20 Transactions. Miscellaneous. 
to the prohibitions against clearing), France has annually to import hard- 
woods to the value of £8,000,000, mostly intended for the navy, wine- 
cask staves, and furniture. The merchant navy has not, as yet, any iron 
ships. : 
Prices for oak, in the Paris market, were quoted by the Revue des Eaux 
et Foréts, of the 5th October, 1878; as follows :— 
In log.—Logs of 2 mètres in circumference or above, 160 francs= 
£6 8s. Od. per cubic métre=1 cubic yard+10 per cent.; the logs to be 
measured at the quarter girth if not squared. Logs from 1 to 2 métres in 
circumference—80 francs= £3 4s. Od. 
Planks.—Lots of all lengths, breadths and depths, being piled, 150 francs 
=£6 per cubic mètre. 
Planks called ** Entrevour."—Breadth 10 inches, depth 1 inch, 5 franes 
=4s. per 1 superficial métre=10 superficial feet nearly=40s. per 100 
superficial feet. 
All other dimensions in the breadth and depth of planks are charged 
proportionately to the cubic volume of the ** Entrevour." Oak planks are 
to be free from sap-wood. The cost of freight from New Zealand to England 
or France, may be computed at about 6s. per 100 superficial feet, on a regular 
trade being established. 
The above quotations are those of the forest contractor for newly-cut 
wood, the timber merchant regulating the price of his goods according to 
the length of time he has kept them seasoning. It is not uncommon in 
France to see oak splitting and warping in its various uses, as may be par- 
ticularly observed at the fourth and fifth floors of houses where a com- 
paratively low rent necessitates the use of cheap wood. Also, in the first 
and second floors of the same houses, oak from the same forest may be 
seen perfectly sound, the difference arising from the more perfect seasoning. 
The above given quotations for oak in the Paris market, relate to the 
variety of the species which is the most abundant in the forests of France, 
viz., the ‘ Quercus cerris,” which is not so strong a timber as the ** Quercus 
pedunculata,” or British oak. Therefore, Mr. Balfour's tables, taken as a 
means for comparison between New Zealand and England's indigenous 
timbers, may certainly also stand good in reference to the standard timber 
of France. Prices for oak and other hardwoods in England are about the 
same as, if not higher than, they are in the Paris market. 
It may also be a matter of interest to observe that the most abundant 
species of New Zealand timbers are precisely those which will best suit the 
French markets. Such are rimu, birch, tawa, totara, ete. ; not that rimu, 
for instance, could be expected to supply the place of oak in all its various 
uses but, that, for purposes such as those mentioned in the second section 
