34 
TIMBEE 
and sleepers with Norway, Sweden, and Russia, but only 
the shorter poles come from Norway. This timber has 
been largely used in the past for street paving, and is still 
being used, but is gradually giving way to the more expen- 
sive but much longer lasting Jarrah and other hard woods. 
The pinewood grown in Britain is more cross grained, and 
not so satisfactory as that produced in the colder climate of 
Northern Europe. 
Amongst other well-known European pines, the timber 
of which is used locally, are the Black or Austrian pine 
(P. austriaca), Corsican pine (P. laricio), which produces 
some of the best of pine timber and is suited for indoor and 
outdoor work. Stone or Umbrella pine (P. innea), whitish, 
moderately resinous, and very light timber, used in Italy and 
the south of France for general carpentry, and the Aleppo 
pine (P. lialpensis), which is of large dimensions. The 
average weight of Baltic redwood per cubic foot, taken 
over a large number of fairly seasoned whole and cut 
logs, is 37'51bs., max. 43"5, min. 33*9 lbs. 
Spruce or White Fir {Piece exceha) produces the timber 
known as " Baltic whitewood " or white deal. It comes 
from the same districts as the redwood, grows to a height 
of 90 to 100 ft. or more, with slender trunk, but carries its 
branches nearer the ground than the redwood ; hence the 
great number of knots to be found in it. The wood is 
nearly white in colour, a yellowish white with sometimes a 
reddish or brownish tint, straight in the grain, light, tough 
and elastic but soft, yet more difficult to work than red- 
wood, owing to the hardness and great number of the 
small knots it contains, and inferior to it in every way. It 
is a timber which shrinks a good deal, but has only a 
moderate thickness of sap, which is sometimes difficult to 
distinguish owing to its being nearly the same colour as 
