Page:Timber and Timber Trees, Native and Foreign.djvu/222

202 characteristic of the larger trees, that, while they appear to be healthy and vigorous, and continue to increase in height and bulk, the centre wastes away near the root, and, when felled, they are often found hollow for some considerable distance up from the butt. The dimensions of the serviceable logs which the tree yields will, therefore, depend very much upon its soundness; but, unquestionably very large scantlings can be procured from it if required.

The wood is of a pale straw colour, hard, heavy, moderately strong, tough, and with the grain twisted or curled. In seasoning deep shakes occur from the surface, and it shrinks and warps considerably.

I remember to have seen in one of the royal dockyards some extremely long and broad planks, or thick-stuff, of this description of timber, which had been apparently ditched from some of the hollow trees before referred to. These, after being kept to season for a while, warped and split to such an excessive degree that it was impossible to use them for any planking purpose whatever. In consequence of this defect it was found necessary to reduce the planks to very short lengths, in order to utilise them at all, and so they passed to quite inferior services.

A specimen log of Blue Gum 31′ × 24″ × 28″ was forwarded with other woods to the London Exhibition of 1862 by the Tasmanian Commissioners; and this, at the close of the Exhibition, was transferred to Woolwich Dockyard for trial experimentally in ship-building. It came in, however, too late, and just when wood was giving place to iron in this branch of architecture, so that no favourable opportunity ever offered for its employment.

This log, although of very large dimensions, had been