C 85 ) 



The specimens thus obtained are represented below. 

 to the above sections are not taken into account.) 



(The corresponding proportions 



mumymm 



Fi^.4. 



Fi^.l 



The dark-coloured pieces in the trans- 

 verse sections represent the wood speci- 

 mens whicli have been cut out of the log, 

 while the spaces left white represent the 

 pieces which would be rejected. These 

 might, however, be used for other experi- 

 mental purposes, or be put aside, marked 

 with metal Nos., and exposed with the 

 object of ascertaining the extent to which, 

 insects would attack them injuriously. 



For this purpose all such rejected pieces 

 may be piled up indiscriminately- I have 

 often observed, how Bostrichi and other 

 xjlophagous beetles seleot precisely the 

 same perishable kinds of woods out of 

 such piles with astounding sagacity, while 

 known durable woods remain perfectly 

 untouched. The hardness of wood does not, 

 however, give the key to the cause of such 

 selection, for even very hard woods are subject to the ravages of these insects, more especially if 

 they are composed of coarse, bony, vascular bundles surrounded by medullary cells. However, 

 the degree in which the same wood is destroyed by them is apparently very variable iu vari- 

 ous climates, and a wood durable in a very dry country, may be just the reverse in a damp 

 one. Therefore, experiments of this kind would be more reliable if carried out in a damp 

 climate. 



If a uniform length of wood specimens were adopted, say, for example, 9 inches, or a foot 

 long, by an inch or less thick, the width, answering to the girth of the log, may vary to any 

 extent, without interfering with the uniformity of the wood specimens themselves. A width 

 of 3 feet would correspond with a girth of 18 feet, but it is more probable that such a thick- 

 ness of stem would rarely, if ever, be required, aud that the average extreme width of wood 

 specimens might be reduced to from 2 to 2\ feet, corresponding with a girth of from 12 to 15 

 feet of the original log. 



The advantages of having the wood-specimens cut to such a size and shape are chiefly 

 the followiug : 



(1.) The book-shape thus adopted would suit admirably for a collection of woods, and 

 would give it rather the appearance of a library. 



(2.) The specimens would take up very little space without detracting in any way from 

 the requirements necessary for a subsequent complete study of their structure, etc. 



(3.) If these specimens are, as is often the custom in Europe, polished on one lateral 

 side and along all the edges (but the lower one), the nature of the polish they take may be 

 clearly shewn. 



Whether the bark should be left on the pieces or not, is a matter of some practical im- 

 portance, but if it is of a sappy nature, it will shrink to a very great degree. It is also well- 

 known that many barks adhere so firmly to the sapwood, that it is dithcult to remove them, 

 while others fall off while stdl on the living tree, or during the process of drying, aud cauuot 

 be kept on the specimens except by means of pegs. 



A printed label stating the current No. of the head-quarters ofiiee, with the number of the 

 Conservator's office, as also the scientific and native names of the trees, with notes relating to 

 locality and soil, etc., might be pasted outside on the upper righthand corner. 



It would be well to cut small sized timbers below a foot in girth lengthwise into halves, 

 and to polish one half, leaving the other half plain. It may also be found desirable to keep 

 such small specimens iu a separate cabinet with narrow shelves divided into small compart- 

 ments. 



In order to make the collection still more useful, it would be advisable not to confine it 

 to one, or a few specimens of each kind of wood, but to have as many as would be necessary 

 ibr distribution and exchange with other Institutions. Each Conservator should also have 

 at his office a complete set of the woods of his province, with the botanical specimens belong- 

 ing to it ; while a double set (one for systematic, the other for practical arrangement and for 

 the general use of the public) may be found necessary at the head-quarters office of the Forest 

 Department. Possibly also another double set may be placed at tlio disposal of the Secretary 

 ef ytate. In order to secure a lew spare sets for distribution, the logs from which these speci- 

 mens would be cut would not probably exceed 4 to G feet in length. I have observed iu 

 some Indian wood collections that logs a little shorter than this have been used for a siugle 

 specimen. 



22 



