portion of sapwood (frequently the whole of the four corners of the circumscribing square), 20 ft. to 45 ft. long, heart sometimes loose and "cuppy." Marks: Scribed near centre, as in Fig. 173. It is used for heavy outdoor carpentry, where large scantlings are required. Memel fir is tolerably free from knots, but when they occur the grain near them is irregular, and is apt to tear up with the plane.
Norwegian Deals and Balks.—Sources: Christiania, Friedrichstadt, Drontheim, Dram. Size: Average 8 in. to 9 in. square, generally tapered; scarcely called balk timber; is known as "under-sized." Appearance: Much sap. Marks: on balks, others by letters, stencilled in blue on ends. Uses: Staging, scaffolding, and coarse carpentry, the best converted into deals, flooring, and imported joinery. Norwegian timber is clean and carefully converted, but is imported chiefly in the shape of prepared flooring and matchboarding. Scarce in form of yellow deals, but of high quality. Christiania best, but often contains sap. Christiania white deal used for best joinery. Christiania and Dram used for upper floors on account of white colour. Friedrichstadt has small black knots. Some Drammen deals warp and split in drying.
Swedish Deals.—Sources: Stockholm, Gefle. Söderhamn, Gothenburg, Sundsvall, Holmsund, Hernosand. The greater portion of this is coarse and bad, but some of the very best Baltic deal comes from Gefle and Söderhamn. First qualities have a high character for freedom from sap, heart-shakes, etc. The lower qualities have the usual defects, being sappy and containing large, coarse knots. In the best qualities the knots are small, and larger in the lower qualities. The yellow deal is generally small, coarse, and bad, with large loose knots, sappy, liable to warp and twist, but variable, the best being equal to Norwegian, owing to care in conversion and sorting out into different qualities. The cheap imported joinery is made from these deals. They are suitable for floors where warping can be prevented. Gefle and Söderhamn deals are sometimes very good. White deals from Gothenburg, Hernosand and Sundsvall are used for packing-cases. Gefle and Söderhamn deals are good for upper flooring, dressers, shelves, etc., and backing to veneers. There are also said to be red deals from the Baltic ports and from Canada, from the Pinus rubra, used for mouldings and best joinery, very like Memel. Swedish woods are never hammer-marked, but invariably branded with letters or devices stencilled on the ends in red paint, which makes it difficult to judge of their quality by inspection, as they are stacked in the timber yards with their ends only showing. Some of the common fourth- and fifth-quality Swedish goods are left unmarked, but they may generally be distinguished from Russian shipments by the bluer colour of the sapwood. The first and second qualities in Swedish deals are classed together as "mixed," being scarcely ever
Fig. 174.—Riga Timber Quality Marks.
sorted separately, after which come third-down to fifth-quality goods. Deals of lower quality than third are nearly always shaky, or very full of defects of some kind.
Russian Timber.—Sources: Petersburg, Archangel, Onega, Riga, Wyborg, Narva. These yellow deals are the best for general building work, more free than other sorts from knots, shakes, sap, etc., clean hard grain and good wearing surface, but do not stand damp well. First three used for best floors—all of them for warehouse floors and staircases. Wyborg—very good, but inclined to sap. Riga—best balk timber. Size: Up to 12 in. square, and 40 ft. long. Appearance: Knots few and small, very little sap, annual rings close, wood close and straight-grained, more colour than Dantzic. Marks: Scribed at centre, as in Fig. 174. Uses: For masts and best carpentry when large enough, also for flooring and internal joinery. Petersburg—inclined to be shaky. Archangel and Onega—knots
