TIMBER OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 69 
ousting to a great extent the Memel timber formerly used 
for that purpose, as it was stronger and could be obtained 
in longer lengths. The colour is a reddish yellow ; when 
dried it becomes lighter in colour, but the reddish tint shows 
conspicuously when the timber is wet ; the annual rings are 
strongly marked (Fig. 2), and it is full of resinous matter, 
making the timber very durable, but difficult for joiners to 
work. It is hard, dense, and strong, the best of it fairly free 
from knots — sometimes one may see a 40-ft. length without 
one — straight in the grain, fairly free from sap, and excellent 
for interior work which is only intended to be varnished, 
such as roofs or gallery timbers, seats in churches and public 
buildings, door frames, panelling, etc., owing to its clearly 
marked and handsome grain ; it is also now much used for 
the framing of spring mattresses ; one of the best timbers 
for heavy engineering structures where great strength, long 
span, and durability are required, it has also been much 
used for wharves and jetties, and also for ships' masts. It 
has been stated as one of the defects of this timber that it 
is subject to cup- and heart- shake (see Chap. XII.); although 
one certainly finds a large proportion of logs with cupshake 
at the butt end, the defect often goes but a short distance 
in, and by cutting a foot or two off the end the rest of the 
log is found quite sound ; moreover this defect, unless very 
pronounced, does not detract from the usefulness of the 
timber when used in the log or in large scantling, and it 
is only when cut up into small sizes that it causes a loss in 
conversion ; sometimes when sawn through the centre and 
left to lie it will open out at the heart. So great has been 
the run on this timber that it has degenerated in quality 
and size ; twenty years ago it was quite easy to get logs 
45 to 50 and even without much difficulty 60 ft. and over, 
and 14 inches square, almost free from sap. These sizes are 
now rare, and the average at present is more like 35 ft. by 
