ON THE PREPARATION OF WOOD SPECIMENS FOR EXHIBITION. 313 
of the tree being left on the back, and one side of the specimen 
should be polished and the other plain. 
But for ordinary purposes I prefer something larger, even in 
spite of its comparative unhandiness. The segments which I have 
in my mind, but which I regret I can only imperfectly delineate, 
are as shown in Fig, 2. 
We 
ert 
Wii 
ethyl = 
avi 
cM mt 
ra 
ved 
pat 
Ber 
Here the specimens are primarily logs or trunks of trees with the 
bark on, not less than 3 feet in length, and cut first across, 
second transversely, and third at an oblique angle sloping from 
the core outwards to the bark. The grain of the wood is thus 
exposed as subjected to these several cuts; the proportion of sap- 
wood to heartwood is clearly apparent-—that in some woods, for 
example, the Indian ebony, Diospyros melanoxylon, being very 
remarkable ; and the colour of the outer and inner wood is in 
strong contrast. The bark is, except where the wood is exposed 
by the above cuts, carefully preserved, while the wood itself is on 
one side of the line from A to B polished, the other side being 
left in its natural condition. This form of specimen has the further 
advantage of evidencing the annual growth of the tree, a subject to 
which I shall come later on—the concentric rings, the medullary 
rays, and generally the botanical structure. 
For the test purposes of the importer the logs or beams can 
hardly be too large. The most reliable results will be given, ceteris 
