38 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



Holtzapffel says : " It is more curly in growth than the Turkey box- 

 wood . . . preferred by brassfinishers for their lathe-chucks, as it is 

 tougher than the foreign box, and bears rougher usage." 



(2) Abasian. — This wood is unrivalled for use in the making of 

 engraving blocks, for which purpose the diameters required are 4J 

 inches and upwards (formerly the minimum demanded was 6 inches, 

 but the tendency has been to reduce this). Curiously enough, this most 

 costly boxwood is demanded for printing on the cheap paper used in the 

 thousands of illustrated catalogues now issued so extensively from shops. 

 Cheaper boxwood, such as Persian, would produce a blurred illustration 

 on a cheap paper, and it is found more economical to use poor paper and 

 good boxwood than the reverse. It is imported in clean, straight, round 

 pieces from about 2 inches up to 8 inches, though it is sometimes receivedin 

 larger dimensions : it is generally very sound and free from defects. The 

 price before the war was about £50 to £55 per ton, advancing since to £60 

 and £65, which is about the same as it was some few years ago. For a wood 

 which is so slowly grown and is of such a close texture, the shrinkage in 

 seasoning is considerable. A test case showed that on the radial growth 

 the shrinkage in drying, measured on a diameter of i\ inches, amounted 

 to tV inch, but on the tangential growth it was as much as tV inch. 



{3) Japanese. Buxus sempervircns, Linn., var. japonica. — In Japan 

 boxwood, or asame-tsuge, which is the Japanese name, is used for the 

 best kind of engraving, but cherry {Prunus Pseudo-cerasus, Lindl., var. 

 spontanea), of which the native name is yama-zakura, is also used, as it is 

 more plentiful and less costly than boxwood. 



Boxwood, East Indian. Canthium didymum, Roxb. Weight, 50 to 57 

 lbs. (Gamble). India, Ceylon. 



Gamble says : " In Ceylon, its resemblance to boxwood has caused it 

 to be called Ceylon boxwood. . . . Wood white (Ceylon) or Ught brown 

 (India), hard, close- and even-grained." It is now rarely seen in England, 

 and indeed has never been procurable except in small quantities. It is 

 well grown ; from 6 to 18 inches in diameter and about 3 feet long. It 

 was used in the past to some extent for engra%'ing, but was not found hard 

 enough to yield good results. On account of its size large shuttles were 

 made of it, particularly those which were used in the manufacture of sUk. 



Boxwood, Knysna. Gonioma Kamassi, E. Mey. Weight, 52 lbs. 8 oz. 

 Africa. 



The wood is a reddish-brown, rather deeper in colour than that of 

 other boxwoods ; it is sometimes stained a browner tint towards the sap 

 edges. Of recent years a considerable quantity has been imported, in 

 straight, clean, well-grown logs, in diameters varying from 5 to 12 inches. 



