THE COMMON LARCH. 497 



ness, as compared with that of the Pine and other 

 Firs, arising from a different disposition of the woody 

 fibres which are much more closely interwoven and more 

 strongly connected with each other than in the firs, in 

 most of which, indeed, but little lateral adhesion exists, 

 as is evidently shown by the ease with which their tim- 

 ber may be riven into long straight fragments, whereas 

 that of the Larch can be split only with great diffi- 

 culty, and never in a straight direction. When dry and sea- 

 soned it is very light, the cubic foot not weighing more than 

 thirty pounds and a half. The colour of the heart or ma- 

 tured wood is of a reddish brown, varying in depth accord- 

 ing to the soil and situation in which it is grown, being of a 

 darker red in cold and elevated regions than in a lower alti- 

 tude and in a richer soil. The idea of the incombustibility of 

 the wood of the Larch among the ancients, no doubt arose 

 from the difficulty with which it is set on fire, and its lia- 

 bility to become extinguished if not closely attended to ; 

 it may, however, by proper management, be made to pro- 

 duce a strong fire ; and the charcoal procured from it is 

 not only heavy, but highly esteemed in the iron smelting 

 furnaces abroad for the great heat it emits. Upon the 

 Continent Larch wood is considered, in those countries 

 which produce it, as superior to any other tree for all pur- 

 poses where strength and durability under the most trying 

 circumstances are required. Malesherbes remarks, " It is 

 excellent for all purposes, and is in such request in several 

 of the Swiss Cantons, that a piece of Larch wood costs 

 double the price of a piece of oak of the same dimensions,' 1 

 It is also in extensive use with the carpenter and cabinet- 

 maker ; and the furniture made of it exceeds in beauty 

 that of many highly-prized exotic woods. Larch panels, 

 for painting on, were preferred to those of any other wood 



2 K 



