392 PllOPEUTIES AND USES OF TIMBEE. 



white, without any variation of shade. It is less 

 subject to decay than either beech or plane, and less 

 liable to be injured by worms. It cuts clean and 

 easily with the graving-tool, and carvers according- 

 ly employ it more than any other wood. 



BIRCH. 



Birch, if it be not so durable as some other kinds, 

 has the advantage of being remarkably cheap, as it 

 will grow on soil where scarce any other tree will 

 prosper. Its colour is white, and it is much prized 

 by turners for its lightness, closeness of grain, and 

 being easily worked. It is the material out of which 

 shoemakers form the wooden pins which they drive 

 into the soles of shoes. For rough gates and paling 

 no material is better ; and, in the Highlands, it is 

 used for every purpose in which wood is required — 

 as rafters and doors for houses, agricultural imple- 

 ments, household-furniture, and dishes. It is found 

 to answer extremely well for herring-barrels, and 

 much of it is now used for this purpose. 



