52 OS THE HARD WOODS OF COMMERCE. 



diameter, grown on a rocky soil, proved to be the nearest approach to 

 boxwood in working quality, hardness, and durability under pressure. 

 It cuts smoothly, the chips curl well rinder the graver, and the oily 

 nature of the wood seems to preserve it from splitting when cut. Many 

 hundred engravings have been executed upon this wood, and some 

 blocks have yielded upwards of 20,000 impressions without being worn 

 out. The question of price has, however, to be taken into consideration 

 in order to see if it can compete with boxwood in England. Two 

 species of Wrightia were experimentalised on without success. The palay 

 ( Wrightia tinctoria) has a pale, nearly white wood, close and uniform in 

 the grain, but too soft to stand printing. It cuts smoothly, but does 

 not bear delicate cross-hatching. Although unfit for wood-engraving, 

 it is well suited for turnery, carving, and inlaying with darker woods. 

 Veppalay-wood (TF r . antidysenterica), on inspection under the micros- 

 cope, ajopeared to be suitable for the purpose, from the closeness of tex- 

 ture and the polish left by the chisel in cutting it across the grain ; but 

 the uneven quality and the softness of the outer parts showed that it 

 was not fit for engraving. The wood of the wild orange bears a strong 

 resemblance in appearance to box in working qualities, and is often as 

 hard. The wood oi the wild Ber tree (Zizy pirns jujuba), common almost 

 everywhere in India, gave good promise under the microscope, but 

 proved to be a soft, spongy, light wood, that did not stand cross-hatching 

 or pressure. A small garden tree, the China box (Murraya exotica), 

 proved on trial to be like the wood of many of the orange family — hard 

 and close in the grain near the centre, but softer near the bark. The 

 cross section was, however, very irregular. The wood of the coffee tree 

 was found to be soft, uneven in the grain, and not fit for engraving, 

 though well adapted for ornamental carving or inlaying. This wood 

 works beautifully in the turner's lathe, and cuts very sharply 

 under the chisel, gouge, or graver ; it is deserving of more atten- 

 tion for ornamental carving and inlaying. It harmonises well in 

 colour with the wood of orange and that of the Manila tamarind (Inga 

 dulcig). 



There are a few other woods which may be incidentally noticed. 

 The white beech (Fagus sylvestris) is much used for carved mouldings, for 

 picture frames, and large wood letters for printing. It is easily worked 

 and may be brought to a verv smooth surface. The extremely hard 

 wood of the white thorn (Crataegus punctata) is used by wood engravers, 

 and for mallets, &c. The dogwood (Cornus fiorida) is well adapted for 

 the same purposes as boxwood. It is so remarkably free from silex, 

 that splinters of the wood are used by watchmakers for cleaning the 

 pivot holes of watches, aud by the optician for removing the dust from 

 small lenses. The wood of the olive has occasionally been used for 

 engraving on. A very compact, fine and uniform wood (Dodonaa 

 viscosa) sent from the Neilgherries, under the name of iron wood, used 

 for turnery and making walking-sticks, worked well under the 



