INTRODUCTION INTO GREAT BRITAIN. I 5 



and twisting, and when properly seasoned it is very 

 hard to work, more especially to be smoothed with the 

 plane. To remedy the evil of twisting, some steep it 

 while in the log in water for twelve months, then take 

 it out and dry it twelve months more before cutting it 

 up. Steaming has also been resorted to for the same 

 purpose. Others prefer the practice of barking the 

 tree while standing, and then leaving it a year before 

 it is cut down. 



" The uses to which larch timber may be applied are 

 so numerous that only a few of them can be indicated 

 here. The tops of the trees may be used for posts 

 and rails, where they will last four times as long as 

 common fir ones will. On the Tay and elsewhere it 

 is extensively used in shipbuilding. In 1830 several 

 thousand tons of shipping were constructed of it. The 

 Athole frigate, built of it in 1 8 1 8 ; the Larch, a fine 

 brig, built by the Duke of Athole several years earlier, 

 and many others built since these dates, have proved 

 the larch to be as valuable timber for naval purposes 

 as its most sanguine advocates could desire. The timber 

 has been found to resist the effects of a tropical cli- 

 mate, where even the oak itself is found to shrink in 

 the decks of ships. In many instances where the 

 timber can be had of good quality, it has superseded 

 all other timber for clinker-built boats. When properly 

 seasoned, thin larch-board is at once strong, tough, 

 durable, and extremely light. For rural purposes it 

 is the best adapted for all outdoor fabrics exposed to 

 wind and weather. It is, however, only adapted for 



