TIMBER 
3 
from it, too, he made his " dug-out " to travel along and 
across the rivers of the district in which he dwelt ; so on 
down through the ages, for shipbuilding and constructive 
purposes, timber has continued to our own time to be one 
of the most largely used of nature's products. 
Timber as a constructional material has many advantages 
over iron or steel ; it will stand excessive strains and 
shocks without giving way suddenly — that is, it will give 
indications for some time before arriving at its ultimate 
breaking point ; it is often cheaper, in many situations 
much cheaper, and will last longer in exposed situations 
without requiring any protection such as painting, which 
is absolutely necessary with iron or steel. In case of 
damage or fracture it is in many instances easier to repair. 
Timber piers and quays possess remarkable resilience under 
the excessive bumping and knocks which they have to 
sustain. It is true they are more liable to take fire, but 
this applies more particularly to the decking, and even in 
iron piers the decking is generally of timber. In the case 
of fire in a building such as is now largely erected in towns, 
where the beams carrying weight are almost invariably of 
steel, these become so buckled and twisted by the action of 
fire and water as to become useless, so that although it is 
true that the less timber or combustible material used in a 
building the less risk there is of fire, yet when a fire does 
occur the results are practically the same, both materials 
are rendered useless ; but the warping and twisting of steel 
girders and columns often push over the outer walls, which 
does not happen in the case of timber. Then, although 
small scantlings of timber will be destroyed by fire, it must 
be a very intense heat which will destroy a large timber 
beam. The outside becomes charred, and the inner 
portion thus protected ; and timber beams often stand in 
buildings after a severe fire, when steel joists would become 
B 2 
