112 TIMBER 



surface and takes a fine polish, it is not durable if exposed, 

 and requires a good deal of seasoning. Medullary rays 

 small but distinct. The curly or wavy varieties furnish 

 wood of much beauty, the peculiar contortions of the 

 grain called " bird's eye " being much sought after and 

 used as veneer. Maple is extensively used in all good 

 classes of furniture, cabinet-making, panelling, interior 

 fittings, and turning ; it is not liable to warp. Much of 

 it is now used for the floors of mills and workrooms in 

 Great Britain, where it stands the constant friction much 

 better than pine timber, either as planks or blocks ; also 

 for picture frames, Tunbridge ware, and the backs, necks, 

 and sides of violins. It is largely employed in America 

 for fence posts, shingles, pails, and railway sleepers. Maple 

 is imported in planks worked on the 

 underside (see Fig. 22), in widths of 

 4 inches and upwards, and it is holed 

 FIG. 22. for secret nailing ; it also comes in 



logs, blocks for flooring, " quartered " 

 rails, and in large quantities as rollers for wringing and 

 mangling machines, for which there is a great demand. 

 A good deal of sugar is extracted from the sugar maple, 

 and one tree will yield from 5 to 10 Ibs. of sugar per 

 season. The peculiarity known as " bird's eye," and 

 which causes a difficulty in working the wood smooth, 

 owing to the little pieces like knots lifting up, is supposed 

 to be due to the action of boring insects. Its resistance 

 to compression across the grain is higher than that of 

 most American timbers. 



"Weight about 49 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



Walnut (Juglans nigra) or Black Walnut, a large, beautiful, 

 and quick-growing tree, about 60 ft. and upwards in height, 

 is found in most parts of the United States as far south as 



