CATALOGUE OF THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 265 



sleepers average about fourteen years, and none of the Government 

 railway buildings, some of which were built twenty-seven years 

 ago (1903) chiefly of this timber, has ' yet been renewed. ... It is 

 specially suited for wood paving. It is preferable to jarrah, being quite 

 as durable, gives a better surface, and is also Ughter in weight. Given 

 equal conditions, stringy-bark blocks will wear out two sets of the deal 

 or beech [?] blocks which are largely used in European cities. Stringy- 

 bark blocks do not polish under traffic, but give a good foothold for 

 horses. Paving in this wood of the roadways of the Hobart Market 

 building, laid in 1853, are still doing duty." 



The pores are variable in size, and are arranged in groups, some are 

 plugged with gum. The medullary rays are exceedingly fine, parallel 

 and close together, generally equidistant ; they are irregularly joined at 

 right angles by very faint Unes of a similar character. 



SuGi. Cryptomeria japonica, Don. Weight, 30 lbs. Japan, Formosa. 



This is a strong reliable timber, having the characteristic marking 

 found in Oregon pine, pitch pine, cypress, and sequoia, of which timbers 

 it most resembles the last nemied — ^though it is much harder and firmer 

 in the grain, and is of a dull nut-brown colour. The dark and Ught streaks 

 of brown and yellow form a wavy pattern, and the bright spots of gum 

 sparkle and give the wood a slightly lustrous gloss. A certain quantity 

 of this wood has been buried and, according to Goto, undergone carboni- 

 fication, making the colour a still deeper brown. It possesses all the 

 quaUties requisite for making good and durable work of all sorts. It 

 has not yet been imported into the United Kingdom on a commercial 

 basis. 



The concentric layers are strongly marked by Hght and dark rings, 

 the growth being very slow and layers small. The pores are very scarce 

 and small, and although plugged, do not show the gum on the grain end. 

 On the tangential section they show as an abundance of exceedingly fine 

 parallel Hues. The medullary rays are very fine but clearly marked. 



SuNDRi. Rentier a minor, Roxb. Weight, 67 lbs. (Troup). India. 



This wood is brownish to dark-red in colour ; very hard and close 

 grained, elastic, strong, and durable. It is one of the timbers mentioned 

 in Mr. Gamble's Kst as being likely to be available in fair quantities. 

 In connection with its durabiUty Mr. F. I. Dalton, extra-assistant 

 Conservator of Forests, cites instances (in India) of rough trimmed posts 

 placed in water-logged soil, within reach of the tide, having lasted thirteen 

 years, and of posts placed in a somewhat more elevated, though very 

 damp situation, having lasted for eighteen years. The timber is 



