JAPANESE TIMBER 203 



doubtless be appreciated by cabinet-makers. Its chief fault 

 lies in want of seasoning the Japanese have never had 

 any idea of seasoning wood and some pieces split badly. 

 It is fairly free from knots, but some of the knots 

 are dead. 



There are two kinds of tamo tamo-moku, a beautiful 

 curly-grained wood, and tamo-chichinii, which has a 

 wavy grain. Both are used for carriage panels in Japan. 

 " Sen " is a species of white ash, softer than American ash, 

 which shows a beautiful figure ; it is only got in lengths of 

 10 to 12 ft., though up to 17 inches diameter. Quantities 

 of both " sen " and " tamo " are being used on the Chinese 

 and Manchurian railways and largely in Japan for railway 

 sleepers, for which the latter, at any rate, is said to be well 

 suited. " Sen " is largely used for furniture in Japan and 

 is well adapted for that purpose ; it takes good polish, does 

 not warp, is hard, and lasts well. 



Katsura (Cercidophylluni Japonicu/m), of which there are 

 several kinds, attains a height of 80 ft. 



Red katsura is said to be well adapted for making cigar 

 boxes. This timber is obtained in good widths and is used 

 for furniture. It has quite a silky appearance when planed, 

 and is considered by the Japanese one of their best woods 

 for fine, neat work. 



There are several varieties of maple, one a beautiful 

 " bird's-eye," known as itaya-moku, and another with flowery 

 grain called " hana-itaya." 



The above are the best known commercially, although 

 only a few of the excellent timbers which grow in Japan. 



Doubtless one reason why such little attention is paid to 

 seasoning or preservative processes is that fire and tempest, 

 and not decay, generally determine the existence of the 

 light Japanese structures. Paint is seldom used, but wood 



