CATALOGUE OF THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 311 



This authority appears doubtful as to the correct name and identity 

 of the wood. 



Wattle, Silver. Acacia dealbata, Link. Weight, 47 lbs. (Gamble). 

 Tasmania. 



Tasmanian Timbers says of this wood that " It produces a somewhat 

 porous timber of a dark-brown to a yellow-brown colour, easily spHt, 

 fairly tough, and used and exported chiefly for cask staves. It is 

 occasionally used for furniture, and when polished has a very handsome 

 grain." 



Gamble mentions that this tree was introduced in India in 1840. 

 He describes the structure as follows : " Wood moderately hard, Ught 

 red. Pores moderate sized, often in short linear groups surrounded by 

 pale rings. Medullary rays short, fine, and moderately broad, well 

 marked on a radial section." 



Whitewood. Liriodendron tuUpifera, Linn. Weight, 28 lbs. 10 oz. 

 North America. 



This very important timber has been used for a vast number of 

 purposes in the United Kingdom, America, and elsewhere. One of the 

 most majestic of trees, it provides in that season of the year when it 

 blooms a most imposing and impressive sight : the eye ranges along 

 a great mass of wide-spreading foliage, while the tree top is clothed in 

 innumerable tuUp-like flowers. Scattered about in England are many 

 beautiful specimens which our forefathers, with a greater appreciation 

 of the effects of arboriculture than, alas ! is found to-day, planted around 

 their djvellings and in their parks. 



The timber is known in England as " whitewood " or " canary white- 

 wood " ; in Scotland and England sometimes, though incorrectly, as 

 " basswood," and in America as " poplar." The colour, when the wood 

 is fresh cut, is canaryyellow, sometimes with rather a bluish tint deepening 

 and toning down with exposure to air to a light yellowish-brown, with 

 a satiny lustre, which is probably caused by the countless small specks 

 of bright, shining gum which glisten on all sections. It is mild, easy to 

 work, silky in grain, and capable of a very smooth surface from the tool. 

 Having been available in very large quantities, in long lengths and wide 

 widths of beautiful quahty at a cost far below its real value, it has been 

 extensively used for all kinds of joinery and cabinet work, fittings and 

 similar work. 



It requires time to season thoroughly, and shrinks considerably, but 

 when properly dried, stands well under all conditions. It also finishes 

 with a sharp edge, which renders it a good wood for mouldings. It is 



