TIMBERS. 361 
With regard to its rate of growth, Colonel Beddome, in his 
report of April, 1878, on the Nilgiri plantations, says that in the 
Bleakhouse plantation, Wellington (India), the average girth of the 
trees in the portion which is twenty-one to twenty-two years old, 
taken from the measurement of 30 trees as they came, was 35in. 
at six feet from the ground (about four rings per inch of radius), 
the girth of some of the largest trees being 56, 55, 50, 46 and 44in. 
It does not coppice well, unless very young. (Gamble.) 
Following is a report by Mr. Allen Ransome on some samples 
of this timber sent from Victoria to the Colonial and Indian 
Exhibition. ‘‘Samples of both old and young trees were sent for 
trial. The former were made into joiners’ specimens, the latter 
into casks. The figure of the old-growth wood is very fine, and 
the surface left by the cutters was all that could be desired. The 
casks also proved a complete success. The wood has already 
been imported into England in small quantities, and sold at prices 
ranging from 2s. to 3s. per cubic foot.” 
Mr. F. A. Campbell (Proc. R.S., Victoria, 1879) examined 
the tensile strength of this timber. Following are his results, in 
pounds per square inch. (a) 26,500. (0) 24,000. (c) 32,000. 
{d) 20,000. (e) 23,000. d and e were of a different wood 
from the others; much lighter in colour, more open in grain; 
evidently younger wood, and ill-seasoned. a, 4, c, were from fine, 
close-grained, dark coloured wood, well seasoned, and extremely 
hard. c¢ showed round the fractured part fibres like threads of silk. 
Experiments on the transverse strength of the wood of Acacia 
melanoxylon, by Baron Mueller and J. G. Luehmann. The 
specimens were 2ft. long x 2in. square. 
rcs 
Deflection. Total bo Specific Gravity. 
. S 
weight o | 
; required $ a ie | 
With P me ‘ a ak aera ae Absolutely 
the apparatus| At the crisis|breakeach| 2 ao Air-dried. dried 
weighing | of breaking.| piece. “i | 7 
780lbs. > 
Inches. ‘ Inches. Pounds, iar is 
.08 50 2296 1722 616 529 
.08 54 2261 1696 625 536 
