CATALOGUE OF THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 261 



still on the road. These sleepers were invoiced as " spruce," and prob- 

 ably many of them were spruce, but I am not in a position to say that 

 they all were, and it is difficult now to identify the timber. They were 

 purchased from the Duke of Buccleuch, and were grown in Dumfriesshire." 

 The concentric layers are clearly marked by a dark ring. It is impos- 

 sible to see either pores or medullary rays under the lens (12 x ), but 

 the rays show very finely as faint flecks on the radial section. 



Spruce, Hemlock. Tsuga canadensis, Carr. Weight, 36 lbs. Eastern 

 North America. 



Gibson describes the wood as follows : " The wood of hemlock is soft, 

 light, not strong, coarse and crooked grained, difficult to work, liable 

 to windshake, spUnters badly, not durable. The colour of hemlock 

 heart-wood is Ught brown, tinged with red, often nearly white. The 

 sap-wood is darker. . . . The physical characteristics of hemlock are 

 nearly all unfavourable, yet it has become a useful and widely used wood. 

 It is largely manufactured into coarse lumber and used for outside work — 

 railway ties, joists, rafters, laths, etc. It is rarely used for inside finishing 

 owing to its brittle and spUntery character. Clean boards made into 

 panels or similar work, and finished in the natural colour, often present 

 a very handsome appearance, owing to the peculiar pinkish tint of the 

 wood ripening and improving with age. With the growing scarcity of 

 white and Norway pine, hemlock has become the natural substitute for 

 these woods for many purposes. ... In 1910 hemlock lumber was cut 

 in twenty-one States, the total output exceeding 2,500,000,000 feet. 



" Hemlock possesses remarkable holding power on nails and spikes, 

 and that is one reason for its large use for railway ties. It does not easily 

 spUt, and there is no likelihood that spikes will work loose ; but the wood 

 decays quickly in damp situations, and unless given preservative treat- 

 ment, hemlock ties do not last long. Manufacturers of boxes and crates 

 use much hemlock. The wood is also employed by car builders, manu- 

 facturers of refrigerators and farm implements, but the largest demand 

 comes from those who use the rough lumber. 



" The summer wood of the annual ring is conspicuous, and the thin 

 medullary rays are numerous." 



Spruce, Himalayan. Picea Morinda, Link. Weight, 31 lbs. India. 



The wood of this tree greatly resembles that of the European spruce, 

 and contains the same well-known black knots. While its commercial 

 value is not at the present time very great, yet the Indian supplies fill 

 an important place in the reserves for the future needs of the Empire. 



The concentric layers form a grain which is comparable with that 

 of the cedar, though this wood is probably of a milder nature. 



