104 
TIMBEE 
much the larger proportion of the ash used in the trade 
in Great Britain. 
Weight about 38 lbs. per cubic foot. 
Birch grows plentifully in the Alleghanies and the Lake 
regions, west of Virginia, and also in Canada. It is 
imported largely from Quebec and other Canadian ports in 
logs of short lengths up to 17 ft. and in planks up to 26 
inches wide ; it makes excellent furniture, shrinks a good 
deal in drying, and is not durable when exposed. 
Red or Cherry Birch {Betula lento), a wood of beautiful 
reddish or yellowish brown and much of it nicely figured, 
is straight in grain, hard and durable, takes a fine polish, 
and is largely used for furniture and cabinet work, for 
which purpose it is sometimes stained to imitate mahogany, 
and this is not easily detected if well done. 
Yellow Birch {B. lutea), of Nova Scotia and south to 
Tennessee, is a large tree the timber of which is firm and 
fine grained, of light brownish yellow colour, hard, tough, 
and strong. It is used for cabinet work, wheel hubs, and in 
shipbuilding. 
White Birch {B. papyri/era), a small tree, the timber of 
which is very like the Enghsh common birch, is the prin- 
cipal timber used for spools, bobbins, bowls, shoe lasts, and 
pegs. It is also much used in the furniture trade. 
A great quantity of birch is used in America for chair- 
making, and some for floors, interior finishings and turnery, 
as well as for furniture. The medullary rays in birch are 
very fine and close and not easily seen, the pores are 
noticeable as grey specks. 
Over 1,600,000 cubic feet of American birch was imported 
into the Mersey in 1906, about two-thirds of which was in 
planks. 
Weight about 44 lbs. per cubic foot. 
