1 8 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



thing to yield and indicate danger before even the steel props 

 fail. 



" As to whether the supplies of pit-wood for the future are to 

 come from this country or from abroad is a matter which appears 

 to me depends on two things, quality and cost. If the Scottish 

 forests can supply us with as good a quality of pit-wood and 

 at as moderate a price, you may be assured that the Scottish 

 mine-owners will all go for the home supplies. But if, on the 

 other hand, we can import pit-wood of better quality and at a 

 cheaper rate, I think you may assume also that the sources of 

 pit-wood will go back to where they were before the war — 

 Scandinavia, Finland, Russia, generally speaking, the ports on 

 the Baltic. It therefore is, I think, a question for this Society 

 to see if, by their skill and science, they can raise pit-wood to 

 compete economically with the foreign product. What is wanted 

 in the matter of quality is, for prop wood, trees which are 

 straight and well seasoned. I believe that the fibre of the wood 

 grown in this country is as good as the fibre of the wood grown 

 in Finland, but it is equally undeniable that the Scandinavian 

 finished props arrive in this country in abetter condition. They 

 are straighten They are more clean grown, and they are better 

 seasoned. The seasoning is a matter which is easily overcome, 

 but I fear the straightness and the cleanness of the growth are 

 matters which are more difficult to overcome. Then in what 

 we term bars, that is, crowns designed to take a bending pressure 

 rather than an end thrust, we have all along used home larch, 

 which is unbeatable in that respect. No member of this Society 

 will go wrong in planting areas of larch. All the way through 

 we have always used home larch, and we have found no 

 substitute to beat it for our purposes. In hardwoods we do 

 use a considerable quantity of oak of small sizes and large sizes. 

 I mean by small, pieces suitable for hutch-trams, and slots and 

 under-frame of the tubs, and railway keys. By large, I mean 

 waggon frames. The side beams of a waggon being 12 by 5 

 and 18 feet long, you will appreciate at once pretty much the 

 size of oak tree to be suitable for making waggon wood. Prior 

 to the war the whole supplies of waggon wood came from 

 America — American white oak. It was brought into this 

 country at a price which, I think, would undercut any home 

 grown. However that may be, if you can succeed in beating 

 the quality and price of American oak, I can assure you that 



