48 
LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
under the plane, are, nevertheless, sooner decomposed *, whether in an 
acid or by wear and tear in a ship. 
Another cause has been found for the modern inferiority of all timber 
used in buildings, viz. the more-than-ever prevalence of the dry rot 
(Merulius lachrymans') ; for it is by this despicable plant that many 
hne ships and noble buildings have been ruined, and their timbers com¬ 
mitted to the flames. This plant is extremely variable in its appear¬ 
ance, often resembling a thin layer of cotton. The fructification is 
rarely developed;—when perfect, the sinuosities of the under surface 
are not excelled in beauty by any work of art or nature. Drops of 
clear water stand in the sinuosities like tears, and hence the specific 
name. The roots, or rather the branches of the plant insinuate them¬ 
selves into the interior of the wood, bursting every cell, and decompos¬ 
ing every fibre in their progress, to live on—it is supposed, the half- 
elaborated sap remaining in the vessels. 
Various preventives of the dry-rot have been recommended and 
tried with more or less success. Whatever was known to be inimical 
to vegetation was applied, as hot lime, salt, &c.; but as it could be 
only the exterior of scantling that was impregnated with these applica¬ 
tions, the central parts were still a prey to the Merulius . Mr. Kyan’s 
preparation of timber for using in places liable to the rot, maintains 
its celebrity in public estimation; but there are some doubts of its 
effects on the health of the crews of ships in warm latitudes this, 
however, remains to be proved; in the meantime, it is a most useful 
invention. 
Timber is apt to rend, if sawn up and put to use too soon. The 
aqueous portion of the sap is gradually exhaled, and as this escapes, the 
timber shrinks. We have known elm cut up into weather-boarding 
for a barn, continue shrinking for twenty years after being put up. 
This shows that timber should be seasoned slowly, and, if possible, in 
the shade. 
LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
LETTER EIGHT. 
My dear Sir,— Although the substance of my last, the present, 
and perhaps that of my two or three next letters, be not in strict 
accordance with the title under which they are written, yet, as I have 
* The cellular partitions in pine timber are more durable than the vascular parts, 
because they are fuller of concreted resin. 
