One drawback to this valuable timber is that where it is used for flooring 

 which is exposed to the weather, around every nail there becomes a hole 

 in the course of a few years. This is usually explained by ascribing to 

 Beech some property which eats or rusts away the nails. For the same 

 reason wine-casks of Beech can never be hooped with black iron. So far as 

 I am aware, no chemist has ever examined Beech to see if it contains a 

 trace of free acid or some salt which Avould explain the corrosion above 

 referred to. , 



Beech is largely used for the manufacture of vats for wine, and I believe 

 it is an admirable wood for the purpose. It is too short in the grain to split, 

 so that split staves cannot be made of it. 



As regards its use by coach-builders, Mr. S. Lownds, Teacher in Coach- 

 building at the Technical College, informed me : 



?This is a very useful timber for panels and thin boards. It is pretty durable, 

 l>ut rather soft, but its softness is, in some instances, an advantage. Where 

 extreme heat or moisture has to be considered, as in bakers' carts. Beech will 

 be found to withstand such influences better than most timbers. It paints and 

 polishes well, is very easily worked, and does not readily split. 



It is pale-coloured, white with a tinge of brown. As a very general rule, 

 it is plain, but occasionally it shows a neat grain, which is ornamental. It 

 is rather close-grained and excellent to work. If it be glued with Russian 

 .glue, mixed with sour milk, it will hold like solid wood when made into 

 furniture. It is very extensively used for ships' blocks. 



Up till a few years ago it was remarkable that no engineering tests had 

 been made of such an universally-appreciated timber. Professor Warren 

 lias rectified the omission in his work on Australian timbers, published for 

 the Chicago Exhibition. The timber referred to as White Beech is tho 

 one under discussion, the other Beech (Xegro-head) is a Fagus. Professor 

 Warren gives the weight of some Beech he tested as 49-1 Ib. per cubic foot. 

 I examined some which was bone-dry, having been seasoned over a quarter 

 of a century; its weight was 36 Ib. per cubic foot. On the average (as 

 found in the market), its weight is between 40 and 50 Ib. per cubic foot. 



'Mr. District Forester T. H. Wilshire, in reporting it from Kangaroo 

 Creek, 30 miles from Graf ton, says that a fair amount in log is shipped to 

 Sydney. 



As regards Queensland, the following is quoted from the official catalogue 

 just referred to: 



This timber, being much prized, was extensively used in former years; the 

 quantity remaining now being limited. Occasional trees are, however, met with 

 in some of our coastal scrubs, north and south, but generally in such places as 

 are difficult of access. 



Size. From 80 to 120 feet high, and a diameter of 2 to 4 feet. The 

 Sydney Morning Herald of 16th August, 1898, says: 



An Enormous Beech Tree. Mr. Xicholi's steamer. '"Excelsior," which yester- 

 day arrived in port, brought, as part cargo, an enormous beech tree from the 

 Byron Bay district. The tree was cut into logs 9 feet in length, and averaged 

 :ibout 17 feet in girth. Only the main barrel of the giant was brought to 

 Sydney, and this comprises 10,000 feet of timber, which filled one-half of the 

 vessel's hold. 



Distribution. The north bank of the Shoalhaven is its southernmost limit 

 in New South Wales; thence it extends along the coast, in brushes, to 

 Sou the rn Queensland. It is found in the Shoalhaven district and the 

 Illawarra, but is not plentiful. It used to be found in Jasper's Brush, but 



