The Romance of the Box 183 



There is a limitation placed on the amount 

 of timber cut, and care is taken that, so 

 far as can be seen, the yearly supply will 

 be made without rendering the countryside 

 bare of its trees. 



For box making the timber obtained from 

 spruces and firs is preferable to any other 

 kind. The Norwegian spruce, sometimes 

 called the White fir, is the tallest of European 

 firs, often growing to a height of 60 feet. 

 Then there is the northern pine, of which 

 there are tremendous forests in Russia and 

 Scandinavia generally. Whilst the Nor- 

 wegian spruce produces a very light 

 yellowish-white timber, the northern pine 

 gives wood which is best described as a 

 light reddish-yellow. 



Either of these kinds of wood should be 

 obtained from trees not less than sixty 

 years old; if they are older so much the 

 better. The reason for this is the need for 

 obtaining heart wood rather than sap wood, 

 the latter being the growth of recent years. 

 In a young tree the bulk of the timber 

 would come under the term sap wood, and 



