108 HARDY CONIFEROUS TREES. 



remarkably strong and tough, and coarse of grain. Fully ten 

 years have now elapsed since the timber was cut up and used 

 for fencing, for supporting the bank of a rapid-flowing river, 

 and for indoor carpentry. In every case the results have 

 been satisfactory, and prove that when compared with the 

 spruce and Scotch firs the wood is better than those. The 

 timber becomes lighter with age, but owing to its generally 

 rough, knotty nature, will never rank very high for con- 

 structive work. 



P. montiCOla, Age 36 years ; cubic contents 41 feet ; 

 soil deep and sandy. Timber light, tough, elastic, and dur- 

 able, easily worked, and polishes beautifully. This is a 

 valuable tree for afforesting purposes. 



P, Pinaster, Age of several trees cut up 93 years ; 

 cubic contents 75 feet ; soil gravelly, with a little loam. 

 A goodly specimen that was straight as an arrow, and con- 

 taining 99 feet of wood, was partially uprooted during a 

 storm three years ago, and advantage was taken of the oppor- 

 tunity to have the timber converted in various ways, so that 

 its value for estate purposes generally could be determined. 

 Owing to the great quantity of resin present in the timber, 

 the tree was weightier for its bulk than any other species that 

 had come under my notice, with the exception, perhaps, of 

 Abies grandis. A great part of it was sawn into boards of 



2 inches in thickness, and as many of these boards were fully 



3 feet wide, their value for constructive purposes, had the 

 timber been of good value and worthy of conversion, would 

 have been great. The wood works beautifully and clean, 

 taking a smooth glossy surface under the tools of the car- 

 penter, and several of these 3-feet-wide boards were cut into 

 6 feet lengths, and planed smoothly for preserving as samples 

 of the wood. To various uses the remaining boards were 

 applied, but one instance of their lasting quality will be suffi- 

 cient. A number, fully thirty, were placed as boarding for 

 the floor of a dry faggot-shed or barn a well-built structure, 

 and thoroughly ventilated. On examining these boards a 

 f^w weeks back, it was found that they were one and all 



