24i Mr Stevenson on the Building Materials 



which it derives its name, and from a few of its leaves remain- 

 ing on the branches in a withered state throughout the 

 winter. The wood is of a reddish colour, and in that respect 

 is very similar to English oak. But it is generally acknow- 

 ledged to be greatly inferior to it in strength and durability. 

 It is very straight in the fibre, however, and can be got in 

 pieces of great length and considerable scantling — properties 

 which, for certain purposes, make it preferable to the British 

 oak. It is much used in ship-building, and also for the trans- 

 verse sleepers of railways. There are many other oaks in the 

 United States, but the two I have mentioned are most in use. 



The pines are perhaps the next woods in importance to the 

 oaks. The species of those are also very numerous, and I 

 shall only mention one or two of the most important of them. 



The White, or Weymouth Pine {Pinus strobus), is widely 

 distributed both in the United States and in Canada, and 

 is exported to Britain in great quantities from the latter 

 country. It is the tallest tree of the American forest, having 

 been known, according to Michaux, to attain the height of 

 ISO feet. The wood has not much strength, but it is free from 

 knots, and is easily wrought. It is very extensively employed 

 in the erection of bridges, particularly /rrzwe and lattice bridges, 

 a construction peculiar to the United States, and very generally 

 adopted in that country, which I have described in detail else- 

 where.* For this purpose it is well fitted, on account of its 

 lightness and rigidity, and also because it is found to be less 

 apt to 7varp or cast on exposure to the atmosphere than most 

 other timbers of the country. It is much used for the interior 

 fittings of houses, and for the masts and spars of vessels. 



The Yellow Pine (Pinus 7nitis or variabilis) occurs only in the 

 southern and middle states, and is not found in Canada, and 

 therefore does not reach this country, the wood known by 

 that name in Britain being the Finns rcsinosa. It attains 

 the height of 50 or 60 feet, with a diameter of 2 or 3 feet, 

 and is the timber which the Americans employ in great- 

 est quantity for the masts, yards, booms, and bowsprits of 

 their vessels. A large quantity of it is annually consumed for 



* Stevenson's Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North America. Lon* 

 4on t J^hn Wealc, le'36i 



