2 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



customarily using timber asking for it. The heart-wood when fresh and 

 planed is light greenish-yellow, and shows a glossy lustre and a hard, 

 bright surface, but it subsequently darkens to a dull greenish-brown. It 

 is one of the number of valuable woods that we possess at our doors yet 

 use so little ; in France, however, where the economic utilisation of wood 

 is practised, this timber receives the full attention that it merits for various 

 purposes. It vies with, and in some cases surpasses, European oak in 

 strength and durability, is tough and very elastic, and has considerable 

 powers of resisting shock. Its marked durability in contact with the 

 ground renders this timber excellent for all outdoor work, such as posts, 

 rails, trenails, and so forth. On Sir Hugh Beevor's estate, for instance, 

 a large plank was used as a bridge for forty years, when it was carried 

 away by floods ; and posts for paJings have remained sound in the ground 

 during more than thirty years. Elwes and Henry quote cases of posts 

 that were still sound after eighty years. On this same subject of dura- 

 bility Stone quotes several authorities as follows : . . . "almost incorrupt- 

 ible, stronger and more durable than oak, very elastic and of a vertical 

 resistance one-third greater than oak ; the best wood for spokes." 



In recent times the wood has been employed, especially on the 

 Continent, in the manufacture of spokes for the wheels of motor cars. 

 Very carefully selected wood has been found to be excellent for this 

 purpose, but in some cases the employment of defective (so-called "dead") 

 specimens of acacia wood has resulted in serious accidents. British-grown 

 acacia has been used occasionally in old furniture, and will compare 

 favourably with satin-wood for such work. Exposure to light and air 

 has improved the colour, and it is often mistaken for the latter wood. 

 This was the case with a smjill bureau owned by Mr. Edgar Ta3'lor, which 

 had been considered to be satin-wood, as it resembled that wood in its 

 beautiful colour and texture. Recent examination, however, has proved 

 it to be acacia. 



Especially worthy of note is the exceeding narrowness of the sap-wood, 

 which includes only from two to five annual rings. Moreover, during 

 the first twenty-five to forty-five years of its life the tree grows fairly 

 rapidly. The consequence of these two facts is that a comparatively 

 young tree jdelds serviceable timber. One specimen which I planted 

 thirty-eight years ago is now (1919) large enough to supply wood sufficient 

 to make three sturdy gate-posts or legs for half a dozen chairs. The 

 " false acacia," with its graceful habit and beautiful pendent tassels of 

 white flowers, deserves to be widely planted for both its beauty and its 

 utihty. 



The pores forming the pore zone are large, but all, except in the 

 sap-wood, are plugged with microscopic cists (thyloses). The medullary 

 rays are fine, but just visible to the naked eye in transverse section. 



