SUPERSTRUCTURES. 115 



grown too quickly, sufficiently durable ; they are cheap and easily 

 worked. 



Oakwood, formerly considered indispensable for building pur- 

 poses, is at present much less frequently used, on account of 

 its high price. It should, however, still be preferred in all 

 damp, steamy places, where great demands are made on the 

 durability of a wood. 



The spruce is more extensively used in buildings than any 

 other timber, on account of its cheapness and special quali- 

 ties. Its perfectly straight stem possesses great transverse 

 strength and sufficient durability, and it is light and easily 

 worked. Owing to its greater durability, good larchwood, which 

 possesses all the other qualities of the spruce, is largely used 

 in mountain districts. Black pinewood from the Alps approaches 

 larchwood in value. The Scotch pine also affords excellent 

 building-timber, which is more durable than sprucewood, and 

 is generally preferred for beams. Silver-firwood is very elastic, 

 and yields timber of as large dimensions as any of the above, 

 and it is more cylindrical than sprucewood, on which account it 

 is preferred to it in some districts. In others, it is reported as 

 of limited durability, and liable to be worm-eaten, but is usually 

 preferred to sprucewood in damp places. [It appears doubtful 

 whether builders really distinguish between spruce and silver-fir 

 timber, and local custom frequently prescribes the kind of 

 building-timber which is preferred, irrespective of its other 

 good qualities. Silver-firwood grown in Britain is in higher 

 repute than indigenous sprucewood. — Tr.] Wood of the 

 "Weymouth-pine is also used in buildings, but it is considered to 

 possess little durability or strength, and is not much prized in 

 Canada, its original habitat. 



The wood of few broad-leaved species, except the oak, are 

 used in buildings. [Chestnut-wood has been reported to have 

 been used in roofing cathedrals in France and England, but 

 Mathieu (Flore foresticre) states that when the wood of these 

 roofs has been examined by an expert, it has always been found 

 to be of oak. — Tr.] Elmwood affords good building material, 

 but is scarce in Germany, though fairly common in Britain. 

 Aspen-wood, in spite of its little durability, is sometimes used 

 for light roofing spars. Almost any wood may be used to fill 



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