CHAPTER VI 



Hollow Trees— The Age of Trees 



The ligneous zones are divided into two 

 parts. The first is central, from which life 

 has more or less withdrawn, the other exterior, 

 which contains life in a greater or less degree. 

 The former is of a dark colour ; the latter is 

 whitish. The former is known as wood, or 

 good wood ; the latter as sapwood. In the 

 sapwood the wood is pale, soft and impreg- 

 nated with juices : this is living wood. In the 

 centre it is highly coloured, hard and dried 

 up : this is wood all but dead. 



Old age is far from perfection. Why, then, 

 are these interior layers called good? They 

 should be called imperfect. No doubt the 

 hard wood is imperfect as regards the tree 

 which it no longer feeds, but it is perfect for 

 the service that we require. For our furniture 

 we need wood with close structure, fine grain 

 and rich colour. None of these qualities 

 exist in the sapwood : they are only found 



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