114 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [cHap. 
from the pith, forming there a hard concrete substance, 
"= which no edge-tool can touch without losing its keen- 
~'ness. The oil also acts as a preventive against rust 
\ when iron is in contact with it, and for this reason it 
ris preferred to all other known woods for the backing 
. to the-armour-plates of iron-clad ships of war. It pos- 
sesses, indeed, so many valuable properties, that it has 
long been held in great esteem as a material for con- 
struction, while its economical uses are so great, that 
there is no carpenter, or other worker in wood, who does 
not, after having once tried it, fully appreciate its value. 
In favourable situations the Teak tree grows to a 
sufficient height to furnish the lower masts for ships of 
2,000 tons burthen, and it is commonly employed for this 
purpose in the East Indies. It is naturally a tall tree, 
and I am of opinion that greater lengths of timber might 
be produced from it than we generally receive, if only a 
little more care were taken to prevent waste in the forests. 
Ordinarily the practice is to cut off the bole or stem 
below the branches; whereas, in many cases, it would 
be easy to include in it the knots of some of the lower 
ones, and thus gain a foot or two more of length in the 
log, which the ship-builders and many others would con- 
sider to greatly enhance its value. 
In the late contracts for this description of timber for 
the royal dockyards, it was stipulated that the minimum 
length of the log should be 24, and the average 28 feet, 
but as of late it has been found difficult to obtain this 
average from the Moulmein district (whence nearly all 
our supplies have been drawn for many years past) the 
minimum and average length has been reduced respec- 
tively to 23 and 27 feet. 
The Burmese assign two reasons for not aiming to 
produce a better average length of log; one is, that 
