CHAPTER XI 



COMPARATIVE VALUE OF BRITISH AND FOREIGN 

 TIMBER 



PREVIOUS to the war, wood merchants gener- 

 ally, but particularly dealers in foreign wood, 

 had a poor idea of home-grown timbers when 

 compared with those sent from abroad. But 

 times have changed, and with the compulsory 

 use of that of home growth, to the almost total 

 exclusion of the foreign article during the past 

 four years, the quality and uses to which it 

 can be applied have undergone a thorough 

 test, with the result that British-grown timber 

 is now widely appreciated and can well hold 

 its own with most of that sent from abroad. 



No oak, even the much- vaunted Bavarian, 

 can compare with that of British growth, and 

 the same may be said of ash, beech, and 

 sycamore, all of which can hold their own 

 with the very best of that sent in from 



131 



