THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



equidistant, a pore-width or more apart : very numerous, 15-20 

 per mm. : not quite straight but firm, not avoiding the pores : 

 they occupy nearly half the transverse section. 



Rings. Very clear : the boundary a line of contrast and usually 

 a fairly regular single line of pores in the Spring wood : contour 

 rather uneven. 



Soft-tissue. Single cells and strings of cells. 



Pith. Small, about 1-2 mm. diameter, roundish : white to 

 brown : hard. 



Radial Section. The pores need the lens, very fine lines, 

 difficult to make out. The rays very small, inconspicuous 

 brownish flakes. The rings are very clear but not prominent 

 lines. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays are colourless, 

 vertical lines imperceptible with the lens. 



Type specimens from commercial sources : also from trees 

 known before felling. 



No. 89. APPLE. Pyrus Malus. Linn. 

 Plate VII. Fig. 59. 



Natural Order. Rosaces. 



Synonyms. Pirus acerba. D.C. Malus communis. Poir. 



Alternative Names. Crab : Crab-apple : Wild Apple : Crab- 

 tree. 



Sources of Supply. Europe : Western Asia : Himalayas. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 41-50 lbs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 6, compare Beech or Walnut. Smell 

 and taste none. Burns very well and quietly, ignites readily, 

 embers glow in still air. Solution with water or alcohol colour- 

 less. 



Grain. Very fine, close and dense. Surface not lustrous : 

 the pores may be seen shining with lens. 



Bark. Thin, £ inch thick, rough, wrinkled, bright : brownish 

 or purplish-black when young : scaling later in rectangular 

 scales. 



Uses, etc. Turnery. Not durable. Splits with great difficulty. 

 Rarely of large size, usually met with as small logs or under- 

 wood. 



Authorities. Nordlinger (87), p. 534. Ditto (86), vol. iii. 

 p. 59. Schwartz (106), p. 485. Hartig (42), p. 29. Mathieu 

 (69), p. 173. Wiesner (131), L. 12, p. 919. 



Colour. Heart-wood quite uniform, light reddish-brown not 

 sharply defined from the brownish or reddish-white sap-wood 

 which is about 12-20 rings wide. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



104 



