Current Literature a7id Reviews. 71 



"Timber: A Comprehensive Study of Wood in all its As- 

 pects," is the ambitious and rather misleading title of a new book 

 treating on various branches of forestry. 



Part I is devoted to a brief study of the histology of woody 

 stems, and also includes some notes on the chemical composition 

 and physical properties of wood. Part II is a brief description of 

 the timber trees of the world, partially illustrated, and with notes 

 on their value from silvicultural standpoints. The taxonomy is 

 very antiquated, and in many cases the specific and even generic 

 name is omitted. The list of timber trees given is extremely in- 

 complete ; for example, only two American pines (Pinus rigida 

 and Pinus strobus) are mentioned. 



In Part IV is a chapter on silviculture, and one on exploitation, 

 and a review of the forests and forest resources of all countries of 

 the world. The forests of Europe and of the French colonies re- 

 ceive the most attention. In speaking of America the author an- 

 nounces that a discussion of the forests of the whole continent 

 would carry him too far and therefore he limits his remarks to 

 the forests of the State of Maine. One quotation is perhaps 

 sufficient to indicate the general accuracy of this effort. " Planks 

 about 100 feet long and 6^ feet broad without a single knot are 

 current merchandise. The planks are obtained from giant fir 

 trees. The forests producing these firs are so vast that, although 

 saw mills of the neighborhood have sold 500,000,000 feet of 

 lumber per year for the last ten years, the voids made by this vast 

 consumption hardly seem to have left any trace beyond the forma- 

 tion of forest paths." 



Part V devotes some sixty pages to the decay of wood and 

 methods of prevention, and to the fireproofing of timber. On 

 page 304 we are informed that the most essential cause of altera- 

 tion in wood is found in the "great affinity of its carbon to 

 oxygen, an affinity which is favored by alternations of dryness 

 and dampness" and which finally results in " the conversion of 

 the timber into a greyish or brownish powder " ! 



Part VI is devoted to the various applications of timber and 

 other forest products. The chapters on gums, resins, tannin, 

 dyes and similar products are by far the best in the book, and are 

 the redeeming feature of a work that is chiefly characterized by 

 vagueness, inaccuracy and abominable English. 



