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TIMBEB 400 TIMBEB Besides its extensive use in shipbuilding, it has been of late years used for ex- ternal architectural work. Elm, though of much less consequence than oak as building timber, is nevertheless a good deal employed for engineering purposes; it is also used in shipbuilding for keels and other parts under water. Elm is only of great durability if kept e'^her quite dry or constantly wet. For other timbers belonging to the same great class of trees, such as ash, beech, hornbeam, sycamore, lime, and birch, which have more restricted applications, see their respective heads. In the S. of Europe the timbers of the chestnut (Castanea vesca) and the walnut are extensively used. There are a few exceptionally remark- able timbers which may just be named. Greenheart, which is of extraordinary strength, is believed to contain some prin- ciple which resists the attacks of boring worms when used for piles. Sabicu {Ly- silo'nia sabicu) , which is plentiful in Cuba, is another im.iionsely strong wood. Both these timbers are heavier than water, and are used in shipbuilding. The Jarrah wood (Eucalyptus trmrgi-nata) of West- ern Australia is believed to be extremely durable for sleepers and paving blocks. Recently a few of the streets of London have been paved with it. Lignum vitae {Gtiaiacurn officinale) is of all woods the one which comes nearest to a strong metal in resistance to tear and wear. Furniture and Ornamental Woods. — Mahogany is by far the most important of furniture woods, and it has many minor applications as well. Perhaps no other timber has such valuable properties for the construction of cabinets, side- boards, tables, or casing of any sort. _ For a hardwood it is easily worked; it is close-grained, takes a fine polish, and is very durable; if well seasoned it is not apt to warp, shrink, or crack, and its color improves with age. Some pieces of finely "curled" or figured mahogany bring a very high price. Oak, though also an excellent wood for furniture, is more dif- ficult to season, more laborious to work, and less easy to obtain free of defects. The black walnut {Juglans nigra) of Canada and the United States is much used for furniture. It is of a pleasing dark color, and comes nearer Spanish mahogany in suitability for cabinet work, but is not so hard. Italian or Circassian walnut (Jtighins regia) is harder, and as a rule much more richly figured. It has been used for centuries for carving and furniture in Italy and other European countries. Much old walnut furniture is badly "worm eaten." Brazilian rose- wood, the product of a much smaller tree than any of the above, is a strong, "hard, heavy material, but fairly easily worked. It is of a dark, rich brown color, with beautiful streaks and cloud-like mark- ings of a still darker tint, which more nearly resembles those of a colored mar- ble than any other known wood. It has been long used in Europe for costly fur- niture. Satinwood, of which there are two kinds much the same in appearance, is something like rosewood in hardness and fineness of grain. Owing to their closeness of grain neither holds glue well. Except that it is of a different and much lighter color, the figure of satinwood much resembles the "curl" of mahogany. Ebony is another of the costly cabinet woods which is also hard and heavy. It is particularly close in the grain, so that it is suitable for drawing instruments as well as for cabinets, caskets, and the like. Ebony is black or nearly black in color, and has been prized for making furniture with ivory and other "inlays" from ancient Egyptian times. Beautiful work of this kind is still made in Paris. The strikingly mottled Calamander wood of Ceylon and the fine marble wood of the Andaman Islands are both from ebe- naceous trees. Among the very beauti- ful and for the most part costly woods used only for veneering and inlaying fur- niture and small ornamental articles are tulip wood {Physocalymma fiorida), snake or letter v/ood (Brosinum auhletii), purple heart {Copaifera Martii), and zebra wood (ConTUtrus guianensis) from the tropical parts of America; to which may be added Amboyna wood from Sing- apore. Bird's-eye maple, a beautifully spotted or "eyed" light wood, is used in its native country (North America) for furniture, and was formerly much in favor for this purpose in England. In the S. of Europe the wood of the olive and of the orange are used for cabinet work. In Australia some species of aca- cia, such as black wood (A. melanoxylon) and myallwood {A. hovialophylla) , which are dark woods, the former, especially, often beautifully figured, are used for furniture; so also are several other woods, including forest oak {Casuarina torulosa) , muskwood {Olearixt, argophyl- la), and cypress pine {Frenela robusta), Queensland tree. Of late years, under the name of African mahogany, the bo- tanical source of which is still uncertain, a wood somewhat resembling ordinary mahogany has been imported in some quantity into England from the coast of Guinea, and seems to be coming into favor for some kinds of cabinet work. Nature of Wood. — The stem or trunk of an ordinary exogenous tree consists of a central pith and rings or zones of