At Dartrey, in co. Monaghan, the Earl of Dartrey planted in 1882 a considerable area of slightly hilly ground with a mixture of larch, spruce, Douglas fir, and Thuya. In 1904, twenty-two years after planting, of the four species, all grown densely under the same conditions, the Thuya had made the most timber, the trees averaging 40 to 50 feet in height by 4½ feet in girth. The Douglas fir was slightly taller, but not so stout in the stem, averaging about 3½ feet in girth. The Earl of Dartrey speaks very highly of the timber of Thuya, which he considers to be superior to that of the best larch.
At Brockley Park, Queen's Co., the residence of Mr. Wm. Young, there are trees growing on light soil on limestone, which have made 40 cubic feet of timber in 30 years, and 50 feet in 35 years. The tallest tree, 30 years old, was in 1906 64 feet high by 7 feet 9 inches at a foot from the ground, and 3½ feet girth at 24 feet up; and its branches were 105 feet in circumference.
Timber
Sargent says, Garden and Forest, iv. p. 109: "The wood is very valuable; it is light, soft, and easily worked, and so durable in contact with the ground, or when exposed to the elements, that no one has ever known it long enough to see it decay."
The great value of the cedar for shingle-making has long been known, and several instances were mentioned by reliable people in Vancouver Island of handmade shingles, or "shakes" as they are called, remaining good 40 to 50 years on roofs without decaying in the wet climate of this island.
They are now manufactured on a very large scale by machinery in all the Puget Sound mills, and exported largely to the middle and eastern states in neat bundles, and I have no doubt that, if carefully selected and laid, such shingles would be very suitable for roofing in England. Sargent says, Garden and Forest, iv. p. 242, "that nearly 100 mills were in 1891 exclusively devoted to making Red Cedar shingles, and that the combined output of half of these operated by one company was 3,500,000 per diem. They are now supplanting the Pine shingle of Michigan, the Cypress shingle of the south, and the Redwood shingle of California."
As a rule in the American forests, they begin to decay at the heart long before they attain their full growth, and the trunk seems to continue growing round the hollow centre for an almost indefinite time, as in the case of the yew. On drier land it keeps sound longer, and if cut when 2 to 3 feet in diameter the wood is probably at its best. It resists decay for an immense time when fallen.
For inside finish the wood is excellent, though not hard enough for flooring and wainscot, or strong enough for joists. For ceiling and panelling it is most ornamental when well cut, as I saw in the Hotel at Duncan's, Vancouver Island.
Mr. Stewart has found at Benmore that it is very suitable for all estate purposes, and prefers it to larch for planking and fencing, as he finds it less liable to warp and crack.(H.J.E.)
