26 TIMBER AND SOME OF ITS DISEASES. [CHAR 



vessels, as exemplified by the figs and the maples, 

 as well as minor but conspicuous features which 

 enable experts to recognise the timber of certain 



FIG. 10. The transverse section of wood of the common elm (Ulmns campsstris), 

 selected as a common type of European timber. The annual rings are very dis- 

 tinct, owing to the large vessels in the spring wood ; the vessels formed during the 

 summer and autumn are grouped in bands or zones. The medullary rays are 

 numerous, but not very broad. The oak, ash, chestnut, and others agree in the 

 main with this type, differing chiefly in the mode of grouping of the smaller 

 vessels, and in the breadth of the medullary rays. 



trees almost at a glance, I now proceed to indicate a 

 few other peculiarities which distinguish different 

 timbers. 



