128 INDUSTRIAL USES OF WOOD. 



All mast- anil rudder-wood should be straij,dit and cylindrical, 

 free from knots, elastic and uniformly resinous throughout. 

 The sapwood, which is always trimmed-oft", should be narrow, 

 being only 1 to | of the diameter in the best woods. The large 

 masts taken from the Hauptsmoor Forest near Bamberg have 

 frequently only 1-2 centimeters (3-6 eighths of an inch) of sap- 

 wood, and even this, full of turpentine. Too highly resinous 

 woods are not esteemed, as they are less elastic and strong. At 

 the same time, the annual rings should not be too narrow, and 

 experience proves that a breadth of ring of 075 to *2*00 mm. 

 (^Vto ^tli of an inch), provided it is continued uniformly to old 

 age, characterises the best sort of mast-wood. As regards colour, 

 Scotch pinewood, of clean, bright, uniformly yellow colour, is 

 preferred. 



The best red deal comes from the north, especially the Baltic 

 coasts, Scotland and Norway. The best mastwood comes 

 from Kiga, and is superior to all other mastwood in elasticity, 

 strength and durability. Hardly any mastwood of the old 

 excellent quality is now to be had, owing to the prevalence of 

 even-aged woods with forced growth. 



The larch from high latitudes, or altitudes, comes next to the 

 Scotch-pine as mastwood, and this species is largely used for 

 masts in the Russian navy, where the northern Ural mountains 

 yield splendid larch-timber. Spruce and silver-fir yield only 

 inferior mast-wood, their timber not being strong enough for the 

 purpose. In the Austrian mercantile navy, however, spruce- 

 wood from Carinthia and other provinces is largely used for masts. 

 Spruce masts are also largely used for sailing boats on most of 

 the German rivers. 



American and Australian conifers are also used for masts, 

 such as the Douglas-fir, Canadian Wcymouth-pino, Kauri 

 {Dammara australis) of New Zealand, and pines and larch 

 of Asiatic Russia, all of which come to European dock-yards 

 in increasing quantities. 



For the inner lining of ships, besides the woods already 

 mentioned, of which larch and Scotch-pine are largely used for 

 deck-planking, many other species are employed. Injected 

 becchwood is sometimes used, not only for keels, but for the 



