XXVII. ] ELM. 219 
rapidly ; therefore, the surveyor, in selecting this wood, 
should, if he requires it for any purpose where durability 
is an object, decline to take any but fresh-cut logs, since, 
if they have been left for more than about ten to twelve 
months exposed to the weather, they will be liable to 
prove doated, and very possibly may have changed from 
the natural brown to a yellowish colour, which is a sure 
sign of a deterioration in the quality. The bark of Elm 
usually falls off in about ten to sixteen or eighteen 
months after the tree is cut down, the surface after this 
gets blanched by exposure, and there are few logs that 
have been felled so long that are quite free from incipient 
decay. 
There is almost no heart, cup, or star-shake in the 
common English Elm, but the defects are often neverthe- 
less of a very serious character, and are chiefly occasioned 
by the rough treatment it is subjected .to in the way of 
pruning—the knots or root end of the branches being left 
exposed, decay and wet-rot frequently soon follow, then 
hollow places are formed in the centre, and the tree is 
ruined. Birds frequently build in these cavities, and on 
several occasions in the course of my experience in 
working this wood, perfect nests, with fresh-looking eggs, 
have been found deeply buried in the log. 
The sap of Elm timber is generally from 11% to 3 
inches thick, but it forms an exception to the rule which 
forbids the employment of sap-wood in architecture, as. 
all parts of it have been proved to be equally durable. 
The waste, therefore, to be incurred in the conversion of 
the log is very small, provided always that the planks 
and boards are only cut as they are required. This pre- 
caution is considered necessary, owing to the great 
liability of the planks to warp or twist, which would soon 
render them unfit for use. 
