THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



minute lines, which are invisible even with a microscope lens (a 

 " Swift " 2 inch). 



Type specimens authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of Natal. 



No. 46. SYCAMORE. Acer Pseudo-Platanus. 

 Linn. 



Plate IV. Fig. 34. 



Natural Order. Sapindacese. 



Alternative Names. Erable sycomore : Grand erable de 

 montagne : Faux Platane in France (69). Berg-ahorn in 

 Germany (131). This species goes by the name of Sycamore 

 in the United States (12), but the name is more commonly 

 applied to the Plane-tree, Platanus occidentalis, Linn. 



Sources of Supply. Europe, British Isles, United States of 

 America and Canada. 



Physical Characters, etc. Weight 28I-49 lbs. per cu. ft. 

 Hardness Grade 4, compare Maple. Smell or taste none. Burns 

 unusually well with quiet but lively flame, embers glow in still 

 air. Solution with water or alcohol colourless. 



Grain. Close, even and fine. Surface somewhat lustrous, 

 especially in the radial section, where the rays are the most 

 lustrous portion. 



Bark. Smooth : £ inch thick : leathery : not fissured : 

 supple : grey : becomes scaly with age. 



Uses, etc. Carpentry, especially table tops, on account of 

 its whiteness : bobbins and other turnery. Durable when under 

 cover, but not when exposed : splits cleanly but with difficulty. 

 A tree of medium size, usually met with in logs as felled, with 

 bark or in waney planks. 



Authorities. Hartig (42), pp. 30-41. Schwartz (106), p. 482 

 and pt. I. Nordlinger (87), p. 509. Ditto (86), vol. iii. p. 41. 

 Mathieu (69), p. 37. Laslett (60), p. 164. Stevenson (113), p. 

 119. Wiesner (131), L. 12, p. 969. 



Colour. Milk-white : brownish : uniform. A sap-wood tree. 

 Often streaked with green (a defect). 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Require lens, rather fine, size 4 : nearly uniform in 

 size : evenly distributed : numerous, but not crowded, 20-30 

 per sq. mm. : occasionally in groups of from 2-5 pores. 



Rays. Require lens or just visible : medium, size 4 : nearly 

 straight, only the fine ends avoiding the pores : short, soon 

 tapering both ends: denser than the ground-tissue: about 

 2j-3i per mm. upon an average : white, with a satiny lustre. 



Rings. Obscure in the solid wood : boundary, a fine, clear, 



54 



