80 AMERICAN LUMBER IN FOREIGN MARKETS. 



inches per annum, but imported lumber of any description is not 

 wanted there, as the forests abound in ebony, satinwood, and various 

 other valuable timber trees. 



For fall particulars of rainfall, see Appendix B,* and as regards tem- 

 perature, the heat is absolutely and always tropical. 



GENERAL BUILDING. 



Wooden houses are very rarely built in Ceylon ; most of thebetter-class 

 habitations are of brick, and wood enters into their construction only 

 for the frames of the roof, doors, and windows, and occasionally for 

 upstair floors teak, jack, and satinwood are mostly used for these 

 purposes, and there is no wood in the United States that could be 

 profitably substituted for them. 



There is no shipbuilding and very little railroad building; and what 

 with native woods, and creosoted pine, for sleepers, and teak for 

 carriages, all of the railroad demands for lumber are fully supplied. 

 There is in fact an abundance of valuable timber always for sale; say, 

 ebony and satinwood, which, if properly handled, would pay for ex- 

 portation to the United States. 



W. MOEET, 



Consul. 

 CEYLON, January 27, 1894. 



SEASONING TIMBER. 



[Extract from the publication entitled List of the Principal Timber Trees in Ceylon, by A. Mendis 

 Lenanayke. Translated by Consul Morey.] 



To season timber so that it may become one-fifth more durable than in its ordinary 

 state, observe the following instructions of Thomas Tredgold, esq., civil engineer, 

 Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, etc., of Newcastle-on-Tyne: 



When timber is felled, the sooner it is removed from the forest the better ; it should 

 be removed to a dry situation, and placed so that the air may circulate freely about 

 each piece, but it should not be exposed to the sun and wind. Square timber does 

 not rift or split so much as that which is round; and when the size of the tree will 

 allow, if beams are to be used the full size of the tree, it would be a good preserva- 

 tive against splitting to bore them through from end to end, as is done in a water- 

 pipe. It is irregular drying which causes timber to split, and this method assists in 

 drying the internal part of the beam without losing much of its strength, and at 

 the same time it would lighten it considerably. 



On account of the time required to season timber in the natural way, various 

 methods have been tried to effect the same purpose in a shorter time. Perhaps the 

 best of these is to immerse the timber in water as soon as it is cut down, and after 

 it has remained about a fortnight in water, but not more, to take it out and dry it in 

 an airy place. 



For protecting timber against white ants, to every gallon of water add 3 ounces of 

 croton taglium seeds, 3 ounces margosa bark, 3 ounces sulphur, 2 ounces of blue 

 vitriol. Immerse the timber until it ceases to absorb the water, and afterwards take 

 out and dry in an airy situation. 



* Filed in Bureau of Statistics. 



