( ^ ) 



Alli-timber, growing in warm climates, to be, beyond comparifon, 

 preferable to fuch as is produced in cold regions." 



The Tranflator in resuming this part of the fuhjed, obferved a 

 paffage in the EJjfay on the Oak, tvhich had. fomehow efcaped him ; 

 he therefore takes leave to introduce it here. 



As many perfons cannot conceive how calks made of Oak can con- 

 tain liquors, when they conlider that the wood is compofed of no- 

 thing but numbers of fmall tubes united, I cannot refrain from 

 giving an explanation of the manner in which Oak is prepared, and 

 worked up in the making of tubs or cafks, which is as follows : The 

 tree is fplit or cleft lengthwife into two, four, or fix pieces in pro- 

 portion to its fize, but fo that the fplitting or cleaving may extend 

 from the circumference to the centre of the tree ; though when 

 a tree is cleft in two, as I have feen performed in much of the 

 Riga timber, pieces are again cleft from the flat fides of each half, 

 making a fort of four fquare ftaves ; likewife, when large trees have 

 been thus cleft down the middle, planks or ftaves are made from 

 them, by cleaving pieces from that fide which was the middle of the 

 tree ; and thefe pieces will be four fquare and not triangular; by all 

 thefe methods of fplitting or cleaving the wood, the perpendicular, 

 and alfo the horizontal veflels will be divided lengthwife, or accord- 

 ing to the fame dire6lion in which they were placed in the tree, and 

 they will all lie lengthwife in the plank or flave, the perpendicular 

 veflels from end to end, and the horizontal ones from fide to fide, 

 by which means the liquor in a cafk or vat, made of timber thus 

 prepared, mufl prefs againft the fides of the veflels or tubes of the 

 wood ; and this is the reafon why cafks made of Oak, though it is 

 formed entirely of tubes, do yet retain the liquor; — to illullrate this 

 by an example : 



