78 TIMBER 
and less contorted in the grain than the better known 
kind. It has good working qualities and, in addition 
to its durability, has considerable longitudinal strength 
and much elasticity after steaming. The wood lends 
itself to bent work, and is esteemed by wheelwrights for 
hubs, felloes, and other work. 
It has in many respects some resemblance to the 
Rock Elm of the Western States and Canada, on which 
remarks will be made in a further chapter dealing with 
the woods of the Western hemisphere. 
Lime.—-A well-known tree, that is common in all 
parts of Europe. Formerly the favourite for planting 
in the London streets and parks, the Lime has of late 
years been supplanted by the Eastern Plane. The 
tree produces a soft, yellowish-white wood which, 
lacking durability, is of no great value. It is, however, 
although soft in texture, very close-grained and, there- 
fore, esteemed as a material on which leather may be 
cut, being in considerable use for this purpose by 
saddlers and other leather-workers. For use in the 
manufacture of pianoforte actions it is also in demand, 
principally for the foundations on which the ivory 
or celluloid facings are attached for the keys. It has 
besides always enjoyed a reputation as an efficient 
material for wood-carving, the work of Grinling Gibbons, 
in St. Paul’s Cathedral and elsewhere, having been 
executed in this wood. 
Ash.—This is a very widely distributed tree, being 
common to most parts of Europe and other Continents. 
Grown, more or less, in most parts of Great Britain, the 
tree produces perhaps an even more valuable wood at 
the present time than the oak. No variety from 
other countries can compare with it when well grown, 
either in toughness, strength, or other qualities, and 
it is regrettable that more endeavours are not made to 
