XXVIL] ELM. . 219 



rapidly ; therefore, the surveyor, in selecting this wood, 

 should, if he requires it for any purpose where durability 

 is an object, decline to take any but fresh-cut logs, since, 

 if they have been left for more than about ten to twelve 

 months exposed to the weather, they will be liable to 

 prove doated, and very possibly may have changed from 

 the natural brown to a yellowish colour, which is a sure 

 sign of a deterioration in the quality. The bark of Elm 

 usually falls off in about ten to sixteen or eighteen 

 months after the tree is cut down, the surface after this 

 gets blanched by exposure, and there are few logs that 

 have been felled so long that are quite free from incipient 

 decay. 



There is almost no heart, cup, or star-shake in the 

 common English Elm, but the defects are often neverthe- 

 less of a very serious character, and are chiefly occasioned 

 by the rough treatment it is subjected to in the way of 

 pruning the knots or root end of the branches being left 

 exposed, decay and wet-rot frequently soon follow, then 

 hollow places are formed in the centre, and the tree is 

 ruined. Birds frequently build in these cavities, and on 

 several occasions in the course of my experience in 

 working this wood, perfect nests, with fresh-looking eggs, 

 have been found deeply buried in the log. 



The sap of Elm timber is generally from i^ to 3 

 inches thick, but it forms an exception to the rule which 

 forbids the employment of sap-wood in architecture, as 

 all parts of it have been proved to be equally durable. 

 The waste, therefore, to be incurred in the conversion of 

 the log is very small, provided always that the planks 

 and boards are only cut as they are required. This pre- 

 caution is considered necessary, owing to the great 

 liability of the planks to warp or twist, which would soon 

 render them unfit for use. 



