BOOK XVI. Lxxvii. 209-Lxxix. 213 



willow, lime, birch, elder, and both kinds of poplar. 

 Of these woods the Hghtest and consequently the 

 most useful are the agnus castus and the willow ; 

 but they are all suited for making baskets and 

 things consisting of flexible wicker-work. Also 

 they are shiny and hard, and easy to use in carvings. 

 Plane has flexibiUty, but of a moist kind, like alder; 

 a drier flexibility belongs to elm, ash, mulberry, 

 and cherry, but it is heavier. Ebn retains its 

 toughness most stoutly, and is in consequence the 

 most useful wood for the hinges and frames of doors, 

 because it is not liable to warp, only it should be 

 put the other way up, so that the top of the tree is 

 towards the lower hinge and the root above. The 

 pahn is . . . and also cork-tree timber is similar; 

 apple and pear are also close-grained, as well as 

 maple, but maple is brittle, and so are any veined 

 woods. In all trees the characteristics of each kind 

 are carried further by wild specimens and by males ; 

 and barren trees have stronger wood than fertile 

 ones, except in species where the male trees bear, 

 for instance the cj^press and the comel. 



LXXVIII. The following trees do not experience Resistance 

 decay and age — cj^ress, cedar, ebony, lotus, box, ^^„2'^" 

 yew, juniper, wild olive, cultivated oUve ; and of'*'"*^** 

 the remainder the slowest to age are the larch, 

 hard oak, cork, chestnut and walnut. The cedar, 

 cypress, cultivated oUve and box do not split or 

 crack of their own accord, 



LXXIX. It is believed that ebony lasts an extremely 

 long time, and also cypress and cedar, a clear verdict 

 about aU timbers being given in the temple of Diana 

 at Ephesus, inasmuch as though the whole of Asia 

 was buikUng it it took 120 years to complete. It is 



525 



