JAPANESE TIMBER 201 



are usually built of it. Can be had in lengths up to 30 ft. 

 and of good scantling. The upper decks of some of the 

 Japanese lightships were laid with this timber 2| inches 

 thick. The Japs call this the " Tree of the Sun." 



Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), one of the largest and 

 commonest of Japanese trees, found in nearly all parts of 

 the empire, grows exceedingly straight and to a height of 

 100 to 120ft. The heartwood is of a ruddy brown, the 

 sapwood straw colour ; it is a soft, feeble, coarse-grained 

 and perishable timber, but being very straight grained 

 opposes considerable resistance to longitudinal stress ; this 

 property renders sugi timber useful for uprights in houses 

 of light construction, though it is most generally employed 

 in the characteristic scaffoldings of the country. The tree 

 is felled at about thirty-five years of age, having then an 

 average girth of 3 to 4ft., but for poles it is felled much 

 sooner. Both sugi and matsu have been used for the 

 trusses, floor joists, etc., of Japanese lighthouses. The 

 annual rings are distinctly marked, and the wood is scented 

 like cedar, and the tree is commonly called the " Cedar 

 of Japan." 



Honoki (Magnolia hypoleuca), a hard, handsome wood 

 somewhat resembling Canary wood, is used for tables, 

 wooden shoes, pencils, and charcoal. 



Aka Matsu, also called Me Matsu (I'iniis densijiora), is 

 easily distinguished by its reddish bark ; hence the name, 

 literally red pine. The wood is yellowish, slightly resinous, 

 with distinct annual rings, straight of grain, easily worked, 

 strong and durable, especially when immersed in water. 

 It is extensively used in roofs of good class for beams, and 

 also for floors, railway sleepers, and carpentry work 



