ii 4 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [CHAP. 



from the pith, forming there a hard concrete substance, 

 which no edge-tool can touch without losing its keen- 

 ness. The oil also acts as a preventive against rust 

 when iron is in contact with it, and for this reason it 

 is preferred to all other known woods for the backing 

 to the armour-plates of iron-clad ships of war. It pos- 

 sesses, indeed, so many valuable properties, that it has 

 long been held in great esteem as a material for con- 

 struction, while its economical uses are so great, that 

 there is no carpenter, or other worker in wood, who does 

 not, after having once tried it, fully appreciate its value. 



In favourable situations the Teak tree grows to a 

 sufficient height to furnish the lower masts for ships of 

 2,000 tons burthen, and it is commonly employed for this 

 purpose in the East Indies. It is naturally a tall tree, 

 and I am of opinion that greater lengths of timber might 

 be produced from it than we generally receive, if only a 

 little more care were taken to prevent waste in the forests. 

 Ordinarily the practice is to cut off the bole or stem 

 below the branches ; whereas, in many cases, it would 

 be easy to include in it the knots of some of the lower 

 ones, and thus gain a foot or two more of length in the 

 log, which the ship-builders ^and many others would con- 

 sider to greatly enhance its value. 



In the late contracts for this description of timber for 

 the royal dockyards, it was stipulated that the minimum 

 length of the log should be 24, and the average 28 feet, 

 but as of late it has been found difficult to obtain this 

 average from the Moulmein district (whence nearly all 

 our supplies have been drawn for many years* past) the 

 minimum and average length has been reduced respec- 

 tively to 23 and 27 feet. 



The Burmese assign two reasons for not aiming to 

 produce a better average length of log ; one is, that 



