Larix 373 



wanted. But the greater strength and durabihty of the red heartwood in trees of 

 great age does not command the increased price which it ought to be worth, and it 

 is often best to keep this for private use and sell the smaller and younger trees, whose 

 timber cannot be expected to last as long. For trees of 30 to 50 cubic feet is. per 

 foot and upwards, if not too far from a railway, is about the present price. For trees 

 of 15 to 30 cubic feet gd. to. is. should be realised, and for small thinnings the price 

 fluctuates according to the local demand for fencing, hop-poles, and pit-timber. 



On account of the durability of larch wood under water, it is specially adapted 

 for piles, wharves, and groins ; but owing to its propensity to warp and twist and the 

 difficulty of sawing, planing, and jointing it in comparison with most other coniferous 

 woods, it is seldom used for inside work. It makes very handsome panelling, how- 

 ever, if the red heartwood is carefully selected and seasoned, and is preferred to all 

 other woods in its native Alps for building log-houses, which in some cases are known 

 to have remained sound for 400 years. 



The Duke of Atholl informs me that the larch used in the construction of the 

 stables at Dunkeld in 1809 appears to be still quite sound; and I saw at Blair 

 Castle a handsome table 5 feet in diameter made from a transverse section, laid as 

 veneer, of a larch grown on the property, which shows eighty-seven annual rings. 

 In the museum at Innsbruck I saw a very handsome antique chest made from very 

 dark-coloured larch wood, which had been dug out of the ground, akin to bog oak 

 in character ; and the wood is used in conjunction with that of Pinus Cembra for 

 making artistic furniture by Messrs. Colli Brothers of Innsbruck. 



For ship- and boat-building it was at one time much more used than at present, 

 and knees cut from its roots are at least as strong and durable, if not more so, than 

 oak knees. 



The bark, though used to some extent for tanning, is now seldom worth stripping 

 except in the case of large trees felled in the spring, when, if taken off in large 

 slabs, it makes a very durable covering for summer-houses, sheds, and other rustic 

 buildings. 



Venice turpentine is a resinous product of the larch formerly much valued in 

 medicine and surgery, and for making varnish, of the production of which Loudon 

 gives ample details ; but like so many similar products, it has gone out of use in this 

 country at least, but is still sold in Venice, where I procured a sample of it. Manna 

 of Brian9on is a saccharine exudation from the leaves of the tree in the form of small 

 white opaque grains which formerly had some repute in medicine. 



(H. J. E.) 



