PINETUM BRITANNICUM. 
16 
heat of the fun, as well as to intenfe cold in winter; and thefe bridges are known to have exifted 
for an immenfe number of years, and may have been built centuries ago. They appear never to 
have had any aid from painting. In all the old temples in Cafhmere, where wood is employed, the 
Deodar alone is ufed, and the antiquity of fome of the temples is very great indeed. When my regiment 
was ordered to be cantoned at Jhelum, in the Punjaub, after the laft campaign, we had to build 
houfes for ourfelves, and lines for our men to live in. I procured the Deodar timber from the hills 
bordering on Cafhmere, as being confidered the kind of wood beft adapted for building purpofes, both on 
account of its durability, and as being lefs likely to fuffer from white ants.” Almoft all the boats in the 
valley of Cafhmere are built of Deodar; and when they get crazy at the joinings by age, the old planks 
have their weathered furface planed off by the adze, and are then undiftinguifhable from the new wood 
with which they are repaired. Dr Jamefon, in the Report above referred to, tells us that, “ on the banks of 
the Jhelum, Chenab, and Ravee rivers, extenfive boat manufactories exift. The belt and moft expenfive 
are built entirely of Deodar. An inferior kind is made with the outfide of Deodar, and the infide of Cheer 
(the wood of Pinus longifolia). Thefe boats will laft from 20 to 30 years. Dr Jamefon adds that the 
only tree in the Britifh Himmalayas which produces timber fitted for fpars of fhips is the Deodar, all 
others being too foft, or too eafily acted upon by the weather. A requifition for fpars of the Deodar 80 to 
90 feet long, made by the Superintendent of Marine at Bombay, could not be fupplied, folely on account 
of the difficulty of tranfportation, owing to the falls on the Sutlej, and the rugged and inacceffible nature of 
the country.” It is faid alfo to have little tendency to warp, a quality efpecially valuable for boats, and 
probably due to the ftraightnefs of the grain of the timber. On fome other points, where one would think 
there ought to be no uncertainty, we have fomewhat contradictory reports. One writer fays, “ The wood 
is fo ftraight and equal in the grain, that it gives planks 3 feet broad, fimply by the action of the wedge. 
Timber-faws are unknown in the Himmalayas.” While, on the other hand, Major Madden writes, “It 
takes the faw kindly, but will not fplit into planks.” Again, he fays, “ It has the advantage of requiring 
little or no feafoning; ” but, at the fame time, he quotes an opinion from Mr Mines to the effect that, “ if 
cut young, it will foon decay when in contact with much damp.” Dr Royle dwells on the fine grain of the 
wood, fo clofe that the annular rings can fcarcely be counted, while other writers fpeak of the opennefs of 
the grain. 
Out of all this, one thing feems clear beyond difpute, and that is, that the timber of the full-grown 
Deodar in its native country is extremely durable. That its ftrength is confiderable feems proved. People 
would not make bridges, temples, houfes, and boats of a wood that was deficient in ftrength. Still, it may 
be only relatively ftrong. It may be the beft of the Himmalayan woods ; but there is nothing to hinder 
bad being the beft. The next ftrongeft feems to be the Pinus longifolia (or Cheer), and this is known to 
be a foft and inferior wood. A trial of the two, made by Major Abbot, fhewed their relative ftrength to be 
in the ratio of .593 (for Pinus longifolia) to .760 (for the Deodar). We ftill want further experiments to teft 
the acftual comparative ftrength of the Deodar itfelf, efpecially of that grown in this country. It is not eafy 
to get a good large piece of wood to experiment upon. A large piece, which was being fent to the Great 
Exhibition in 1851, unfortunately fell into the river Hoogly as it was being hoifted into the fhip with other 
timbers. None was fent to the Exhibition of 1862. The experiments which have been made, however, 
tend to fhew that, although by no means a firft-clafs wood, the Deodan is not greatly behind the Britifti 
Larch in ftrength. Dr Royle records the following refults of experiments by Captain Jones, although he 
can fcarcely have been aware of their bearing, for had he been fo, he muff; have feen that they were fatal to 
the claims of the Deodar to be a firft-clafs timber. He tells us that Captain W. Jones, of the Bengal 
Engineers, found, by repeated experiment, that pieces of feafoned Deodar timber, of good ftraight- 
grained wood, 4 feet in length and 2 inches in breadth, broke with weights of 1588 lb., 1636 lb., and 
1540 lb. ; while pieces of 8 feet long, 25 and 3 inches thick, broke, the crofs-grained with 1092 lb., the 
fine-grained at 1 188 lb. and 1700 lb.; but that knotty pieces broke at 750 lb. and 964 lb.; while fpecimens 
of the fame length and thicknefs, but which had been cut only one month, broke at 829, 908, 964, 102.8, and 
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