Page:An account of a voyage to establish a colony at Port Philip in Bass's Strait.djvu/250

( 225 ) ship-building are adapted to framing; the best size is from two feet to two and a half, for when larger, the timber is generally unsound in the heart. The blue gum, while standing, is subject to be pierced by very minute worms, which make innumerable holes scarce visible to the naked eye.

Black butted gum and stringy bark differ very little either in quality or appearance; they are much tougher and stronger than English oak, and are particularly adapted to planking. They will also answer for lower masts or lower yards, for beams, or any other purpose where straight timber is required. If intended for spars, they ought to be procured as near the size wanted as possible, for the toughness lies in the outside, and the wood at the heart is generally decayed. Iron bark is not so tough as the two former, but is extremely strong and hard, and runs good from two to four feet; in ship-building it would answer for framing, beams, &c. In New South Wales,