499 When other harder and dark coloured, and possessing a strong resinous taste and smell. not abounding in resin it works easily. That from abroad shrinks in the log, from seasoning, about one thirtieth part of its width. 1709. The annual rings of the best sort of this timber do not exceed one tenth of an inch in thickness, their dark parts are of a bright red colour. That from Norway is the finest of the sort, to which the best Riga and Memel are much inferior. The inferior timber of this kind, which is not so durable nor so capable of bearing strains, has thick annual rings, and abounds with a soft resinous matter, which is clammy and chokes the saw. Much of the timber of this sort is from Sweden, but it is inferior in strength and stiffness. which is produced in the colder climates is superior to that which is the product of warmer countries, the Norway timber being much harder than that of Riga. The weight of a cubic foot of this fir, when seasoned, varies from 29 to 40 pounds. That of English growth, seasoned, from 28 to 33. That 1710. WHITE FIR (Pinus abies), commonly called the spruce of Norway, whose forests produce it in abundance. This is the sort which in deals and planks is imported from Christiana, in which condition it is more esteemed than any other sort. The trees from which these are generally obtained are of 70 or 80 years' growth, and are usually cut into three lengths of about 12 feet each, which are sawn into deals and planks, each length yielding three deals or planks. Their most usual thickness is 3 inches, and they are generally 9 inches wide. In this country they are sold by the hundred, which in the case of white as well as yellow deals, contains 120 deals, be their thickness what it may, reduced to a standard one of an inch and a half, a width of 11 inches, and a length of 12 feet. What is called whole deal is an inch and a quarter thick, and slit deal is one half of that thickness. It unites better by means of glue than the yellow sort, is used much for interior work in joinery, and is very durable when in a dry state. 1711. The colour of the spruce fir is a yellow or rather brown white, the annual ring consisting of two parts, one hard, the other softer. The knots are tough, but it is not difficult to work. Besides the importation above named, there is a considerable quantity received from America. Of the Christiana fir a cubic foot weighs from 28 to 32 pounds when seasoned. That from America about 29 pounds; and the Norway spruce grown in Britain about 34 pounds. In seasoning it shrinks about a seventieth part, and after being purchased as dry deals at the timber yards, about one ninetieth. 1712. AMERICAN PINES. The Pinus Strobus, or what is called the Weymouth or white pine, is a native of North America, imported in logs often more than 2 feet square and upwards of 30 feet in length. It is an useful timber, light and soft, stands the weather tolerably well, and is much used for masts. For joiners' work it is useful from its clean straight grain. But it should not be used for large timbers, inasmuch as it is not durable, and is moreover very susceptible of the dry rot. Its colour is a brown yellow, and it has a peculiar odour. The texture is very uniform, more so, indeed, than any other of the pine species, and the annual rings are not very distinct. It stands well enough when well seasoned. A cubic foot of it weighs about 29 pounds. 1713. The yellow pine, or Pinus variabilis, is imported into England, but it is not much used; it is the produce of the pine forests from New England to Georgia. 1714. The pitch pine (resinosa), remarkable for the quantity and fragrance of the resin it produces, is a native of Canada. It is brittle when dry, and, though heavy, not durable. It is of a much redder hue than the Scotch pine, and from its glutinous property difficult to plane. The weight of a cubic foot is 41 pounds. 1715. The silver pine (picea) is common in the British plantations. This species of timber is produced in abundance, and is much used on the Continent both for carpentry and ship-building. It is light and stiff, and according to Wiebekin, lasts longer in air than in water. A cubic foot weighs about 26 pounds. 1716. The Chester pine (pinaster) is occasionally cultivated in the British plantations. It is better suited to water than exposure to the air, and has a finer grain, but contains less resin, than the pine or silver fir. A cubic foot weighs about 26 pounds. 1717. LARCH (Pinus Larix). A timber tree only lately to any considerable extent adopted in the plantations of Great Britain, among whose cultivators the Duke of Athol has been one of the most ardent and successful. It grows straight and rapidly, is said to be durable in all situations, and appears to have been known and appreciated by Vitruvius, who regretted the difficulty of its transport to Rome, where, however, it was occasionally used. Wiebek in prefers it to the pine, pinaster, and fir, for the arches of timber bridges. To flooring boards and stairs, where there is much wear, it is well suited, and when oiled assumes a beautiful colour, such, indeed, that when used for internal joinery, a coat of varnish gives it a more beautiful appearance than it could receive from any painting. The American larches do not produce turpentine; but the timber has been considered equal to the European sorts. It is of a honey yellow colour, and more difficult to work than the Riga or Memel timber, though, when obtained, the surface is better. It bears the driving houses in this country floored with sycamore and wainscoted with poplar. It seems well enough calculated for floors. 1725. BIRCH. Betula alba, or common birch, is a species of alder, to which article the reader is referred (1719). The American birch, from Canada, is but little superior to the European birch. The Russian birch, on account of its clean light colour and silvery grain, has been for many years extensively employed for bedroom furniture. 1726. A description of fir (Wellingtonia gigantea) has been lately introduced froin our colony of Victoria, in Vancouver's Island, on the western side of North America. It is sent in logs, deals, and planks. Instead, however, of being only 14 to 16 inches square, and 60 feet long at the maximum, as in the case of Baltic timber, one stick of this timber has been sent not less than 127 feet long, and about 42 inches square at one third of the height measuring from the butt end, which end was about 50 inches square. It contained 1307 cubic feet of timber; this is not an exceptional size. A tree is reported to have been cut down lately, the circumference of which was 90 feet, and its height 325 feet; the bark was in some places 4 feet thick. The tree, sound and solid, contained 250,000 feet of timber. It was supposed to be 3,100 years old. G. R. Burnell states the tenacity of this timber to be greater than, and its resistance to a crushing weight apparently superior to, Baltic timber. When loaded in the centre to the point of instantaneous rupture, the Vancouver's island wood bore weights which were to those borne by English oak as 13 to 12, and to those borne by the Baltic fir as 13 to 8. Three-inch cubes of the three woods were subjected to weights of 45 tons each, or 5 tons (11,240 lbs.) on the inch superficial, when the permanent elasticity of oak was not affected, that of the fir only slightly so, whilst the Baltic timber was permanently and perceptibly compressed. 1726a. For joiner's work, the straightness, freedom from knots, deep warm colour, and beauty of the grain, places this timber above any other of the fir or pine woods; whilst its greater hardness would in staircases, floors, &c., compensate for any slight increase in the price of labour for working it. It has been employed by Mr. Burnell in the joiner's work of an office in Lincoln's Inn Fields. It seems to affect iron somewhat as does oak. 1727. MAHOGANY (Swietenia Mahogoni) is a native of the West Indies and the country round the Bay of Honduras. The tree is said to be of rapid growth; its trunk often exceeds 40 feet in length and 6 feet in diameter. Its Spanish name is caổba. Spanish mahogany is imported from Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, St. Domingo, and some other of the West India Islands and the Spanish Main. The best quality is considered to come from the sea-board on the south part of the island of San Domingo or Hayti. The logs are from 20 to 26 inches square, and about 10 feet in length. It is close grained, hard, sometimes strongly figured, and generally of a rich brown colour, darker than Honduras; but its pores frequently appear as if chalk had been rubbed into them. It takes a very high polish with hand labour; and French polishing brings out its flower with great lustre. 1727a. Honduras mahogany is imported in logs of larger size than the above, that is, from 2 to 4 feet square, and from 12 to 18 feet in length; logs 40 feet in length have been obtained; planks 6 to 7 feet wide are occasionally imported; but 5 feet square and 15 feet long are the more ordinary dimensions. It is so distinctly inferior to the Spanish quality, that no ordinary judge can possibly be mistaken in the normal samples. In weight it is lighter; and it is of a straighter and more open or spongy grain, without much flower, and therefore little sought after by cabinet makers. The worst kinds are those most filled with grey specks, from which Spanish mahogany, except the Cuba, is comparatively free. 17276. Spanish mahogany is in this country far too valuable to be used in common building. It sometimes sells for as much as 61. per foot cube, when good fir, of nearly equal value for such purposes, would only cost 28. at the maximum. In Jamaica, mahogany has been frequently employed for floors, joists, rafters, shingles, &c.; and ships have been built of it; for which last purpose, the circumstance of its allowing shot to be buried in it without splintering, makes it peculiarly suitable. Soon after its introduction into this country in 1724, when a specimen was sent to Dr. Gibbons by his brother, a West India captain, it was employed for doors, as at the Treasury, by W. Kent, in 1733. The better qualities are reserved for small articles of cabinet-work and furniture, the best being employed in the form of veneers, of which twenty-one cuts are now got out of an inch thickSolid work for more general purposes, such as handrails of stairs, sashes, sash-doors, and ordinary counting-house and office fittings, &c., is worked out of Honduras mahogany, which is also employed as the groundwork for veneers of the finer quality. ness. 1727c. It is generally sold at per foot superficial, one inch thick; the common qualities at 58. to 5s. 6d. per cubic foot. It holds with glue better than any other wood. Of Honduras mahogany, the quality called 'common southern' weighs about 26 lbs. ; 'superior northern' about 42 lbs. ; 'good northern' about 32 lbs; and common northern' about 36 lbs., per cubic foot. All these qualities are used in shipbuilding; the lightest, for furniture. Spanish mahogany weighs 48 lbs. 6 oz., the best from 50 lbs. to 54 lbs. per cubic foot. All kinds of this timber are said to be very durable, and free from the attack of worms when kept constantly dry. They do not warp or crack under the influence of |