TIMBEE OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 93 
does not break short, but has little resilience ; can be easily- 
bent when steamed, and when properly dried will hold to 
its shape. The annual rings are not distinctly marked, 
medullary rays fine and numerous. 
Weight when well seasoned about 32 lbs. per cubic foot. 
The demand for this timber has increased rapidly of late 
years owing to its being obtained cheaply and in wide 
boards, and it is largely filling the place of poplar and 
Cottonwood in the United States. Large quantities, chiefly 
of the better grades, are exported. A great deal is used in 
the furniture trade of Great Britain for the cheaper class of 
bedroom furniture, also for inside fittings, stair newels, etc., 
and much of it is cut for veneer ; one American sewing 
machine company uses 15,000,000 board feet a year, chiefly 
in the making of tables ; the wood is built up of three inch 
pieces laid crossways to each other to prevent warping, and 
the top is generally finished off with oak or other veneer. 
It is also used forbarrels, and a good deal of the commoner 
timber for flooring in America, for which use it is found to 
be fairly satisfactory, as it is not subject to atmospheric 
changes in such a position ; also for coffin boards, mould- 
ings, mop and broom handles, etc. It polishes well. The 
sapwood is chiefly used in the manufacture of packing cases, 
but some planks of it are said to have come to the English 
market recently as " hazel pine." 
The chief objection to the timber is its great tendency 
to warp and twist — it is almost as bad in this respect as elm, 
but this can be overcome with care and proper handling ; 
it requires a long time to season, at least twelve months, 
though this partly depends upon the size. The timber got 
a bad name when it came to England some years ago and 
was used for paving and proved a failure ; the same difficulty 
to a certain extent occurred when the Australian paving 
blocks were first put on the market, and has been overcome. 
