6 P I N E T U M B R I T A N N I C U M.
F i v e specimens of each sort, kept in a dry place, at a temperature of 370 C., for 144 hours, gave the
mentioned w e i g h t s : — F l o r i d a , 0.640 kilos.; Nord, 0.636 kilos.; Vancouver, 0.528 kilos.; Canada, 0.480
kilos. It appears, therefore, that there is a difference of 1 3 per cent, in favour of the new wood compared
with that of Florida.
Tlie great advantages to be derived from the use of Vancouver timber are due to its extraordinary dimensions, which are such as to
obviate the necessity of having recourse to compound masts. For instance, a compound mast of 85 per cent, in diameter, and made up of Florida
Pine in the middle, and of Canada or Nord on the outside, weighs about 12,200 kilos.; while a single mast of Vancouver wood of the same
dimensions does not weigh more than 8900 kilos.; shewing a difference in favour of Vancouver of 3300 kilos.
A n d the resistance of these masts would be in the proportion of 766 to 866 = 0.86 ; so that the diameter of
the single mast might be diminished, whereby economy in weight would be gained.
" But it is in material and in workmanship that the greatest economy is obtained, as will be seen at once from the following table :—
W h i c h shews a g a in of more than two-thirds in material and workmanship.
" Results—The facts relative to these twelve pieces of mast timber may be summed up thus :—
" 1. Almost complete absence of knots. 2. Resistance nearly equal to, and weight a little less than, that of Florida timber.
3. Substitution of masts of a single piece for masts of several pieces, by which a small gain in weight, and a great gain
in material and work, are secured."
Similar experiments were made in this country by M r Wilson Saunders, of Lloyd's. The following
are the results of his experiments :—
" Lengths of each of the woods enumerated in the following table, carefully squared to 1 % inch, were submitted to pressure of weights
pendant from the centre, the lengths being supported between standards exactly 6 feet apart. The weight at which each broke, and the amount
of deflection from the horizontal line at the time of breaking, is given in the following table : --
Douglas Fir . . . 280
Pitch Pine . . . 280
Canada Spruce '9®
Red Pine . . 1 68
: Larch—British . I 168
Deodar, from the Himmalayas 154
" The specimens experimented on were carefully selected from the best description of wood, and free from all defects. The deflection is in
inches and tenths of an inch. Each wood had two trials, and the figures give a mean result."
T h u s , none of the F i r s approached in strength either the Douglas F i r or the Pitch Pine, it having
required a weight of 280 lb. to break a small bar of this wood no more than 1 % inch square. 168 lb.
broke a piece of British Larch of the same scantling. Moreover, between the Douglas F i r and Pitch
Pine, whose strength was equal, there was this great difference, that while the latter snapped short under a
strain of 280 lb., the Douglas yielded unwillingly with a rough and long rend, slowly, toughly, and almost
imperceptibly. The Deodar again (the weakest of all) gave way short and brittle, sending its fragments
leaping into the air.
A t the time of the Great French Exhibition of 1867, the late Captain F o w k e conducted a more
extensive series of experiments upon a much larger series of timbers. The results of his experiments have
not yet been published, but w e understand that they corresponded with those of M r Saunders.
We meet with the following instance of the durability of the Douglas F i r in an extract of a letter by
W. D. F e r r i s , late Sergeant-Major of Toronto Police F o r c e , dated N e w Westminster, British Columbia, F e b.
23, 1863, and published in the Toronto Globe of A p r i l 9, 1863. The instance was a tree lately discovered in
British
Fractur e, rough and long,
Fractur e, short and even.
4-7 Fractur e, short, rough.
6 Fractur e, rough.
Fractur e, short, even.
A B I E S D O U G L A S I I.
British Columbia that had been partially embedded in the earth long enough to allow a Hemlock Spruce to
grow upon it, which was fully 1 3 0 years old. Mr Ferris mentions that a section of each had been shipped to
England, both being equally sound ; as also a plank about 8 by 4 feet, and about 1 0 feet long, cut from the Fir.
He adds: " It is perfectly astonishing to see the immense quantity of turpentine these trees contain. I have
seen many instances where several gallons have escaped from a tree on its being cut down, and yet
left the wood thoroughly impregnated. It has often occurred to my mind, that a good business may be
established here in the manufacture of turpentine, pitch, resin, & c . , by any person who understands the
process."
I t s great height and perfect straightness, combined with its strength, elasticity, and tenacity, peculiarly
adapt it for masts and spars, and it is largely used for these purposes. The flag-staff at Kew, which must
be known to most of our readers, is of this F i r . It came from Vancouver Island, and consists of a single
piece, is 1 5 9 feet in length, 22 inches in diameter at the base, tapering to 8 inches at the summit. Its weight
is three tons, and it contains 157 square feet of timber. The tree from which this flag-staff was made was
250 years old, indicated by its concentric rings. As may be supposed, it was no easy task to get a pole of
such dimensions raised into its place; indeed, it was only after one had been sacrificed in the attempt to
do so, that that which now stands—the second sent for the purpose—was successfully raised and fixed.
Dr Lindley gave a graphic account of the process at the time, which we feel sure the reader will excuse our
reproducing here. It is taken from the Gardeners Chronicle, nth May 1 8 6 1 :—
" It is now upwards of two years since Mr Stamp imported the first shipload of spars of Abies Douglasii into Europe. Amongst these were
three beautiful poles, all upwards of TOO and one 168 feet long; this Mr Stamp, on his arrival, at once offered to send to Kew, rounded, painted, and
fitted as a flag-stair. As with many first attempts, however, misfortune dogged its course ; its length was so great that the only way of transmitting it
to Kew was by floating it up the river, and in its transit it was struck in the middle by a river-steamer, and cut in two. Nothing daunted, Mr Stamp
had the pieces floated back to Rotherhithe, spliced, with the loss of only 2 feet of length, and the repaired pole again sent up to Kew, where it was
landed and brought to the foot of a commanding knoll in the Arboretum, on which it was intended to erect it Here a well was dug for the reception of
the butt-end, 12 feet deep, bricked all round, and well ventilated ; a derrick was rigged for hoisting the spar, under the direction of one of the most
experienced men in such operations to be found in London, and the spar was gradually raised by a rope attached above the middle, but unfortunately
too near the centre of gravity. The result shewed how little idea the engineer had of the magnitude of the undertaking. The spar was hoisted to
the top of the derrick, and had no sooner resumed its erect position than a puff of wind swung it round ; after performing a majestic sweep in the
air over the heads of the spectators, the derrick's support gave way, and the spar came to the ground on the slope of the hill, with a tremendous
crash, breaking into six pieces ; providentially no one was hurt, and though it fell into a grove of young trees and shrubs, not one of these was
injured either.
" On being informed of this disaster, the liberal donor answered that he was going again to British Columbia, and would gladly send to Kew
another and finer flag-staff. Well did he keep his promise, for in the course of this spring there arrived at Rotherhithe, for Kew, a second spar, fully
40 feet longer than the first, as straight, and of much greater bulk; this, too, was landed at Kew free of all cost, and immediately transported to the
site of its ill-fated predecessor. This noble spar measured, before cleaning and rounding, 159 feet in length, the diameter of the butt-end being 22
inches, and that of the top end 8 inches. It contained about 130 annual layers, which were close, and well defined by broad brown resinous rings.
Immediately on its arrival, Sir William I looker represented to the Chief Commissioner of Works the advisability of requesting the aid of the Admiralty
in its erection, which was at once accorded by His Gracc the Duke of Somerset. Ten mast-makers and riggers were despatched from Woolwich dockyard,
under the superintendence of Mr John Isaac, the able inspector of mast-makers at that yard, under whose skilful directions the operation of
cleaning and rounding the spar, fitting it with rigging, and coating it with a composition of wax and tar, proceeded with celerity, precision, and order.
" Meanwhile, Mr Isaac matured his plan for raising the spar, which was with him a labour of love; such a spar for size or beauty having never
been seen at any of Her Majesty's dockyards ; and that intelligent officer's experience having taught him the wisdom of treating such enormous
lengths of limber with due respect lie wisely devised a plan of letting it help itself into its place, instead of hoisting it up to disport itself like a
fishing-rod in the air, as its predecessor had done. To this end he placed the spar at the foot of the hill, with its butt-end pointing to its final
resting place. He then had a cut made through the side of the hill to its centre, in the direction in which the spar lay; the latter was then dragged
butt-end foremost, into the cutting, and the butt strongly propped in its final position. On Thursday, the 2d of May, by means of stout ropes attached
about the middle, and passing through blocks on the adjoining trees, the flag-staff was slowly and steadily reared aloft from the horizontal to the
upright position. A large concourse of people had assembled to witness this somewhat nervous operation of raising a spar of such length and weight,
that any untoward strain or sudden jerk might have caused it to snap across tlie middle. To guard against this, the top was steadied with ropes, and
other precautions were adopted as the strain was felt most at one or another point in the length of the spar; and though with such admirable
precautions not the slightest accident or contrctcmps appeared possible, still all the spectators felt a sense of relief when, now waving about in the
wind during pauses in hoisting, then trembling like a willow-wand as its tapering top slowly approached the zenith, it finally came to its rest as
straight as an arrow, and so perfectly erect that a plumb-line dropped from the truck cut the centre of the butt"
I n the following year ( 1 8 6 2 ) a still finer, larger, and longer spar of this F i r was offered to the Royal
Horticultural Society, for erection in their garden at South Kensington ; but doubts as to the practicability
of getting it into the gardens, and suitably bestowing it there, prevailed, and the offer was declined. That
spar was 220 feet in length.
[ 29 ] 1 The