374 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
chasers and the discouragement of taste in gardening. “We cannot 
propose a test for the guidance of the purchaser, although a section 
of the timber would probably reveal to a microscopist the presence 
of the fungus by which dry rot is produced. But having paid 
dearly for our knowledge of this stuff, we advise the rejection of 
wood in which small worm-holes, like the piercing of pins, are 
visible, for these appear to precede and prepare the way for the 
insidious fungus. A good test of soundness is density : if the wood 
is heavy, and when struck gives forth a semi-metallic ring, it is 
likely to be sound. The best of timber, however, requires proper 
management in the workshop, or the work will not hold together, 
and decay will quickly attack the materials. 
The seasoning process is the one grand step towards honest work 
in the making of rustic furniture, and the purchaser may sometimes 
be able to judge pretty fairly by the visible practice of the yard 
whether the wood is seasoned or not. In the remarks on various 
rustic ornaments we have recommended in some few instances the 
employment of unbarked poles, but we are bound to add here that 
for all general purposes it is better for the bark to be removed by 
