2398 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III, 



down properly to grass, upon which the sixty large trees sent to Woolwich 

 had grown, the duke caused the large roots to be extracted out of it. After 

 they were out of the earth, the duke was struck u ith their apparent capability 

 of being cut up into knees for ships ; and he immediate!}- entreated the Navy 

 Board to try them for that purpose, but the proposal was declined. Thus 

 rejected, the fate of some of these roots, in the shape of knees, was curious, 

 and is thus described by the duke: — 'In 1811, an American vessel, the 

 Frances of Baltimore, of 160 tons register, a brig, sustained very considerable 

 damage on her voyage to Leith, and came in nearly a wreck. Messrs. Symes 

 and Co., who repaired her, put into her some of these larch knees offered to 

 the Navy Board. The captain of the vessel said he never saw any wood of 

 so fine a quality, and so applicable for knees; and he was extremely urgent 

 to know what kind of wood it was, and if he could get any more of it : but 

 they had no more to give him. 



" T/ie Larch has been tried in a small Way as Masts. Three sloops at Perth 

 were fitted up with them; but, as they all soon left the Tay, its value as such 

 could not be ascertained. 



" The great and imjjortant Trial of the Larch, as a valuable Tree for naval 

 Timber, was made from 1816 to 1820, in the building of His Majesty's frigate 

 the Athol. Her keel, masts, and yards were made wholly of larch. She was 

 launched on the 21st of November, 1620. Her dimensions are as follows: — 

 Length of deck, 11.3 ft. 8 in.; keel for tonnage, 9-1- ft. 3J in. ; extreme breadth, 

 31 ff. 6 in. ; moulded, 31ft.; depth of hold, 8 ft. 6 in.; admeasurement, 

 499|^ tons. She carries 20 guns of 32 lb., G guns of 18 lb., and 2 guns of 

 6 lb. ; in all, 28 guns. Her main, fore, and niizen masts, with their topmasts 

 and topgallant-masts, and their respective yards, bowsprit, sprits, and tops, 

 tit-booms, and spedding-booms, were all of larch. She drew of water, afore, 

 8 ft. 11 in. ; and abaft, 11 ft. 3 in. When launched, her weight was 267 tons. 

 Many minute inspections took place at different times, by competent judges, 

 of the state of the larch in the Athol, and all are very laudatory of its qualities 

 as ship timber. The following important particulars regarding the larch in 

 general were related by Mr. Symes of Leith, after he had inspected the 

 Athol in Leith Roads, in July, 1824. The larch becomes harder and more 

 durable by age in a ship. It holds iron as firmly as oak; but, unlike oak, it 

 does not corrode iron. Iron bolts may be driven out afterwards perfectly 

 clean. It does not shrink ; the Athol had been caulked but once in four 

 years. It possesses the valuable property of resisting damp, inasmuch as the 

 pump-well was as dry as the cabin. This is a very important fact, as regards 

 the durabilitv of the ship, and the health and comfort of the crew. The 

 beams and knees in the gun-deck were as well finished as the best joiner's 

 work, and they had no appearance of shrinking or straining. The Larch, a 

 brig, the Diana, a steam-vessel, and other ships, were afterwards built of 

 the larch, and all with favourable results. 



Incombustibility of Larch Wood, and its Property of not splintering, " Among 

 the properties of larch which may be considered as valuable in respect of 

 ship-building, is the one of its being slow of kindling by fire. Though hot 

 embers be thrown on a floor of larch, it will not get suddenly up into a 

 blaze, like other kinds of fir. It is admirably adapted to be formed into 

 wooden steps for guard-ships or quays, the edges of them not breaking or 

 splintering like other fir wood. The property of its not splintering makes 

 it a valuable wood for the upper works of men-of-war. The splinters made 

 by cannon-shot are often more hurtful to the seamen in action than the 

 shot themselves. A shot-hole through larch closes and does not splinter. 

 Larch treenails were allowed by Sir Robert Seppings to drive remarkably 

 well. 



" The Products arising from the chemical Treatment of Larch Wood may be 

 useful to the arts. The following results were obtained by chemical experi- 

 ments made by Mr, Brown of Old Brompton, on the 19th of March, 1828. A 

 piece of larch wood of 6 lb. weight was placed in a retort, which was heated 



