Page:Timber and Timber Trees, Native and Foreign.djvu/111

CHAP. XV.] distinct to qualify it in some instances for wainscot purposes. It is of fair durability, and is largely used in the construction of the mercantile ships of this country, but only sparingly for our ships of war, except for their decks, for which purpose it is regarded as a spécialité, as it stands well the wear and tear of the gun carriages. For planking it is much esteemed, as the grain is straight, clean, and almost free from knots. Further, it is so pliable and elastic, when boiled or heated by steam, that it may be bent into the most difficult of curved forms without showing any sign of fracture.

This description of timber is carefully classified by the merchants, and divided into crown and crown brack qualities, the former being selected from trees of the fairest growth, clean in the grain, and generally free from every kind of coarseness and defect, while the crown brack includes the short and irregularly grown trees, and all those of a rough, coarse, and knotty character.

With the Oak planks they are more particular than with the timber, and endeavour to secure uniformity in their arrangement by employing a sworn bracker to make the classification. Thus the planks of each thickness are sorted into first and second qualities, or rather into crown and crown brack qualities as understood in the trade, and are respectively distinguished by the mark W on the best, and WW on the second best, plainly rased upon the side of the plank. Those of the crown quality are selected from the finest and fairest grown trees only, the crown brack being made up of planks produced from trees of less regular growth, including the coarse and sometimes faulty pieces. The