SPECIFICATIONS AND CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT 325 



joiners' work. More than thirty years ago supphcs of fine quahty 

 pine were obtainable from Christiania. but the forests of Norway 

 have long since failed to produce timber either large enough or of 

 sufficiently good quality for these requirements. The last shipments 

 were seen nearly forty years ago (1919). Since that time the highest 

 class quality has been produced from Archangel and Petrograd, and 

 from Gefle and Soderham and some other Swedish ports ; still later, 

 supplies of high quaUty ha\'e been obtainable from Siberia. With 

 reference to the conditions of quahty, none of this timber is actually free 

 from sap or knots, but while it is not desirable that there should be too 

 great a prevalence of these defects, yet for practical purposes some 

 proportion can be safely allowed. In a building more than 200 years 

 old, some Baltic pine joists which, judging from the appearance of 

 the manufacture, were probably Swedish, were fitted into EngUsh. oak 

 beams ; when taken out in 1890, some of the oak had become worm- 

 eaten and decayed, even into the heart-wood, but the sap and heart- wood 

 of the pine were found to be bright, sound, and hard. The sap-wood 

 of some large roof timbers which were known to be Swedish pine, 

 when taken from a sawmill which had been built for over thirty years, 

 was found to be perfectly sound and bright. Thus it \\ill be seen that the 

 sap-wood as well as the heart-wood of the produce of Piniis sylvestris, if 

 used in good condition, is durable. The proportion and size of knots, 

 provided that they are sound, should be in ratio to the size of scant- 

 ling, when they may be safely allowed. 



The appUcation of the term " bright " to certain timbers gives rise 

 to undesirable results, for on this account it often happens that fresh 

 timber which has a showy appearance, even if it is entirely unseasoned 

 and fresh from the ship, is tendered and accepted in preference to darker 

 coloured, dingy-looking wood which is seasoned. Indeed, it has some- 

 times happened that properly seasoned timber has been rejected on 

 account of its appearance. The unseasoned timber subsequently 

 shrinks, and then the ceilings and walls of the building crack, doors do not 

 shut properly, and openings admitting draughts occur between skirting 

 and floor. 



Again, it must be noted that requirements vary according to local 

 custom. In the east of Scotland and the north-east of England it has 

 been customary to use spruce {Picea excelsa) for timbering, and yellow 

 pine, or, as it is termed there, white pine {Pinus Strobiis) for joiners' work. 

 On the west coast, spruce has been used for timbering, and red pine 

 {Pinus resinosa, Sol. ; P. rubra, Michx.) for joiners' work. In the south 

 of England, where spruce is universally condemned, red Baltic pine {Pinus 

 sylvestris) is usually employed for timbering, and the better grades of the 

 same wood for joiners' work. Therefore, if by chance the work may 



