STRENGTH AND TESTING OF TIMBER 303 



Australian colonies, the results of which have been pub- 

 lished under the title of " The Physical Characteristics of 

 the Hardwoods of Western Australia." A somewhat 

 similar work, though not on such a large scale, had been 

 undertaken for the Government of New South Wales by 

 Professor W. H. Warren, M.I.C.E., some years earlier. 

 The tests made by Mr. Julius were for cross-breaking, 

 tension, end and cross compression, shearing along grain, 

 hardness, etc., and upon the influence of moisture ; they are 

 the most careful and elaborate made upon timber up to 

 date, and it is to be hoped that the example thus set will 

 be followed up by our own and other Governments, and by 

 universities and establishments which possess facilities for 

 work of this character, at once useful to the students 

 engaged upon the work and of great value to the timber 

 user. If there were a large number of careful tests, of the 

 character indicated above, carried out by different authorities 

 and on various kinds of timber, they might be the means 

 of considerably reducing the timber scantlings now used 

 in construction. For instance, if in a case where we now 

 use 12-inch by 12-inch or 12-inch by 6-inch timbers it 

 were found, by the results of a number of satisfactory tests, 

 that timber 12 inches by 10 inches or 12 inches by 5 inches 

 might be used with safety, it would mean a saving of 16 per 

 cent, of timber. This from a monetary point of view 

 alone is considerable, but it would also in many cases make 

 it easier to obtain timber of the required scantling, which 

 in the larger sizes would be a great gain, as the time is 

 approaching, and in the case of some timbers has already 

 arrived, when the obtaining of large sizes and long lengths 

 presents considerable difficulty. 



It must not be thought from the above remarks that the 

 author has any wish to depreciate the results of timber 

 tests made by experimenters in the past. To Tredgold, 



