220 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



British Columbia. The gigantic trunk towers to the height of 214 feet. 

 The width at the base is 2 feet 9 inches, and it measures i foot across 

 at the small end. 



The timber occupies one of the most important positions in the timber 

 world, and is known and used in nearly every civilised coimtry. " No 

 other single species in the United States or in the world equals the annual 

 cut of Douglas fir. . . . In 1910 the Imnber cut from this fir 2imomited 

 to 5,203,644,000 feet" (Gibson). With the ever-decreasing number 

 of large trees of Scots pine or Baltic pine {Pinus sylvestris) and pitch 

 pine, this timber comes increasingly to the fore as the remaining source 

 of big coniferous constructional timber, especially so in virtue of its great 

 strength. It is imported into the United Kingdom from British Coliraibia 

 and the United States, in the form of sawn logs, planks, and boards. 



The wood is of a reddish-yeUow colour, usually midway between 

 yeUow pine {P. Strobus) and pitch pine (P. palustris) in tint and 

 general appearance. Americans distinguish two kinds of wood, accord- 

 ing to whether the colour is more red or yellow, and prefer wood of the 

 hght red colour. Both kinds of wood can be obtained from one and 

 the same trunk. In England no notice is taken of these differences. The 

 resinous grain of Douglas fir is milder and less pronounced than that of 

 pitch pine, but some specimens of the former are dif&cult to distinguish 

 from those of the latter or of Canadian red pine [P. resinosa). 



The uses of the timber are manifold, and as Gibson (dealing with 

 America) wrote, " it would be easier to hst industries that do not use it 

 than those that do." When used for constructional work indoors it 

 possesses sufficient durabihty for reasonable requirements. For exposed 

 work, however, it cannot be said to compete with Baltic pine or pitch 

 pine. 



The principal practical value of Douglas fir hes in the fact that it is 

 a timber obtainable in large sizes, logs, scantlings, and planks, free from 

 sap-wood, objectionable knots, or other defects. The faciUty with which 

 wide widths of the timber clean and free from sap-wood can be obtained, 

 renders it valuable for internal woodwork. Yet as a joiners' wood it is 

 not entirely free from deficiencies. The marked difference between the 

 hard and soft grain is associated with a ridgy surface when the wood is 

 worked. The grain is apt to rise after either polishing or painting, and 

 this increases the expense of finishing. The wood does not require verj- 

 long to season, and, after the process, is reliable and does not warp nor 

 twist. 



For floors and decks the timber should be " rift-sawn " in such a 

 manner that the broad faces of the boards or planks are at right angles 

 to the annual rings ; for when the boards are cut with their broad faces 

 tangential to the annual rings the grain is hable to flake out and a rough 



