Page:Timber and Timber Trees, Native and Foreign.djvu/291

CHAP. XXXIII.] of commerce in logs of from 10 to 18 inches square, and from 16 to 50 feet in length. The tree is of erect growth, with a tendency to slight curvature at the butt or root end of the stem, and, like most other Pines and Firs, has numerous though not usually heavy branches.

The wood is white, tinged with yellow or straw colour; it is tough, elastic, moderately strong, and possesses a clean fine grain, which works up well, leaving upon the surface a smooth silky lustre. It is not apt to shrink, split, or warp much in seasoning, and, technically speaking, it stands well, which renders it a choice and very valuable wood for all kinds of construction, while in the domestic arts there need not be any limit to its application.

The Red Pine is very solid about the pith or centre of the log, and has but little alburnum or sap-wood. There is, therefore, only a small amount of loss in its conversion, even if reduced to planks and boards; while it can further be worked with great advantage in ship-building, for deck purposes, for cabin, and for other fitments.

With every season's fall of this timber there are a few rough spars selected for hand-masts, holding about the same dimensions as those obtained from Riga. These spars, however, are very few in proportion to the number of trees felled, owing to the fact before mentioned, that the trees are not generally quite straight, although fairly grown. On this account the selected spars nearly all require to be dressed to a straight form, and simply taking off the knotty tops of the trees and removing the bark is not sufficient to constitute the hand-mast of this species of Pine.

The surveyor and mast-maker will, therefore, find it necessary to examine these spars very carefully to