50 
TIMBER 
Pear {Pijrus communis), a tree of 20 to 50 ft. in height and 
of quick growth ; the wood is much used for drawing curves 
and set squares, and also much appreciated for carving, as 
it is cut with equal facility in all directions of the grain. 
Much old carving was done in pearwood, and some fine 
specimens are to be seen in the British Museum. The 
wood is somewhat like the lime, but harder and tougher, 
fine grained and strong, though it does not stand well 
unless thoroughly seasoned. A few state-rooms in the 
Cunarder Mauretania have been carried out in pearwood ; 
the colour is a yellowish brown, and annual rings are 
distinct. 
Weight 40 to 44 lbs. per cubic foot. 
Cherry, of which there are three varieties, Pyrus avium, 
P. padus, and P. cerasus. The first is the most widely 
distributed, and sometimes attains a height of 30 to 40 ft. 
It produces a handsome pale reddish brown wood, used 
for cabinet work, walking-sticks, pipes, etc. It is only to 
be got in small sizes, as is the case with apple, pear, and 
plum, is easily worked, and is one of the best brown woods of 
the Tunbridge ware workers ; sometimes may be mistaken 
for birch, but the rays are much more conspicuous in the 
cherry. The wild cherry is used for furniture in France 
and other parts of the Continent where the tree abounds. 
Weight 42 to 46 lbs. per cubic foot. 
Plum, which is somewhat similar to pear, is also used for 
turnery. 
Weight about 40 lbs. per cubic foot. 
Common Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) furnishes a 
timber sometimes called cedar ; it is found in Cyprus, Asia 
Minor, Persia, and grows in mild localities in Great 
