274 WOODS OF COMMERCE. 



Persimmon (Diospyros virginidna L. : Order Ebendcece). 

 Eastern United States. Known also as "Date-plum." French 

 11 Plaqueminier de Virginie." Germ. " Virginische Dattelpflaume." 

 Span. " Persimon." Height 80 ft.; diam. 2 ft. S.G. 790. 

 W 49 '28. R 879 kilos. Sap wood very broad, sometimes 

 60 rings, cream-colour ; heart dark -brown or black, heavy, hard, 

 close-grained, strong and tough, resembling Hickory, but finer in 

 grain. Used for shuttles, shoe-lasts, plane-stocks, etc. 



Pimento (PimMa offidndlis Lindl. : Order Myrtdcece). Jamaica. 

 Imported as walking-sticks. 



Pin-bush (Hdkea Icucdptera R. Br. : Order Protedcece). Central 

 and Eastern Australia. Known also as "Beef-wood," "Water- 

 tree," and "Needle-bush." Height 1525 ft.; diam. 46 in. 

 S.G. 818. Heavy, coarse-grained, soft, taking a good polish. 

 Used for tobacco-pipes, cigarette-holders and veneers. 



Pine is the general name, originally applied in the Northern 

 Hemisphere to the trees and wood of the coniferous genus Pinus, 

 and subsequently extended mainly in Australasia to the allied 

 genera Agathis, Frendla, Araucdria, Dacrj/dium, Podocdrpus and 

 Pseudotsuga. Curiously enough, however, the wood of the various 

 local varieties of the Northern Pine (Pinus sylvdstns) imported 

 from Baltic ports, especially Dantzic, Memel and Riga, is known 

 in commerce as "Fir," or "Red" and "Yellow Deals," the name 

 " Pine " being used for the timber of other species of the same 

 genus imported from North America. The pines, often called firs, 

 are known in French as " pin," in German as " Kiefer, Fohre," 

 or "Pynbaum," in Italian and Spanish as "Pino," in Swedish 

 as "Fura," in Danish as "Fyr," and in Russian as "Sosna." 



The wood of Pines, as also of those other trees that are so- 

 called and of all Conifers, is of the simple structure described in 

 our first chapter, consisting only of tracheids, with the pith-rays, 

 and, in most cases, resin-canals. That of the true Pines the 

 genus Pinus has numerous resin-canals, uniformly scattered 

 through the annual rings and has a distinct dark-coloured heart, 

 though when the wood is freshly-cut this last is often not 

 recognizable. The pith-rays are rarely more than one cell thick, 



