228 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



Plum. Prunus domestica, Linn. Weight, 54 lbs. Europe. 



There are many wild species of plum, but it is probable that the timber 

 is more or less similar in each, and only differs according to variation 

 of environment. 



It is a very handsome wood, which is not valued as highly as its 

 undoubted quaUties deserve. It is reddish - brown, with darker and 

 lighter streaks of the same colour, and is occasionally varied by some 

 yellow. It is capable of a very smooth surface from the tool, and has a 

 close, firm, hard texture. For cabinet work, inlay, and turning it would 

 be difficult to surpass. Laslett says it has been used for pipes. It was 

 also one of the decorative woods used in Tunbridge ware. No tree 

 trunk should ever be wasted or burned, as it too frequently is in this 

 countr^^ 



The pores are very small and obscure. The principal medullary 

 rays are very clearly defined and vigorous, interspersed with numerous 

 secondary rays of very varying size. These show in small and numerous 

 flecks on the radial section. 



Plum, Black. Eugenia Jambolana, Lam. Weight, 48 lbs. (Troup). 

 India. 



Of this timber Gamble writes : " Wood, reddish grey, rough, moderately 

 hard, darker near the centre, no distinct heart-wood. . . . Five sleepers 

 laid down on the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway in 1870, and taken up 

 in 1875, were found to be fairly sound and not touched by white ants. 

 It is largely used for native building purposes, posts, beams, and rafters 

 of houses, for agricultural implements, and for well-work, as it resists 

 the action of water well. . . . 



" Annual rings, generally marked bj^ a line with few or no pores. Pores 

 moderate -sized and small, numerous, frequently oval, elongated, and 

 sub-divided, joined together in wavy concentric belts of loose pale 

 tissue. Medullary rays line, numerous ; the interval between the rays 

 less than the diameter of the pores, round which they bend." 



Podocarpus neriifolia, Don. Weight, 42 lbs. India, Burma, Andaman 

 Islands. 

 This is a soft, light, straw-yellow coloured wood, with a faint lustre 

 after planing. Its vernacular name of " thitmin " means " prince of 

 woods," an index of its qualities. Gamble says " it is justly esteemed 

 in Burma, and is of considerable importance in the Andamans. . . . 

 The wood is used in general carpentry, and is excellent to work ; it is 

 employed for oars, spars, masts, and to make tea-boxes. It seasons well 

 and does not warp or shrink." Pearson says that it is fairly suitable 

 for the manufacture of pencils. 



