248 TIMBEES AND THEIR USES 



produced annually a large quantity of charcoal 

 iron ; and in 1660 the Navy Commissioners 

 nominated John Evelyn to investigate the 

 denudation of forests, owing to the manufacture 

 of charcoal for iron smelting, and the following 

 quaint extract from his report wUl be interest- 

 ing : ' Nature has thought fit to produce this 

 wasting ore more plentifully in woodlands than 

 any other point, and to enrich our forests to 

 their own destruction — a deep execration of 

 iron mills and iron masters also.' The Lome 

 works, in Argyllshire, were started in 1753 and 

 annually consumed upwards of 3,000 tons of 

 lump charcoal." 



Tanning. Various barks are used in tanning, 

 and in this country at any rate, the Oak is the 

 main source of supply for tanning bark. The 

 question of bark stripping versus tree felhng 

 is an important one. The quality of most, if 

 not all, trees is affected by the season at which 

 felling takes place and this is especially the case 

 with Oak. Timber felled in the winter when 

 there is the least sap in the tree is, other things 

 being equal, superior to that felled in the spring. 

 On the other hand, spring is the season when 

 the bark contains the most tannin and is there- 

 fore of the greater value for tanning ; moreover, 

 the bark is more easily stripped in the spring. 



