112 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



from the weather and containing 12 per cent, of moisture is from 

 17 to 2-4 times stronger than when green, varying with the 

 species. Stiffness is also increased by drying. These con- 

 clusions, however, are drawn from small-sized pieces not exceed- 

 ing 4 by 4 inches in cross section, such as are used in the 

 manufacture of vehicles, tools, etc. Large timber requires years 

 of drying before the moisture is reduced to the point where 

 strength begins to increase. It must also be taken into con- 

 sideration that more or less checking always occurs when large 

 timber dries ; and if this checking is excessive it may cause 

 weakness to counterbalance, partially or entirely, the strength 

 gained in drying. Consequently it is not safe to assume that 

 the average strength of large, so-called seasoned timbers is much 

 greater than that of green or wet ones. 



2. T\i& fibre saturation point oi a number of species has been 

 determined. This point, which varies with conditions and 

 species of wood, designates the percentage of water which will 

 saturate the fibres of the wood. It has been found that under 

 normal conditions wood fibre will absorb a definite amount of 

 moisture, beyond which the water simply fills the pores of the 

 wood like honey in honeycomb. Only that water which 

 permeates the wood fibre has an influence upon the strength. 



3. Prolonged soaking in cold water does not reduce the 

 strength of green wood below that of its fibre saturation point, 

 provided it remains in perfect condition. When wood has been 

 dried and is resoaked it becomes slightly weaker than when 

 green, 



4. Wood soaked in heated 7vater absorbs moisture because the 

 amount of water which the fibre will contain is increased. This 

 causes a reduction in strength and stiffness, as in wood that is 

 heated or steamed for bending. — Indian Forester, from Indian 

 Trade Jonrnal. 



A New Larch. 



Mr W. F. Wight, in the last quarterly issue of the Smithsonian 

 Miscellatieous Collections, describes a new larch, larix aiasketisis, 

 which has been found on the Upper Kuskokwim, Yukon, and 

 Tanana rivers, in Alaska, where it forms a small tree attaining 

 a maximum height of 40 feet, with a trunk 8 inches in 

 diameter. It differs from I. dahurica and L. laricina {pendula) 



