374 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 



Fir is most generally known in tbis country, and, in 

 many respects, does not yield in usefulness to that 

 of any of the tribe. With the single exception of 

 the larch, which exceeds it in hardness and tough- 

 ness, the Scots fir, as timber, is decidedly superior 

 to any other of the pine-tribe cultivated in Britain. 

 All Scots fir timber contains a portion of rosin, and 

 that which contains the most is in least danger 

 from insects, and therefore the most durable. The 

 older that the tree is before being cut down, provided 

 it has not been allowed to decay while standing, the 

 better is the timber, and the less sap-wood it con- 

 tains. The best part of the tree is that next the 

 root. The Scots fir is employed for every purpose 

 in architecture, and answers equally well, whether 

 used as roofing, flooring, doors, or window-sashes. 

 It is also not unfrequently made into chairs, tables, 

 and other articles of coarse household furniture. It 

 is deemed the most proper of all timber for forming 

 the breasts of violins, and it is used for sounding- 

 boards in the construction of organs and other mu- 

 sical instruments. In ship-building it is used for 

 masts, and in the partitioning and other inside 

 work of the ship. 



The Larch has not yet been so generally used by • 

 carpenters in this country as the Scots fir. Its 



