Chap. 76.] 
THE SIZE OF TEEES. 
417 
tree, or, indeed, any other kind of tree, mind and do so when 
the moon is on the wane, after midday, and when there is no 
south wind blowing. The proper time for cutting a tree is 
when the seed is ripe, but be careful not to draw it away or 
plane it while the dew is falling." He then proceeds to say^^ 
— Never touch the timber, except when the moon is on the 
change, or else at the end of the second quarter : at those 
periods you may either root up the tree, or fell it as it stands. 
The next seven days after the full moon are the best of all for 
grubbing up a tree. Be particularly careful, too, not to rough- 
hew timber, or, indeed, to cut or touch it, unless it is perfectly 
dry; and by no means while it is covered with frost or dew." 
The Emperor Tiberius used also to observe the changes of 
the moon for cutting his hair.^ M. Yarro^ has recommended 
that the hair should be cut at full moon only, if we would 
avoid baldness. 
CHAP. 76. THE SIZE OF TEEES ! THE KATUEE OF WOOD : THE 
SAPPINUS. 
From the larch, and still more the fir, after it has been 
cut, a liquid^ flows for a considerable period : these are the 
loftiest and straightest of all the trees. The fir is pre- 
ferred for making the masts and sailyards of ships, on account 
of its comparative lightness. It is a common feature with 
these trees, in common with the pine, to have four rows of 
veins running along the wood, or else two, or sometimes only 
one. The heart * of these trees is peculiarly well adapted for 
joiners' work, and the best wood of all is that which has four 
layers of veins, it being softer than the rest : men of expe^ 
rience in these matters can instantly form a judgment of the 
quality from the bark. That part in the fir which is nearest 
to the ground is free from knots : when soaked in river water 
in the way we have already mentioned,^ and then barked, the 
This practice is ohserved in modern times. 
99 C. 87. 
^ Pliny, no doubt, observes an analogy between the hair of the human 
head, and trees as forming the hair of the earth. The superstition here 
mentioned, Fee says, was, till very recently, observed in France to a con- 
siderable extent. 
2 De Ee Rust. 1, 37. ^ Terebinthine or turpentine. 
* Ad fabroruin intestina opera medulla sectilis " This passage is pro- 
bably corrupt. 5 In c. 74. 
VOL. III. EE 
