TIMBEE 
of fifteen years from cypress, whilst others in the same 
locality only get five years from oak. Again, timber lasts 
much longer in some climates than in others; the same 
timbers will have a much longer life in a dry bracing climate 
than in a moist atmosphere, such as that of Great Britain 
or parts of the tropics. Yellow pine is much used for out- 
door work in its native districts and is found fairly suitable, 
whereas it would not be so suitable for such a purpose in 
Great Britain as the Baltic timber. 
Those timbers which contain a large proportion of resin 
are well adapted to resist decay in bad situations, whilst 
other timbers, such as many of the tropical woods, are. pro- 
tected by various chemical ingredients which ensure them a 
long life. 
To judge timber properly it should be seen in the log or 
in large pieces as well as cut up. It is almost impossible to 
judge its quality, or in some cases even to tell one class of 
timber from another, if only seen in small pieces, especially 
if the colour be nearly alike. The question as to whether 
the roof of Westminster Hall is of oak or chestnut, which 
so often comes up for discussion, is a case in point. There 
might be some difficulty in deciding the question merely by 
colour and from a distance, but if one saw a cross section or 
end view of one of the beams it could be quickly decided, as 
the one timber is of quite a different structure to the other. 
The carpenter and joiner of past days was a much better 
judge of timber than he of the present day ; he had a better 
chance than his descendant of our time. The former 
probably cut up the timber himself or saw it cut up from 
home-grown timber, and knew its peculiarities well ; the 
latter has timber delivered into his hands in sawn and even 
planed boards ready for use, from all parts of the world, 
and from trees of which he knows little or nothing, and new- 
timber is continually coming into the market. 
