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NOTICES OF AUTHORS. 



riod when this loss proceeds faster than the annual 

 increase within, is altogether dependent on the vi- 

 gour of the tree, not on the age, and never takes 

 place till the timher is ripe for the dock-yard. 



We would warn the readers of Mr Monteath's 

 volume, that his calculations and statements regard- 

 ing the worth of coppice and timber generally, seem 

 more suited to flatter the owner's wishes than to be 

 useful to him as a merchant ; or to be adjusted to 

 the value of money dming the late war — ^not to the 

 present value. We also do not very well compre- 

 hend his re-establishment or resuscitation of life in 

 dead trees. We observe several other slight errors, 

 such as the duration of his paling, — and the affirma- 

 tion that the sap-wood will not extend so as to cover 

 over the section of a pruned branch which contains 

 any red or matured wood. Most readers will be able 

 to detect such errors as these. 



In taking leave of Mr Monteath's volume, we 

 would offer our acknowledgment for the attention 

 he has bestowed on the subject of the seasoning 

 of timber, by steaming with extract of wood (pyro- 

 ligneous acid) and by scorching, as prevention of 

 dry rot. The greatest objection we see to his plan 

 is, that all timber dried quickly is liable to crack and 

 split, and loses a considerable portion of its tough- 



