112 
TIMBEE 
surface and takes a fine polish, it is not durable if exposed, 
and requires a good deal of seasoning. Medullary rays 
small but distinct. The curly or wavy varieties furnish 
wood of much beauty, the peculiar contortions of the 
grain called " bird's eye " being much sought after and 
used as veneer. Maple is extensively used in all good 
classes of furniture, cabinet-maldng, panelling, interior 
fittings, and turning; it is not liable to warp. Much of 
it is now used for the floors of mills and workrooms in 
Great Britain, where it stands the constant friction much 
better than pine timber, either as planks or blocks ; also 
for picture frames, Tunbridge ware, and the backs, necks, 
and sides of violins. It is largely employed in America 
for fence posts, shingles, pails, and railway sleepers. Maple 
is imported in planks worked on the 
W/// //M//// /M l^ underside (see Fig. 22), in widths of 
^iuj^'""""(l/^ ^ inches and upwards, and it is holed 
Fig. 22. for secret nailing ; it also comes in 
logs, blocks for flooring, " quartered " 
rails, and in large quantities as rollers for wringing and 
mangling machines, for which there is a great demand. 
A good deal of sugar is extracted from the sugar maple, 
and one tree will yield from 5 to 10 lbs. of sugar per 
season. The peculiarity known as " bird's eye," and 
which causes a difiiculty in working the wood smooth, 
owing to the little pieces like knots lifting up, is sui^posed 
to be due to the action of boring insects. Its resistance 
to compression across the grain is higher than that of 
most American timbers. 
Weight about 49 lbs. per cubic foot. 
Walnut (e7it<7/aws nigra) or Black Walnut, a large, beautiful, 
and quick-growing tree, about 60 ft. and upwards in height, 
is found in most parts of the United States as far south as 
