THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



little smoke. " Deposits a kind of lustrous soot (Glanzruss) " 

 (86). Embers readily die out. 



Grain. Very fine, sinuous and even. Surface bright, not very 

 smooth. 



Bark. Smooth, black or greenish-brown when young, with 

 sticky glands and large lenticels : later blackish-brown, scaling 

 in large, flat flakes, separated by angular fissures : one layer. 



Uses, etc. " Of extraordinary durability under water, other- 

 wise subject to the attacks of beetle-larvae " (86). " Decays 

 almost as soon as Beech or Birch, in alternate wet and dry . . . 

 water pipes, well timber and pit props, sabots . . . very brittle, 

 cracks and warps very much " (89). " Dense and very elastic " 

 (68). " Perishable in the air, but its durability under water is at 

 least equal to that of the Oak " (11). " Used for the piles of the 

 Realto, Venice. Interior fittings, turnery, bobbins, common toys 

 and foundry-patterns " (48). Usually met with in logs with 

 bark as felled. 



Authorities. Hartig (42), pp. 27, 41. Schwartz (106), p. 482. 

 Nordlinger (87), p. 511. Ditto (86), vol. iii. p. 46. Mathieu 

 (69), p. 421. Martin (68), p. 234. Boppe (11), p. 80. Mouille- 

 fert (79), p. 242. Holtzapffel (48), p. 71. Wiesner (131), L. 12, 

 p. 885. 



Colour. Brown, light red : white or greenish-orange when 

 freshly felled. " Becomes lighter with age and dryness " (68). 

 A sap-wood tree. " Heart not coloured when sound " (131). 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Need lens, fine, size 5, practically uniform : evenly dis- 

 tributed : numerous, 75-100 per sq. mm. : single or in radial 

 groups of 2-6 or even 10 : linear or branched (87). " Yellowish- 

 red contents at times " (131). 



Rays. Clearly visible in certain lights. Two sizes, the larger 

 rather broad to broad, size 2-3, gently undulating, nearly straight, 

 very long, few : the smaller very numerous, 5-8 per mm., a 

 pore-width apart, and sometimes avoiding the pores. 



Rings. Clear with lens, a line of contrast betwen the rather 

 denser Autumn wood and the laxer Spring wood : contour con- 

 vex outwards (crenate) between the larger rays : little difference 

 in colour between the Autumn and Spring wood. 



Soft-tissue. Isolated cells. "None" (86). "Scattered 

 amongst the wood-fibres " (69). 



Flecks. Frequent : brown. " Sometimes forming loose 

 circles " (86). 



Pith. " Small, 1-2 mm. diameter, three-sided or lobed " (86). 



Radial Section. Pores, fine scratches without contrast of 

 shade or colour. Large rays appear as occasional large flakes : 

 the smaller numerous, obscure, narrow lines slightly darker than 



218 



