CATALOGUE OF THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 117 



Lancewood, Moulmein. Homalium tomentosum, Bth. Weight, 59 lbs. 

 (Pearson). India, Burma. 



Pearson describes this wood as " brown to dark brown, hard, durable, 

 cross-grained, elastic, heavy. The difficulty is in seasoning this valuable 

 timber sufficiently slowly to prevent it splitting. . . . [Its] strength 

 and elasticity render it suitable for shafts of timber carts. Samples of 

 this timber were sent to a well-known firm of fishing-rod manufacturers 

 in England, who reported on it as follows : ' It is a promising wood for 

 fishing rods, but the specimen sent was badly shaken throughout.' 

 Fairly large suppUes of this timber can be procured in Chittagong, where 

 the tree is common, and found growing to a large size." 



Larch. Larix europaea, DC. Weight, 47 lbs. 13 oz. United Kingdom, 

 Europe. 



This, one of the most valuable of trees, grows over a vast expanse of 

 country throughout the United Kingdom and the temperate and colder 

 regions of the northern hemisphere. So far as England is concerned, larch 

 was, although growing at our door, despised and little cared for before 

 the war. This is the more remarkable when it is realised that after 

 their occupation of Britain the Romans carried away larch from these 

 shores in order to build with it cathedrals, churches, and houses in their 

 own country. 



The colour of the wood varies from a light, bright red to a warm brick 

 colour, always with lighter and darker streaks similar to the well-known 

 marking of pitch pine, to which it bears a strong resemblance. There is 

 a great diversity of thickness in the growth of the concentric layers, 

 which vary according to the climatic conditions under which the tree 

 grows. The annual rings in some cases are very regular, and measure 

 only yjV inch, while in others, of exceedingly wide growth, they increase 

 up to I inch or more. This same divergence is also to be observed 

 in individual trees, which range through nearly as great a latitude. 



The wood requires care after conversion. To get the best results it 

 should be taken direct from the saw, and carefully stored under cover, 

 with sticks eVenly and regularly distributed between the planks. The 

 wood is apt to discolour whUe fresh, and, more than is the case with 

 ordinary soft timbers, is incHned to warp and twist. It is exceedingly 

 durable under all conditions. Perhaps this quality is best demonstrated 

 in its use in the form of piles, or for wharfing timbers. 



It is stated on good authority that the greater number of the houses 

 in Venice are built upon piles of this timber, particularly those of which 

 the supports are alternately exposed to wetting and dr3dng ; many of 

 these piles after being in place for ages are said not to have the least 

 appearance of decay. Elwes mentions that " churches and manor 



