PREFACE. 



The identification of wood by means of the structure is nofr 

 easy, hence the minuteness of detail into which we have entered. 

 To some this may appear redundant, but when small specimens 

 have to be examined, the most trifling detail is often of great 

 service. On the other hand, the comparison of the structure of 

 two specimens is very easy and convincing. All that is necessary 

 is to trim the end (transverse section) of a plank of each, with a 

 sharp knife or plane, to a cleanly-cut surface, and to hold them 

 side by side in the hand, so that a portion of each may be brought 

 under the lens at the same time. Examination of first one 

 specimen and then another is misleading, and should never be 

 relied upon. Even when thin sections are examined under a 

 microscope they should be arranged so that both are upon one slide 

 and appear in the field of vision at the same time. 



Every item in the following descriptions of the woods in this 

 collection, appears in the same order, and may be found readily 

 without reading the whole. The individual features of one wood 

 may be checked against another, word by word. The phrase* 

 employed are the same for similar things, and each term bears 

 the same value throughout. 



In addition, no feature has been overlooked in any case; if 

 the information be lacking, the fact is indicated by the sign " ? ". 



Wherever the salient features of a wood given by Mr. Bell 

 agree with our specimens, we have adopted his words in prefer- 

 ence to our own; but in this, as in every other case, wherever a 

 name or phrase has been borrowed, such loan is ear-marked by 

 a number and indicated by inverted commas. This method, 

 besides rendering credit where it is due, has the advantage of 

 relieving the authors of responsibility for the statements of others, 

 which, in this particular science of lignology, frequently lack pre- 

 cision. As a book of this nature is mainly one of reference, every 

 description has been made complete in itself by appending a list 

 of authorities, with chapter and verse for all quotations, along 

 with a reference to the bibliography at the end of the book. 



The testing of the woods to ascertain their working qualities 

 has been carried out either personally or by experienced workmen 

 under our direct control by means of tools such as are commonly 

 found in ordinary workshops, e.g., circular saw, lathe and the 

 various hand tools. The nail test was performed upon f-in. 

 planks by driving 2-in. wire nails into them at a distance of one 

 inch from the end. A wood taking the nail without undue 

 resistance and without splitting is said to " take nails well." The 



