322 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



them WcLs made the seat of a chair which, finished in the spring of 1913, 

 holds perfectly sound and shapety now (1919). 



In many buildings it is commonly found that there exist cracked 

 ceilings, shrunken skirtings and floorings, warped panelling and doors, 

 and window frames which rattle and will neither open nor shut without 

 the appHcation of undue strength. These results are all generally caused 

 by the use of improperly seasoned material; 



The time that the tree is feUed has also an important bearing on the 

 subsequent appearance of the timber. A most interesting note on this 

 subject has been written by Mr. J. C. Wickhffe, the principle of which, 

 while it particularly concerns the feUing of prima-vera trees, may possibly 

 be appHed to other woods. Mr. Wickhffe writes : 



" At one time during my residency in Spanish Honduras, between the 

 years 1903 and 1908, I determined to see if there was anything in con- 

 nection with the feUing of the prima-vera tree which had an effect upon 

 its marketabihty. I had heard the natives say that any timber should 

 be fallen ' in the dark of the moon.' Like many, I at first charged it to 

 superstition ; but, being faced with the inexpHcable fact that the fly- 

 worm seemed to attack some trees more savagely than it did others, I 

 determined to see if there was not something beyond superstition in the 

 common saying of the native. Consequently, I selected two prima-vera 

 trees standing side by side and apparently of equally vigorous growth 

 and identical condition. One of these trees I had fallen in the early part 

 of the month, at which time the moon was on the increase, and the other 

 in the latter part of the same month, when the moon was on the wane. 

 I allowed these two trees to remain for some three weeks after the last 

 had been fallen, and then visited them. One tree, the one fallen" last, 

 as I recall it, showed a ring of congealed sap (about J of an inch thick) 

 between the sap and the heart-wood, and it had been attacked but httle 

 by the fly-worm (or pin- worm, as it is usually called). The other tree 

 showed no congealed sap, and had been very savagely attacked by this 

 fly. To my mind, this indicated that the sap in at least some of the trees 

 of the tropics travelled up and down at least once a month, and while 

 up in the tree, provided, when such tree was feUed, the condition of the 

 wood after which the fly- worm sought. I might mention that the 

 removal of the bark from this tree in which the sap was up, and which 

 the fly had so vigorously attacked, disclosed a fermented condition which 

 was not apparent in the other tree. It was evidently this stage of 

 fermentation of the sap in the wood which the fly sought." 



The non-observance of any such careful attention both to the broad 

 principles and the details of the conversion and preservation of timber, 

 as is now being recommended, has undoubtedly been the cause of the 

 failure to provide from home supphes the timber required for ordinary 



