112 INDUSTIIIAL USES OF WOOD. 



interior work are made of li<i;lit woods, coniferous, poplar-wood, 

 Arc, also of sheet-iron, and, more recently, in En^jland, of 

 pressed oakum made out of old ship-cables. 



In the frequently very luxurious passeuj^er-carriages and 

 sleeping-cars, valuable ornamental veneers are used in the internal 

 fittings, or exotic woods, such as teak, American walnut, fine 

 ash, maple or mahogany, are used in a solid form. 



Even the iron goods-trucks require about 36 cubic feet of ash- 

 and oak-wood in the construction of each truck, and there are 

 !200,000 goods-trucks on the German railway-lines alone. 



Section X. — Coopers' Wokk. 



The cooper makes all kinds of open or closed wooden vessels 

 to contain liquids and dry articles. A distinction may be made 

 between casks intended to hold spirituous liquors, to hold other 

 fluids, and for dry goods, such as butter, sugar, herrings. Sec. 

 Nowadays casks are chiefly made in factories. 



1. Casks for Spiritiums Liquors. 



The most important use for coopers' timber, and which 

 employs large quantities of the best kinds of wood, is the 

 manufacture of casks for spirituous liquors, such as wine, beer 

 or cider, &c. A good cask should be as durable and strong as 

 possible, in order to withstand the inevitable shocks and rough 

 treatment to which it will be subjected during transport. It 

 must also possess the property of retaining its liquid contents, 

 so that the latter does not escape in drops or vapour through the 

 wood-pores. Hardly any wood but oakwood will fulfil all these 

 conditions, and especially pedunculate oakwood from favourable 

 localities, which is superior to northern sessile oak for staves. 

 The latter should be used in thicker staves to compensate for 

 its inferior density. 



In Italy robinia-wood has a good repute for staves, whilst 

 sweet chestnut, Turkey and evergreen oaks, are less valuable. 

 Attempts have been made to utilize beechwood for wine and 

 beer-barrels, but without success. For spirit-casks, ash, robinia, 

 and mountain ash-wood are also used. 



Casks are composed of side-staves, head-pieces and hoops. 



