COMMON HORNBEAM. 343 



poses, it makes excellent barrel staves for the fish-curers, 

 the demand for which is now very great, and annually 

 increasing, and is adding greatly to the value of woodland ; 

 as the thinnings which previously, with the exception of 

 the larch, did little more than repay the cost of cutting 

 down, now make a large return, particularly in those 

 instances where the proprietor cuts up the wood himself 

 by means of the circular saw, 



The wood of the Hornbeam is white, close-grained, 

 very tough, but with little flexibility, hard, and heavy. 

 It does not, however, take a good polish, and from the 

 disposition of its fibres is what is called cross-grained, 

 and difficult to work or make smooth under the plane. 

 For cogs of wheels it is the best wood that can be used, 

 excelling, according to Evelyn, either the crab or the 

 yew ; but as iron wheels and machinery are now almost 

 universally substituted for those of wood, its application 

 to this purpose is nearly at an end. Its strength and 

 tenacity is shown in the trial recorded by Loudon, where 

 a piece of Hornbeam, two inches square and seven feet 

 eight inches long, supported a weight of two hundred 

 and twenty-eight pounds, while a similar one of ash broke 

 under two hundred pounds, one of birch under one hundred 

 and ninety pounds, of oak, under one hundred and eighty- 

 five pounds, of beech under one hundred and sixty-five 

 pounds, and of all other woods under a much less weight. 

 As a fuel it stands in the highest rank, emitting much heat, 

 burning long and with a clear bright flame, or as Boutcher 

 expresses it " like a candle, and easily lighted. ,, Its char- 

 coal is also highly prized, not only for culinary purposes 

 and the forge, but for the manufacture of gunpowder, into 

 which, upon the Continent, it enters in large proportion. 



As already observed, the Hornbeam thrives best upon 



