CATALOGUE OF THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 297 



The rays are exceedingly fine ; they are parallel and equidistant. The 

 pretty ripple ray pattern is noticeable on both sections. 



TsuGA. Tsuga Sieboldi, Carr. Weight, 38 lbs. Formosa. 



This is a fine-grained, heavy, hard-textured wood similar in appearance 

 to Scots pine {Finns sylvestris) but much harder and heavier. It has 

 not hitherto been imported into the United Kingdom, but it would prove 

 a very valuable timber for a great number of purposes if regular suppUes 

 could be maintained. 



TuART. Eucalyptus gomphocephala, DC. Weight, 70 lbs. (Julius). 

 Western Australia. 



The wood is of a yellowish or straw colour, hard, heavy, tough, strong 

 and rigid ; the texture close and the grain so twisted and curled as to 

 render it difficult either to cleave or work. It is a very sound wood, 

 possessing few or no defects, with the exception of a mild form of heart- 

 or star-shake at the centre, which would necessitate a small amount of 

 waste if it were required to reduce the logs into thin planks or boards ; 

 but if employed in large scantlings it will be found a most valuable wood, 

 especially where great strength is needed. It shrinks very Httle in season- 

 ing, and does not spHt while undergoing that process ; it is also character- 

 istic of this wood that it will bear exposure to all the vicissitudes of 

 weather for a long time without being in any but the least degree affected 

 by it. It has been known to be subjected to this severe test for fuUy ten 

 years, and when afterwards converted, it opened out with all the fresh- 

 ness of newly-feUed timber. Possibly no better evidence is required 

 to show that this is a durable wood. It is used in shipbuilding for beams, 

 keelsons, stern-posts, engine-bearers, and for other works below the line of 

 flotation for which great strength is required, a weighty material in that 

 position not being objectionable in -the construction of a ship. It would 

 make good piles for piers and supports in bridges, and be useful in the 

 framing of dock-gates, as it withstands the action of water and is one of the 

 strongest woods known, whether it be tried transversely or otherwise. 

 It would, however, probably be found too heavy for use in the domestic 

 arts. 



Julius says : "In consequence of the comparatively small quantities 

 of this timber so far used, definite information in regard to durabihty 

 is hardly available. . . . Tuart is very rarely attacked by white ant, 

 and is not liable to attack by dry rot . . . stands wellwhen steamed 

 and bent as roof-sticks, and many hundreds are in use in the State for 

 this purpose." 



C. E. Lane-Poole says : "Its main use, along with wandoo, is for 



