6 TIMBER 



called cypress, and at other times poplar. Tasmanian 

 blue gum, according to a letter in the Timber Trades 

 Journal some time ago, is now being imported under the 

 name of Tasmanian oak, whilst the sap boards of the 

 American red gum (satin walnut) and Tupeloe are sold as 

 " hazel pine." Quite as much confusion prevails in the 

 American timber trade as in that of Great Britain. If then 

 there is such confusion in the trade, one cannot be sur- 

 prised at the novice in timber selection being confused. 

 After all it matters little what is the name given to certain 

 classes of timber (although when it has to be described in 

 a specification it would not be amiss if the botanical name 

 were given, so that the required material might be defined), 

 the main thing is to see that we get suitable timber for the 

 work required, and there are certain practical methods of 

 distinguishing most of the timbers in general use. 



Timber is produced only by the Spermatophyta, or seed- 

 bearing plants, which are subdivided into the Gymnosperms 

 and Angiosperms ; the Conifer or cone-bearing tree, to 

 which belong the pines, larches, and firs, is one of the 

 three natural orders of Gymnosperms. These are 

 generally classed as " softwoods," although yew, which is 

 classed with them, is certainly not soft ; they are more 

 extensively scattered and more generally used than any 

 other class of timber, and are simple and regular in 

 structure. The so-called " hardwoods " are " Dicotyledons " 

 or broad-leaved trees ; a subdivision of the Angiosperms, 

 they are generally of slower growth, and produce harder 

 timber than the conifers, but not necessarily so ; basswood, 

 poplar, sycamore, and some of the gums, though classed 

 with hardwoods, are not nearly so hard as some of the 

 pines. The palms and bamboos are Monocotyledons, the 

 other of the two divisions of the Angiosperms. The 

 chief characteristics of the conifers and the dicotyledons 



