101 TIMBER 



much the larger proportion of the ash used in the trade 

 in Great Britain. 



Weight about 38 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



Birch grows plentifully in the Alleghanies and the Lake 

 regions, west of Virginia, and also in Canada. It is 

 imported largely from Quebec and other Canadian ports in 

 logs of short lengths up to 17 ft. and in planks up to 26 

 inches wide ; it makes excellent furniture, shrinks a good 

 deal in drying, and is not durable when exposed. 



Red or Cherry Birch (Betula lento), a wood of beautiful 

 reddish or yellowish brown and much of it nicely figured, 

 is straight in grain, hard and durable, takes a fine polish, 

 and is largely used for furniture and cabinet work, for 

 which purpose it is sometimes stained to imitate mahogany, 

 and this is not easily detected if well done. 



Yellow Birch (B. luted), of Nova Scotia and south to 

 Tennessee, is a large tree the timber of which is firm and 

 fine grained, of light brownish yellow colour, hard, tough, 

 and strong. It is used for cabinet work, wheel hubs, and in 

 shipbuilding. 



White Birch (B. papyri/era], a small tree, the timber of 

 which is very like the English common birch, is the prin- 

 cipal timber used for spools, bobbins, bowls, shoe lasts, and 

 pegs. It is also much used in the furniture trade. 



A great quantity of birch is used in America for chair- 

 making, and some for floors, interior finishings and turnery, 

 as well as for furniture. The medullary rays in birch are 

 very fine and close and not easily seen, the pores are 

 noticeable as grey specks. 



Over 1,500,000 cubic feet of American birch was imported 

 into the Mersey in 1906, about two-thirds of which was in 

 planks. 



Weight about 44 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



