unknown), followed by native white pine on mountain ridges around settlements. In comparison, beech stands that could supply sufficient amounts of timber might have been limited. Based on the characteristics of the trees used as house timber in Tadami, we conclude that despite the surrounding harsh, snowy conditions, locally available species of tall trees were historically selected for timbers.

Obtaining of highly energy-efficient activated carbons based on wood

The research work established the distinctive features of the composition and properties of local Paulownia woods - raw materials for the production of highly energy-efficient activated adsorbents. The colloidal, physicochemical properties of the obtained adsorbents from Paulownia wood were revealed. The adsorption properties of the developed adsorbents have been established for deep purification of water-alcohol solutions. In the article, research work was carried out on the wooden stems of a number of trees growing in the territory of Uzbekistan. According to the results of the experimental research, the base of raw materials meeting the requirement of being an adsorbent was researched, and their physico-chemical, colloidal properties were studied. It was found that Pavlovnia wood with high density and porosity can meet the requirement to be an adsorbent. In the study, its porosity, moisture level, ash content, and adsorbent productivity were studied. Based on the obtained results, a series of raw materials that can meet the demand of adsorbent was formed.

Vernacular House Architecture and Climate Change Adaptation: Lessons from the Indigenous Peoples of Cagayan, Philippines

Structures such as vernacular dwellings were not only shaped by culture and tradition but also reveal how people dealt with climate. Using a descriptive-qualitative research design, this study analysed the vernacular houses of the Ibanag, Itawit, and Malaweg in the province of Cagayan in the Philippines to derive a practical template for designing sustainable and climate-conscious houses and buildings. Using focus group discussions (FGD) and observations cross referencing it to concretised architectural and cultural sources revealed that the vernacular houses, particularly that of the Ibanag and Itawit, possess similar characteristics to the typical Filipino bahaykubo, however, distinguished with a separate kitchen bridged by a “balag” or “binattag”. It is elevated from the ground to keep the floor dry and to protect their belongings when the Cagayan River swells. The walling and windows of awning or sliding type made of bamboo practically makes the house penetrable providing natural ventilation and lighting. The “gannung” or “tallung” (silong in Tagalog) allows air to flow from below through the bamboo permeable floors. There is absence of ceilings or room divisions in the house that allows free circulation of air during the hot seasons. Moreover, materials like cogon, bamboo, uway (rattan), and local woods which are endemic in the locality were used in its construction. Ultimately, close community ties and the bayanihan spirit in the community are vital mechanisms for climate change adaptation. With the environmental challenges indigenous communities are facing today, the vernacular houses’ architectural design features can inspire the houses and buildings of today.

The Legal Roundwood Market in the Amazon and Its Impact on Deforestation in the Region between 2009–2015

Brazil is one of the largest producers of tropical wood in the world. Much of this wood is extracted from the Amazon region, especially in the state of Pará. Despite empirical knowledge, there is little information in the literature about the selectivity of trade and how this production has been behaving in recent years. Is there any relationship between this legal timber trade and deforestation? In this work, we compile data reports from control agencies and analyze the dynamics of the legal timber market in the state of Pará between 2009 and 2015 in terms of species, volume, and monetary value. We also correlate changes in volume m−3 and value m−3 with deforestation increase in the same period and region. We find that only ten groups of species represent almost 50% of the total timber volume marketed in the State, mainly from the Massaranduba (Manilkara) group. According to our models, the supply of a species of wood on the market is defined by its monetary value and not by its availability or characteristics, which hinders the insertion of new species and increases selectivity. Since 2011 the volume of legally traded logs has been decreasing sharply. Traditional forest regions in the state already demonstrate depletion in forested areas. While others, such as the lower Amazon region, have been increasing production, showing that new forestry operations areas are being used for harvesting in the function of the lower availability in traditional areas. Our models show that the legal reduced impact logging timber volume has an inverse relationship with the deforestation increase. Otherwise, preference for a small group of timber types still predominates, which may lead local woods to the danger of extinction.

Visiting, attending and receiving: Making kin with local woods

In an endeavour to build intimacy with a section of woods as can only be done through visceral and embodied experience, an ongoing drawing project was embarked upon with the forest as co-author. In a practice of sympoesis with the earth, small drawings of selected niches in an unprotected section of established forest bordering a suburban neighbourhood were done on regular and frequent walks through changing seasons. Upon completion, each drawing was hidden or buried at the site, to be retrieved on a subsequent visit. The aim is to inhabit and bond with this particular wild place through art-based dialogue, and through finding and returning to very specific places via animistic sensing and with tacit knowledge rather than the customary reliance on human-made indexical technologies. In this regard, the trees and plants play an active and sometimes storied role as participants in the creative exchange.

Fostering social enterprise in woodlands: Challenges for partnerships supporting social innovation

The woodland social enterprise (WSE) sector is growing and has a role to play in the forest-based bioeconomy. Social enterprise is also favoured by neoliberal economic policies, and the range of motivations and possible impacts of WSEs calls for better understanding of how and why to support WSE. This paper examines a pilot partnership project in the UK to gain insights for such support, and for social innovation more generally. It conceptualises the process of starting, growing or diversifying WSE as social innovation, and advisory services as policy tools designed to support such innovation. Making Local Woods Work (MLWW) was a cross-sectoral partnership designed to provide integrated access to WSE advice needs. Our methods re-analyse evaluation data to conclude that policy-based intervention can help WSEs to develop and function, but not in this case to achieve real social innovation i.e. radical rearrangement of power. The study shows that it is difficult for top-down interventions to facilitate the emergence of a more self-sustaining legacy such as a peer-to-peer support network. WSEs are inherently diverse: income sources range from woodland products to social services based in the therapeutic forest environment; they value profit, social and environmental benefits to varying degrees. A support partnership therefore needs to take a flexible and client-led approach to identification of needs. In contributing to the bioeconomy, WSE has much in common with the needs and potential of other small and medium businesses.

Possibility of assistance for recovery from disasters using local woods

Possibility of assistance for recovery from disasters using local woods

Some insect larvae tolerate high temperatures better during winter

Snowy winters seem to be becoming a thing of the past. As rising temperatures take an ever stronger hold, the insulating blankets of snow that kept overwintering populations of bugs and mini-beasts in various states of suspended animation through the long dark months are receding. ‘We were interested in how insects would respond to increased temperatures in the winter’, says Henry Vu from the University of Notre Dame, USA, who was curious to find out how vulnerable exposed insects might respond to relatively sultry winters when their insulating winter blanket dwindles. Specifically, Vu and his colleagues wanted to find out whether high temperatures during thaws could be close to the insects’ lethal temperatures. As many insects pass the winter buried as larvae deep in logs, Vu and PI John Duman decided to test the tolerance of the fire-coloured beetle, Dendroides canadensis, throughout the seasons to find out whether losing their winter muffler is risky.Vu ventured out into local woods to retrieve the beetle larvae from decaying logs throughout the year, even braving the elements during the polar vortex that gripped the US in January 2014: ‘We used a chisel and hammer to peel back the frozen bark of trees and chip away at the decaying wood to find our insects during the winter’, he recalls. Back in the lab, Vu placed the larvae in incubators ranging from 33 to 41°C for up to 2 days to find out how well they survived the high temperatures. In addition, he chilled some of the larvae during each of the seasons, while recording the temperatures at which they died, to find out how their low temperature tolerance varied.Fire-coloured beetles avoid freezing during the colder months by producing antifreeze compounds and Vu and Duman recorded that the insects could survive temperatures as low as −25°C during the winter, although they only survived temperatures that were a few degrees below freezing during spring and summer. However, when Vu recorded the insects’ survival rates at high temperatures, he found they were able to survive temperatures around 40.9°C during the winter but could only cope with temperatures around 36.7°C during the summer. ‘These insects can survive over a 60°C range in the winter while only surviving over approximately a 40°C range in summer’, says Vu. And when he tested the survival of the larvae of two other species – a member of the flat bark beetle family, Cucujus clavipes clavipes (which also produces antifreeze to avoid freezing), and the crane fly, Tipula trivittata (which can survive the freezing of some of their body fluids) – their high temperature resilience also seemed to increase during the winter.‘Logically, we were expecting the insects to survive higher temperatures in the summer because that's when the highest temperatures are’, says Vu. He suspects that the larvae are most at risk from overheating during the spring, when they are becoming less heat tolerant and the logs are warming as the air temperatures rise and there are fewer leaves for shade from the increasing strength of the sun.

Analysis of PAH Residues and Amounts of Phenols in Fish Smoked with Woods Traditionally Used in French Guiana

Fish smoking with local wood species is a traditional practice in French Guiana. We evaluated the carcinogenic risk and the smoky taste in acoupa weakfish (Cynoscion acoupa) smoked by a small Guianese company specializing in fish smoking using local wood species. The goal of this study is to promote regional economic development by encouraging the establishment of small companies offering fish smoked with local wood species in agreement with the European health norms in terms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content in smoked fish. The fish smoked with three species of wood traditionally used in French Guiana, Parinari campestris, Caesaria grandiflora, and Laetia procera, conformed to European standards for PAH content. Their phenol contents (correlated with the smoky taste) were close to smoked salmon, the reference in Europe. Given the low rate of extractable compounds in these woods, other flavors had little chance of predominating on the smoky taste. These three tropical wood species might be used for the production of cold smoked fish in compliance with European standards for PAH residues. The flavor and consumer’s acceptance of the smoked fish should now be investigated to characterize the added typicity of local woods in comparison to the commonly used European woods.

The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi (review)

Reviewed by: The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi Kate Quealy-Gainer Abawi, Atia The Secret Sky. Philomel, 2014 [320p] ISBN 978-0-399-16078-3 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 9-12 Knowing that her role in her small Afghan village will change now that she’s coming into womanhood, Fatima, a girl of the Hazara tribe, is desperate to hold onto the freedom of childhood. When Sami, a Pashtun boy who was once her best friend and constant companion, returns early from a failed stint at a madrassa (an Islamic religious school), the two fall into their old routine of meeting in the local woods and spending their days together. Such companionship, however, is viewed as unforgivably sexual by the village, and when Sami’s cousin Rashid reveals their secret, the pair is forced to flee from parents who would see them beaten and married off separately (custom forbids their marrying each other) as soon as possible. Obsessed with seeing them punished, Rashid reports their activity to a local warlord loosely associated with the Taliban, triggering a nightmare of violence that horrifies even Rashid, as Fatima’s baby sister is killed and Sami’s family’s land is violated as the warlord hunts the pair down. The romance here, while sweet and tender, serves mostly as a catalyst to explore the larger cultural influences and conflicts that make up Afghanistan. Characters therefore occasionally seem more like token representations of various beliefs and traditions (e.g., a friend’s grandmother insists that Fatima learn to read, while Rashid spouts off Taliban rhetoric), but the collective whole makes for a fascinating, if disturbing, examination of what Abawi calls in her author’s note a “traditionally conservative society” faced with globalization and modernity. Despite the violence and brutality they encounter, Sami and Fatima make it out alive and together, providing a bit of hope in an otherwise bleak tale A glossary is included. [End Page 142] Copyright © 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Vegetation change during the Bronze Age studied in a multi-proxy approach: use of wood linked to charcoal analysis

During recent archaeological excavations in the alpine valley of Montafon, western Austria, a Bronze and early Iron Age settlement cluster located at about 1,000 m a.s.l. was excavated. The human impact on the woodland resulting from these prehistoric settlement activities has been evaluated by the analysis of charred plant macro remains from cultural layers from a hilltop settlement site and two other close-by settlements, all of them encompassing the Early and Middle Bronze Age (19th to 15th century cal. b.c.) and early Iron Age (6th/5th century cal. b.c.). Charred seeds and fruits have provided information on the supply of foodstuff while charcoal (anthracological) analyses of firewood have revealed the use of wood and consequently the changes in local woods. The latter analyses suggest that the spruce-fir woodland (Piceeto-Abietetum) was gradually cleared from the Early Bronze Age. During the Middle Bronze Age large amounts of Pinus sylvestris (pine), Betula (birch), Corylus avellana (hazel) and Sorbus (rowan) with some Picea abies (spruce) characterized the woods, and early succession stages indicate clearings. These anthracological studies are corroborated by pollen studies disclosing clearings in the woods since the Early Bronze Age, which gradually expanded during the Middle Bronze Age. Furthermore, several charcoals from a Middle Bronze Age hearth seem to be of the same age, and the pattern of their annual growth-rings suggests the pollarding of broadleaved trees.

Did alder (Alnus) fires trigger rice cultivation in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, East China?

It remains debatable as to how the prehistoric human communities managed the environment to enable the initial cultivation of rice during the early Neolithic in the coastal lower reaches of the Yangtze River, East China. Previous studies proposed an environmental context for the first rice cultivation at Kuahuqiao, Hangzhou, based on an archaeological sedimentary microfossil record that had been well-dated using radiocarbon methods. Those studies suggested that early humans began burning the predominantly alder scrub in a local swampy wetland, starting about 7750cal. yr BP, which permitted the start of dedicated rice (Oryza) cultivation. Here we present a new, finer-detailed pollen-phytolith-microscopic charcoal record from the same locality. Our result reveals that local woods dominated by oak (Quercus) and pine (Pinus) were targeted for burning by early cultivators before the start of rice agriculture.

Low Red Moon (review)

Reviewed by: Low Red Moon April Spisak Devlin, Ivy . Low Red Moon. Bloomsbury, 2010. [208p]. ISBN 978-1-59990-510-5 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 8-10. Beautiful boys who inspire lust and cause trouble are quite prevalent in YA lit these days, so Avery shouldn't be surprised at all when the new boy in town, who is, of course, almost impossibly attractive, also raises unsettling questions. As if Avery didn't have enough to contend with, since her parents were recently brutally murdered, she can't remember the details of having found their bodies, and developers now threaten the local woods to which she feels deeply and supernaturally attached. Add to that the fact that her first love, Ben, turns out to be a werewolf, and Avery has quite a bit on her plate. Avery is hauntingly innocent as she tries, bewildered and grief-stricken, to bring forth repressed memories and deal with a world from which her parents had largely protected her. Unfortunately, the incessant hinting and red herrings about potential suspects all but guarantee that readers will either roll their eyes at the rather unlikely actual murderer or feel confused by the sudden drop of a significant plot element involving a mysterious, non-human evil force. In addition, Avery's fierce loyalty to those she loves conveniently disappears at the one moment it is most necessary, allowing for a plot twist but weakening her solidity as a protagonist. Even so, it goes without saying that hottie supernatural boys, girls with just enough gumption to save themselves (at least a little), and, in this case, a genuinely creepy and memorable setting, will feed the Twilight appetite. [End Page 70] Copyright © 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

A new Late-glacial and Holocene record of vegetation and fire history from Lago del Greppo, northern Apennines, Italy

Detailed Late-glacial and Holocene palaeoenvironmental records from the northern Apennines with a robust chronology are still rare, though the region has been regarded as a main area of potential refugia of important trees such as Picea abies and Abies alba. We present a new high-resolution pollen and stomata record from Lago del Greppo (1,442 m a.s.l., Pistoia, northern Apennines) that has been dated relying on 12 terrestrial plant macrofossils. Late-glacial woodlands became established before 13000 cal b.p. and were dominated by Pinus and Betula, although more thermophilous taxa such as Quercus, Tilia and Ulmus were already present in the Greppo area, probably at lower altitudes. Abies and Picea expanded locally at the onset of the Holocene at ca. 11500 cal b.p. Fagus sylvatica was the last important tree to expand at ca. 6500 cal b.p., following the decline of Abies. Human impact was generally low throughout the Holocene, and the local woods remained rather closed until the most recent time, ca. a.d. 1700–1800. The vegetational history of Lago del Greppo appears consistent with that of previous investigations in the study region. Late-glacial and Holocene vegetation dynamics in the northern Apennines are very similar to those in the Insubrian southern Alps bordering Switzerland and Italy, across the Po Plain. Similarities between the two areas include the Late-glacial presence of Abies alba, its strong dominance during the Holocene across different vegetation belts from the lowlands to high elevations, as well as its final fire and human-triggered reduction during the mid Holocene. Our new data suggest that isolated and minor Picea abies populations survived the Late-glacial in the foothills of the northern Apennines and that at the onset of the Holocene they moved upwards, reaching the site of Lago del Greppo. Today stands of Picea abies occur only in two small areas in the highest part of the northern Apennines, and they have become extinct elsewhere. Given the forecast global warming, these relict Picea abies stands of the northern Apennines, which have a history of at least 13,000 years, appear severely endangered.

Paleoenvironment of Medieval Archaeological Sites in Central Japan: Assemblage Analysis and 14C Dating of Insect Fossils

This study aimed to investigate the paleoenvironment of 2 Medieval archaeological sites, Onigashioya and Ooke, in central Japan, by assemblage analyses of insect fossils preserved in sediments at the sites. In the Onigashioya site located in Mie Prefecture, the sclerites of insect fossils classified as the “village” type were detected, which indicates that human activities, and in particular farming, were taking place there. Rice paddies and fields existed near the site, which explains why many insects harmful to rice plants and crops were detected in the area. The radiocarbon date for sclerite remains of Hydrophilus acuminatus, an aquatic beetle that live in rice paddy fields, was calibrated to be cal AD 1010–1155. Analysis of sclerite remains of Craspedonotus tibialis, a ground beetle that typically inhabits seashore environments, resulted in a date of cal AD 1020–1155. This finding suggests that human settlements existed in the seaside areas of the Onigashioya site in the 11th century AD. In the Ooke site located in Aichi Prefecture, “insect pits” were found, which are structural remains containing a large number of Anomala rufocuprea, an insect that preys on field crops. Farmers would have gathered the insects from the fields and buried the dead remains in the pits. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates on sclerite remains of A. rufocuprea ranged from cal AD 1264 to 1385. It should be noted that fruit trees and vegetable crops were planted widely around the site in the 13th century AD. As the result, A. rufocuprea propagated greatly around the site in that period. It is probable that many insects harmful to field crops multiplied largely in this region due to the development of local woods and plains into farming fields. This type of development occurred throughout Japan during the Medieval period.

Native oak retention as a key factor for the conservation of winter bird diversity in managed deciduous forests in northern Italy

Birds can serve as useful model organisms to investigate community level consequences of forestry practices. In this study we investigated the relationships between wintering bird communities and habitat and landscape characteristics of lowland managed forests in Northern Italy. This area is characterized by the spread of the black locust, an alien species that has been favored by forestry practices at the expense of natural oak forests. Birds were censused in winter by point counts in randomly selected plots of 50 m radius. We first addressed bird community–habitat relationships by means of habitat structure measurements, then we investigated bird community–landscape relationships by using GIS techniques. We used generalized linear models (GLM) to test for the effects of habitat and landscape variables on bird community parameters (namely bird species richness, diversity and abundance). Bird community parameters were influenced by oak biomass and tree age, and by oak area and core area, while the other forest habitat types showed less influence. In forest management terms, the main conclusion is that the retention of native oaks is the keyfactor for the conservation of winter bird diversity in local deciduous woods. At the habitat level black locust harvesting may be tolerated, provided that old, large, native oaks are retained in all local woodlots to preserve landscape connectivity and foraging resources. At the landscape meso-scale, large native oak patches, should be preserved or, where necessary, restored.

Princes of Cotton: Four Diaries of Young Men in the South, 1848-1860

A rogue, a megalomaniac, a plodder, and a depressive: the men whose previously unpublished diaries are collected in this volume were four very different characters. But they had much in common too. All were from the Deep South. All were young, between seventeen and twenty-five. All had a connection to cotton and slaves. Most obviously, all were diarists, enduring night upon night of cramped hands and candle bugs to write out their lives. Down the furrows of their fathers' farms, through the thickets of their local woods, past the familiar haunts of their youth, Harry Dixon, Henry Hughes, John Coleman, and Henry Craft arrive at manhood via journeys they narrate themselves. All would be swept into the Confederate Army, and one would die in its service. But if their manhood was tested in the war, it was formed in the years before, when they emerged from their swimming holes, sopping with boyhood, determined to become princes among men. Few books exist about the inner lives of southern males, especially those in adolescence and early adulthood. Princes of Cotton begins to remedy this shortage. These diaries, along with Stephen Berry's introduction, address some of the central questions in the study of southern manhood: how masculine ideals in the Old South were constructed and maintained; how males of different ages and regions resisted, modified, or flouted those ideals; how those ideals could be expressed differently in public and private; and how the Civil War provoked a seismic shift in southern masculinity.