166 TIMBER 



beautifully veined, and takes a high polish. It is a good 

 deal used for making tea chests, and in Assam good boats 

 are made of it. It is not attacked by ants, but is troubled 

 by a borer. Formerly known as Moulmein cedar. 



Weight about 31 to 35 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



C. serrata, a large evergreen, produces the same kind 

 of wood of rather lighter weight. 



C. microcarpa, another of the species, is a larger tree 

 than C. toona ; the timber has the annual rings distinctly 

 marked ; all are used for the same purposes. 



Deodar (Cedrus deodara), or Himalayan cedar (Fig. 28), 

 is one of the most beautiful trees in India and grows in 

 great quantities in the Himalayan forests at heights of 

 4,000 to 10,000 ft. above sea level, and the timber is brought 

 down the Eavi, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers in logs 20 to 

 60 ft. long and 2 to 12 ft. girth. The tree sometimes 

 attains a height of 150 ft. and a diameter of 8 ft. It is a 

 variety of the cedar of Lebanon. The wood is light 

 yellowish brown in colour, of great strength, stiffness, 

 hardness, and durability, and is thus well adapted for 

 engineering purposes and for general constructional work ; 

 it is the chief timber of Northern India. The annual rings 

 are uniform, and the medullary rays fine ; it has a distinct 

 fragrance, takes a long while to season it is never well 

 enough seasoned for joinery work under eight or ten 

 years, but for engineering purposes where large beams 

 are used is sufficiently seasoned in three years takes 

 a high polish but does not take paint or varnish well, 

 and is rather brittle to work ; laths from it burn like 

 candles. It is extensively used for sleepers, especially 

 in Northern India, where its life is about fourteen years, 

 It is rather liable to attack from white ants. A coarse 

 turpentine much used in the East for medicinal purposes, 



