180 Experiments on the Strength of Woods, by Mr. Barlow, Jan. 



be considered uninteresting to the readers of the Phil, Mag. 

 and Annals ; particularly as the results are not only curious, 

 but may probably lead to useful and important investigations, 

 as connected with the introduction into and the growth of 

 foreign timber in tins country, as well as to important improve- 

 ments in the presentsystem of planting. Under this impression 

 I have been induced to send them to you as an addition to the 

 several others on the same subject which have appeared at dif- 

 ferent times in this Journal. 



The experiments originated in an investigation of the com- 

 parative properties of acacia and oak by W. Withers, Esq. 

 of Norfolk, whose object appears to have been to encourage 

 the planting of the former in many situations instead of the 

 latter, as a wood of great durability, and of quicker growth. 

 In order to have a comparison made of their relative strengths, 

 he forwarded specimens of both woods to Woolwich, and the 

 results of the experiments will be seen in the following Table. 



Another question arose with Mr. Withers relative to the 

 strength of oak, the growth of which had been encouraged by 

 culture, compared with oak of tlie ordinary slow growth *. 

 The specimens connected with the latter subject, the author 

 informs us, were received from Mr. W. Boorne of Erpingham ; 

 the one from a fast and the other from a slow growing tree. 

 They ai-e marked Nos. 3 and 4 in the Table of Experiments. 

 The former was grown on a very good strong soil, its age 

 was supposed about 60 years, and it contained from 38 to 40 

 cubic feet of timber: the other. No. 4, was about 120 years 

 old, and was grown upon light soil, with gravel about 2 feet 

 below the surface. This tree contained about 80 cubic feet, 

 but Mr. Boorne considers that if No. 3 had stood to attain the 

 same age, it would have made at least 40 feet more than that 

 tree. The other two specimens were from trees furnished by 

 Mr. Samuel Farrow of Diss, Norfolk, grown on the sanie 

 piece of land : that from which No. 5 was cut, stood near the 

 rack-yard of the farm by the side of a ditch, into which ran a 

 great deal of moisture from the yard; and he has no doubt 

 that, independently of the nourishment obtained by it from 

 the ditch, very many of the smaller roots reached as far as the 

 rack-yard ; and the tree grew rapidly, and contained when cut 

 down 120 feet of timber. The tree from which No. 6 was 

 cut, grew, as before stated, in the same field, but had none ot 

 the advantages above spoken of; but still the soil was good, 

 with a lightish blue clay bottom. The tree grew well, but not in 

 any degree so fast as the other : it contained about 90 feet of 



* See a Letter to Sir Henry Stewart, Bart, on the improvement in the 

 quality of timber, by W. Withers, Esq. 



timber. 



