WOOD OF THE HORNBEAM. 69 



the beech perhaps is to be preferred, but when the 

 hedge is placed in the centre of fertile land, which is 

 continually being cropped, the hornbeam perhaps 

 would be considered most desirable. 



Its wood has special qualities, Linnaeus describing 

 it as being harder than hawthorn, and capable of 

 supporting great weights, while Loudon in testing the 

 relative strength of wood, records that, a piece of 

 quartering, two inches square and seven feet eight 

 inches long of hornbeam, supported a weight of 228 

 pounds, while a similar piece of ash broke under a 

 pressure of 200 pounds, the same of birch under 190 

 pounds, of oak under 185 pounds, of beech under 

 165 pounds, and of other woods which were made 

 trial of at the same time, at a less weight. The 

 experiment showed the hornbeam to be possessed 

 but of comparatively little flexibility, bending before 

 it broke only ten degrees, while ash bent twenty-one 

 degrees, birch nineteen degrees, and oak twelve 

 degrees. 



Being white, tough, and durable, the wood of the 

 hornbeam is well adapted for handles and stocks of 

 tools, wheelwright's work, milk-vessels, yokes for 

 cattle and other agricultural purposes. Evelyn says, 

 " that for milk vessels it excels either yew or crab," 

 but since Evelyn's day, the form of vessels used in 

 the dairy has changed considerably, earthenware, 

 glass, and metal milk-pans, or skimming dishes, being 

 most commonly met with, to the loss perhaps of the 

 appearance of certain dairy utensils, which used to 

 present such a handsome and taking aspect when 

 composed of well-scoured white wood, bound with 

 s'hining bands of metal, which glistened like silver. 



