;iOO TIMBER 



of fifteen years from cypress, whilst others in the same 

 locality only get five years from oak. Again, timber lasts 

 much longer in some climates than in others ; the same 

 timbers will have a much longer life in a dry bracing climate 

 than in a moist atmosphere, such as that of Great Britain 

 or parts of the tropics. Yellow pine is much used for out- 

 door work in its native districts and is found fairly suitable, 

 whereas it would not be so suitable for such a purpose in 

 Great Britain as the Baltic timber. 



Those timbers which contain a large proportion of resin 

 are well adapted to resist decay in bad situations, whilst 

 other timbers, such as many of the tropical woods, are pro- 

 tected by various chemical ingredients which ensure them a 

 long life. 



To judge timber properly it should be seen in the log or 

 in large pieces as well as cut up. It is almost impossible to 

 judge its quality, or in some cases even to tell one class of 

 timber from another, if only seen in small pieces, especially 

 if the colour be nearly alike. The question as to whether 

 the roof of Westminster Hall is of oak or chestnut, which 

 so often comes up for discussion, is a case in point. There 

 might be some difficulty in deciding the question merely by 

 colour and from a distance, but if one saw a cross section or 

 end view of one of the beams it could be quickly decided, as 

 the one timber is of quite a different structure to the other. 



The carpenter and joiner of past days was a much better 

 judge of timber than he of the present day ; he had a better 

 chance than his descendant of our time. The former 

 probably cut up the timber himself or saw it cut up from 

 home-grown timber, and knew its peculiarities well ; the 

 latter has timber delivered into his hands in sawn and even 

 planed boards ready for use, from all parts of the world, 

 and from trees of which he knows little or nothing, and new 

 timber is continually coming into the market. 



