xxvii.] HORNBEAM. 229 



THE HORNBEAM TREE (Carpinus betula) 



is an indigenous British tree, which thrives well even 

 upon a poor soil, and attains the height of 40 to 50 feet 

 with a circumference of from 30 to 45 inches. 



The wood is white in colour, close in the grain, hard, 

 tough, strong, and of moderate weight ; its pores are 

 minute, the medullary rays are plainly marked, and there 

 is no sap or alburnum ; it may, therefore, be worked up 

 to great advantage. Hence we find it employed for a 

 variety of purposes ; it is useful in husbandry, and 

 agricultural implements made of the sound and healthy 

 wood wear well, as it stands exposure without being 

 much affected by it. It is also used by engineers for 

 cogs in machinery, a purpose for which it is well suited. 



The Hornbeam tree, if pollarded, becomes blackish in 

 colour at the centre, owing to the admission of external 

 moisture. This renders it unfit for many purposes where 

 a clean, bright surface is required, and generally it 

 proves detrimental to the quality and durability of the 

 timber. 



This wood when subjected to vertical pressure cannot 

 be completely destroyed, its fibres, instead of breaking 

 off short, double up like threads, a conclusive proof of 

 its flexibility and fitness for service in machinery. 



I was not able to secure suitable specimens of the 

 standard dimensions to test the transverse strength of 

 this wood, and consequently only the tensile and crushing 

 or vertical strains appear in the tables. 



