196 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [CHAP. 



from the outside instead of the centre, and thus waste 

 only a tapering or wedge-like piece, sufficient to include 

 the defect. 



Many Teak logs are worm-eaten ; holes from a 

 quarter to half an inch in diameter are found upon the 

 surface, which often penetrate deeply and in all direc- 

 tions. Such logs have generally a dull appearance, and 

 are invariably brittle and of inferior quality. This 

 defect is, I consider, indicative of the tree having been 

 unhealthy if not dead before it was cut down. 



The ravages of the worm are detrimental to the 

 strength and value of the timber, and logs so affected are 

 not fit to be reduced to plank for use on bottoms of 

 ships. 



Teak, notwithstanding its defects, is extensively used 

 for ship-building in this country, in place of English and 

 other Oaks, African and Sabicu timber, &c., &c., and 

 the objection that was formerly made against its use in 

 ships of war, as being unsuitable, on account of its 

 liability to splinter if struck by a shot, is no longer 

 allowed to stand in the way of its employment. 



Teak timber is also used, to a moderate extent, for 

 ship-building in the arsenals of foreign countries. Its 

 employment for construction, railway carriages, and 

 sleepers, ship-building, &c., is well known. 



The quantities of Teak timber received here annually 

 from Moulmein have hitherto been very large, and so 

 greatly in excess of that which it was calculated a few 

 years ago could be drawn from the Tenasserim forests, 

 that fears have been entertained the supply from that 

 source must soon fail, and we notice a falling off in the 

 shipments. This has, however, been supplemented by 

 the shipment of considerable quantities of Teak from 

 Rangoon, and it seems probable that that port will soon 



