440 Inquiries relative to the Structure of Wood. 



I procured, from a joiner's workshop, dried wood 

 of the eight following species ; viz., poplar, lime, birch, 

 fir, maple, beech, elm, and oak ; and had them cut into 

 small boards, 5 inches in length and 6 inches broad, 

 from each of which I planed off some thin shavings, 

 and exposed them to the air for eight days, in the 

 month of January, in a large room, where the tempera- 

 ture, which varied but little, was about 40 to 45 F. 



When these shavings had acquired their ordinary de- 

 gree of dryness under existing circumstances, 10 grammes 

 of each sort were weighed off, and, being laid separately 

 in china plates, were thoroughly dried in the stove. 



On being taken out of the stove, they were again 

 weighed, and then thrown into boiling water, to ex- 

 pel the air from their pores and to moisten them thor- 

 oughly. When they had boiled for an hour, they were 

 suffered to remain in the liquor till it was sufficiently 

 cool ; and after they had been weighed in the water, 

 the specific gravity of their solids was calculated in the 

 usual way. 



The following table gives the details and results of 

 this inquiry : 



