678 



TIM 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



TO L 



&c. It ia manufactured by tying the stalks up in bundles, 

 and sinking them in water, or burying them under ground in 

 a moist place, until the bark rots ; they are then taken up, 

 boiled in water, and washed until the fibres are quite clear of 

 the pulp. They are not only used instead of horse-hair, but 

 are so very like it, that a man cannot distinguish them, with- 

 out a strict examination. The Bonana-bird's nest is always 

 made of the fibres of this plant, and is generally found hang- 

 ing by a few threads from the tops of the most expanded 

 branches of the loftiest trees, especially those that spread 



over ponds or rivers. Ten other species of Tillandsia, 



natives of South America, have been described by Mons. 

 Poiret. 



Tills. See Ervum. 



Timber. The uses of Timber are so many, and so great, 

 that the procuring of a sufficient supply of it extremely well 

 deserves the care of every state; as it must be a great disad- 

 vantage to any nation, to be driven by necessity to purchase 

 of its neighbours, at a very considerable and continually re- 

 newed expense, what might, by an easy economy, be suffi- 

 ciently supplied at home. This subject should be considered 

 in two points of view; the one to preserve and cherish our 

 growing timber, and the other to renew the trees which are 

 continually cut down. In order to the preservation of our 

 growing Timber-trees, it would be a very useful law, that all 

 who cut down any number of Oaks, should also have a number 

 in good condition for after-cutting; and that no Timber should 

 be cut down, but at a proper age, in regard to the nature of the 

 soil; because it is certain that trees grow to their perfection at 

 very different periods of time, in proportion to the depth of soil 

 they have to grow in; and that as it is, on the one hand, not for 

 the interest, of the state to suffer trees to be cut till they have 

 arrived at their perfection for size and soundness, so, after 

 they are arrived at their perfection, it is equally certain that 

 they gradually decay. The quality of the soil the tree stands 

 in may be necessary to be observed for this purpose, but the 

 quantity or depth of it is the great subject of inquiry ; and 

 a great number of observations has proved, that the proper 

 season for cutting Oaks, in a soil of two feet and a half deep, 

 is at fifty years old ; those which stand in a soil of three feet 

 and a half deep, should not be cut down before seventy years ; 

 and those which stand in a soil of four feet and a half deep, 

 and upwards, will increase in goodness and in size till they 

 are a hundred years old : and observation has proved, that 

 after these several periods the trees begin to decay. This 

 seems the best rule to establish with regard to the common 

 soils ; but those which grow in a lighter or more sandy soil, 

 may have their periods changed from these to forty, to sixty, 

 and to eighty years at the greatest depth ; and afterwards it 

 is much better to fell the wood meant for public service, 

 whether then wanted or not, since it is much better to keep 

 it in public magazines, than to leave it to be daily decaying. 

 As- to the supply of young wood, in the place of what is cut 

 down, there are some circumstances which have not had the 

 attention paid to them which they deserve. The spring frosts, 

 which come on at a time when the shoots, by which nature is 

 to supply what is cut down, are just preparing to grow, are 

 of prodigious injury, and do not less mischief to these than 

 to the young shoots of garden plants, though the distant hope 

 of the succession of the proprietor, and usually also the dis- 

 tance of the place, and want of repeated observations, occa- 

 sion its not being perceived. It has, however, been proved, 

 that the mischiefs done by these frosts, affect in a much 

 greater degree those shoots which are exposed to the south, 

 than those which face the north; and that it, operates more 

 powerfully against such as are wholly exposed to the wind, 



than against such as are sheltered. These known circum- 

 stances may give the hint to a method of saving, at least, a 

 great part of the wood to be felled, from this destruction ; to 

 its renewal, by the making it a rule to begin cutting down on 

 the northern side; and, as the whole felling is a work of some 

 years, the standing wood of every season will defend the 

 young shoots of the newly cut stumps the following spring, not 

 only from the south exposure, but will shelter them also from 

 the winds. The following list contains those kinds of Timber 

 which are most serviceable, specifying their uses : it is taken 

 from Evelyn's Sylva: for the particulars of their growth and 

 cultivation, see the several genera to which they belong. 

 Oak. It endures all seasons and weathers ; there is no wood 

 like it, especially where it lies exposed to both air and water, or 

 for pales, shingles, posts, rails, boards, &c. Elm. This tim- 

 ber, when felled between November and February, is all heart, 

 and has no sap. It is of singular use in places where it either 

 is always wet or always dry; its toughness likewise makes it 

 useful to wheel and mill wrights. Beech. This wood is prin- 

 cipally used in turnery, joinery, upholstery, and the like, as 

 being of a clean, white, fine grain, not apt to bend nor slit: 

 it has been sometimes, especially of late, used for building- 

 timber, and, where it lies constantly wet, is said to outlast 

 Oak. Ash. Its use is almost universal ; it is good for building, 

 or other occasions where it may lie dry; and is used by car- 

 penters, coopers, turners, plough-wrights, wheel-wrights, gar- 

 deners, &c. it is also used for oars, handspikes, &c. Fir. 

 Commonly known by the name of Deal, is now universally 

 used in buildings, especially within doors, for stairs, floors, 

 wainscot, and most works of ornament. Walnut. This tim- 

 ber is of universal use, excepting for the outsides of buildings ; 

 none is better for the joiner's use, because it is less subject to 

 worm than the Beech, and is of a fine brown colour, taking a 

 good polish. Chestnut. This timber is very lasting. Ser- 

 vice-Tree. This is principally used in joinery, being of a deli- 

 cate grain, and fit for curiosities: it sometimes yields beams of 

 a considerable size, proper for building. Poplar. This and 

 Aspen differ very little from each other, and are much used 

 of late instead of Fir. Alder. This is much used for sewers 

 or pipes, to convey water: when kept always wet, it becomes 

 hard like stone; but if exposed to air and water alternately, 

 soon becomes rotten. See Woods. 



Timmia; a genus distinguished from Bryum merely by the 

 connection of the points of the inner fringe ; of the class Cryp- 

 togamia, order Musci. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Capsule: 

 ovate ; outer Fringe of sixteen pointed teeth ; inner membra- 

 naceous, with jointed 'teeth combined at the top. Male 

 Flowers: on the same plant, axillary, stalked, bud-shaped. 

 The known species are two only, viz. 



1. Timmia Megapolitana. Native of North America; where 

 it occurs in boggy ground, growing among Carices. 



2. Timmia Austriaca. Found upon the celebrated moun- 

 tain Schneeberg in Austria. 



Timothy Grass. See Phleum. 



Toad Flax. See Antirrhinum. 



Tobacco. See Nicotiana. 



Toluifera; a genus of the class Decandria, order Monogy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth one-leafed, 

 bell-shaped, five-toothed, almost equal, with one angle more 

 remote. Corolla : petals five, inserted into the receptacle, of 

 which four are equal, linear, a little longer than the calix ; 

 the fifth twice as big, obcordate, its claw length of the calix. 

 Stamina: filamenta ten, very short; antherse longer than the 

 calix. Pistil : germen oblong ; style none ; stigma acute. 

 Pericarp: berry round, four-celled, four-seeded. Seed: single, 

 ovate. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: five-toothed, bell- 



