Timber by Baterden J. R. (James Rae)

Author:Baterden, J. R. (James Rae)
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Timber
Publisher: London, Constable
Published: 1908-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

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" teak forests " as such are unknown—hence the difficulties of getting the wood are great, and as the forests nearer the rivers get worked out the time and labour experienced in getting teak increases ; in many cases logs have to be dragged for miles overland by elephants before they reach the stream or choung which leads to the main river down which they may have to be rafted for a thousand miles ; many of these choungs are dry for seven months of the year, and the timber can only be taken down in the rains, so that a scanty rainy season means a bad floating season and consequently a short supply. This difficulty in extraction accounts for the high price of Rangoon teak. An idea of the scattered disposition of teak timber may be gathered from the fact that although in Burma alone there are 120,000 square miles of forest, according to the report of the Forest Administration (1904-5), only 218,466 tons of 50 cubic feet were extracted in that year; each square mile of forest only produced If tons, or equal to about one tree per two square miles.

The method of seasoning teak when standing has been practised in Burma from time immemorial; it is called " girdling.'* A notch is cut right round the tree and as low as possible, through the sapwood and about an inch into the heartwood, so as to completely sever connection between bark and sap; it is then allowed to stand exposed to the action of wind and sun for three years or longer before it is felled. No tree under 6 fc. girth is allowed to be girdled. From the day the tree is girdled until it is lifted on to the saw bench at liangoon or Moulmein four and a half years are always allowed to elapse, and in some cases a much longer time. The felling and seasoning arrangements are supervised by an officer of the Forestry Department. Teak is strictly preserved by the Government and either cut by them, or the different forests are leased out to timber firms for a

period of years. There is probably no timber so unsatisfactory in conversion as teak; the heartwood is generally rambling, i.e., not straight, very much shaken, and often hollow and rotten for a considerable distance, and a large insect called the "bee hole-borer'*plays havoc with the outer layers. This insect is really the larva of a moth (Duomitus 8}i.) allied to the goat moth of Europe which is so destructive to the willow. Damage is also caused to the trees by parrots, woodpeckers, and wild animals which make wounds forming centres of decay. In consequence of these frequent defects it is not possible to run teak through the mill in the same way as fir or pine, each log having to be carefully examined by the sawyer in order that it may be broken up with the least amount of waste.

The ordinary market sizes are approximately as follows :

Squares, 12 to 30 ft.

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