Page:Timber and Timber Trees, Native and Foreign.djvu/41

II.] " If, therefore, we wish to select a healthy tree for felling, we must seek for one with an abundance of young shoots, and the topmost branches of which look strong, pointed, and vigorous, this being the most certain evidence that it has not yet passed maturity.

Timber trees, immediately after they are felled, unless they have been previously killed, contain a great deal of moisture, and are, therefore, unfit for use until they have been somewhat seasoned. This is accomplished in a variety of ways, but the primitive and best mode is, probably, to leave it for a time protected from the weather, following as closely as possible the natural process, which consists simply of the gradual drying up, or evaporation, of this moisture, which would otherwise form the first elements of decay. Of the time required for seasoning, and the various means of accomplishing it, I shall have occasion to notice farther on; suffice it to say at present, that as the wood which needs the least seasoning is generally found to be the most durable, it becomes an essential point that trees should be felled during the winter months, when the sap is present in its smallest quantity.