243 



20 inches hj 14 inclies and 28 inclies by 20 inches, each containing 

 112 thin sheets of tin, and boxes 20 inches by 10 inches, somewhat 

 deeper, contaiued 225 sheets of tin. At a large works at South 

 Dock, Swansea, where these boxes are made, the size being made 

 was 36 inches by 11 inches by If inches. The side pieces and ends 

 from a piece examined since at Kcw are of this Birch, but a piece 

 of the wood used to form the bottom and top since examined 

 appears to be American Sugar Maple (Acer saccharinum) ^ the same 

 wood is largely vised for floor blocks. In appearance, physical 

 characters and uses, these woods arc very similar and might in the 

 trade sometimes pass for the same. Some particulars of the Sugar 

 Maple (Acer saccharinum) are giTen in K. B. 1911, pp. 303-304. 



Sprtice Boards" [Picea eaxelsa), from NorAvay ; white pre- 

 pared boards from Norway; '^ Tellow or Pine Deal " (Pinns spp.) 

 from America; ''Red Pine '^ (Pimis sylvestris) from Archangel 

 and '^ Oregon Pine " [Pseudotsuga Douglasii) from British 

 Columbia were timbers imported to the Prince of Wales Dock, 

 Swansea, for use by Messrs. John Lewis & Sons, timber merchants. 



^' Pit Props '' or '' Pit Wood '^ [Piiius Pinaster; Picea exccha). 



During the summer months immense stacks of these props may 

 be seen in the docks near the mining centres, Swansea, Cardiff, 

 Hull, etc. In the King's Dock, Swansea, the SS. ''Torvore '' was 

 discharging 1700 tons from Bordeaux, Lisbon and Oporto. A 

 piece out of this shipment proves it to be Pinus Pinaster , Soland., 

 the largely cultivated '' Cluster Pine ^' of the Mediterranean 

 region. This is the Pine tree tapped for resin in the forests near 

 Bordeaux and yields the ** Bordeaux Turpentine '' of commerce; 

 many of the pieces in the consignment mentioned bore evidence of 

 the tapping. They averaged 9 to 13 feet in length and 3 inches to 

 8 inches in diameter at the top and were covered with bark. Ship- 

 ments of props from Bordeaux to the United Kingdom are made 

 regularly throughout the year (Cons. Bep. Ann. No. 5319, 1914, 

 p. 24). 



In the Eoath Dock, Cardiff, the SS. '' Villa Garcia '' had appo- 

 rently just come in fully laden with the same bark-covered props, 

 though these were said to be Spanish. 



The Common Spruce (Picea exceha^ Link,^ is also largely used 

 for pit props, and stacks of it were seen m the King's Dock, 

 Swansea, and in the Queen Alexandra and Eoath Dock.s, Cardiff, 

 where they covered many acres. The following sizes were noticed : 

 4 feet 6 inches, with a diameter of 3^ inches; 5 feet, with a 

 diameter of 6 inches, and 9 feet with a diameter of 7 inches. These 

 props are cut into shorter lengths according to the demand from tlie 

 pits. One large stack in the Boath Dock, Cardiff, containing 

 3305 props, was built up of eigbt smaller stacks, each marked on 

 one prop with the dimensions and number of pieces in the stack as 

 B 4| by 3i— 312 ; B 4^ by 2^—606, etc.^ Other stacks were built u 

 in the same way of props of different dimensions and marked wit 

 another letter. 



_ L - ^ 



The Common Spruce is a native of the mountains of Northern 

 and Central Europe, and the Baltic is the principal outlet for the 

 wood. The Baltic props are distinguished from the French at the 

 time of arrival by being clean barked. The trees are cut during 

 the winter and the prepared wood shipped in the summer. 



