206 



One drawback to this valuable timber is that where it is used for flooring 

 which is exposed to the weather, around every nail there becomes a hole 

 in the course of a few years.' This is usually explained by ascribing to 

 Beech some property which eats or rusts away the nails. For the same 

 reason wine-casks of Beech can never be hooped with black iron. So far as 

 I am aware, no chemist has ever examined Beech to see if it contains a 

 trace of free acid or some salt which would explain the corrosion above 

 referred to. 



Beech is largely used for the manufacture of vats for wine, and I believe 

 it is an admirable wood for the purpose. It is too short in the grain to split, 

 eo that split staves cannot be made of it. 



As regards its use by coach-builders, Mr. S. Lownds, Teacher in Coach- 

 building at the Technical College, informed me : — 



?riiis is a very useful timber for panels and tlihi boards. It is pretty durable, 

 hut ratbev soft, but its softness is, in some instances, au advantage. Where 

 extreme lieat or moisture has to be considered, as in bakers' carts. Beech will 

 be found to withstand such Influences better than most timbers. It paints and 

 Ijolishes well, is very easily worked, and does not readily split. 



It is pale-coloured, white with a tinge of brown. As a very general rule, 

 it is plain, but occasionally it shows a neat grain, which is ornamental. It 

 is rather close-grained and excellent to work. If it be glued with Russian 

 glue, mixed with sour milk, it will hold like solid wood when made into 

 furniture. It is very extensively u.sed for ships' blocks. 



Up till a few years ago it Tins remarkable that no engineering tests had 

 been made of such an universally-appreciated timber. Professor Warren 

 has rectified the omission in his work on Australian timbers, published for 

 the Chicago Exhibition. The timber referred to as White Beech is the 

 one under discussion, the other Beech (Negro-head) is a Fagus. Professor 

 Warren gives the weight of some Beech he tested as 49-1 lb. per cubic foot. 

 I examined some which was bone-dry, having been seasoned over a quarter 

 <if a century; its weight was 36 lb. per cubic foot. On the average (as 

 found in the market), its weight is between 40 and 50 lb. per cubic foot. 



Mr. District Forester T. H. Wilshire, in reporting it from Kangaroo 

 Creek, 30 miles from Grafton, says that a fair amount in log is shipped to 

 Sydney. 



As regards Queensland, the following is quoted from the official catalogue 

 just referred to : — 



This timber, being nuich prized, was extensively used in former years; the 

 quantity remaining now being limited. Occasional trees are, however, met with 

 iu some of our coastal scrubs, north and south, but generally in such place's as 

 are difficult of access. 



Size. — From 80 to 120 feet high, and a diameter of 2 to 4 feet. The 

 Sydney Morning Herald of 16tli August, 1898, says: — 



An Enormous Beech Tree. — Jlr. Xicholl's steamer, " Excelsior," which yester- 

 day arrived in port, brought, as part cargo, an <>i)()rmous beech tree from the 

 3-!yron Bay district. The tree was cut into logs 9 feet in length, and a\ eragert 

 aljont 17 feet in girth. Only tlie main barrel of the giant was brought to 

 Sydney, and this comprises 10,000 feet of timber, which filled one-half of the 

 vessel's hold. 



Disirihution. — The north bank of the Shoalhaven is its southernmost limit 

 in New South Wales; thence it extends along the coast, in brushes, to 

 Southern Queensland. It is found in the Shoalhaven district and the 

 lllawarra, but is not plentiful. It used to be found iu Jasper's Brush, but 



