CATALOGUE OF THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 267 



it has a somewhat greasy, clammy feeling to the. hand. It is very liable 

 to spHt and crack in seasoning, developing a number of shakes or fractures 

 across the grain, which never permanently close. In this country it is 

 exceedingly difficult to season, and during the process it displays uneven 

 shrinkage, inclining to twist, so that the surface wiU have hollow places 

 where one part of the grain has shrunk more than another. 



In Australia it is used for many purposes, including spokes, felloes, 

 and flooring, and it is said to be durable under all conditions. It has 

 been used largely for wood pavements in Australia, and is reported upon 

 by the Hon. H. B. Lefroy {Western Australian Hard-woods), as being one 

 of the numerous woods which are eminently suited for wood paving. 

 It has not, however, shown satisfactory results for the same purpose in 

 London, as the grain is too hard and irregular. Only a limited supply has 

 been available in England, and there is not yet much prospect of further 

 development. 



The pores are numerous and irregular, and are generally plugged. 

 The medullary rays are exceedingly fine and close, parallel and irregu- 

 larly placed. 



Tamarack. Larix americana, Mich. Weight, 38 lbs. (Hough). North 

 America. 



This, the American larch, somewhat resembles the European wood in 

 colour and texture, though it is perhaps tougher and harder. It is used 

 in that country for much the same purposes as those for which European 

 larch is valued. 



Hough describes the wood as being of a light orange-brown colour, 

 with thin lighter sap-wood, and says that it is valued for railway ties, 

 posts, planks, and limiber for interior finishing. In addition to these 

 uses, Gibson mentions that " boat-builders use tamarack for floors, 

 keels, stringers, and knees. Fence posts and telegraph poles come in 

 large numbers from tamarack forests. . . . [The wood is] also made 

 into boxes, pails, tanks, tubs, and windmills." 



Tapang. Koompassia excelsa (Becc), Taub. Weight, 76 lbs. 14 oz. 

 Borneo. 

 This is a very dense, hard, heavy wood, strong but brittle. The colour 

 ranges from bright to dark red, becoming almost black with age and 

 exposure to light and air. It is often marked with a dark and light grain 

 with some mottle, and shows the medullary rays on the tangential section 

 as in beech, but finer. In Borneo, the large pieces are used in solid planks 

 of from 2 to 2\ inches thick for tables and bedsteads, also for paddles, 

 and pajis for washing gold. Beccari, in Wanderings in the Great Forests 

 of Borneo (p. 269), writes : " The most valuable things in this house 



