CHAPTER XXVIII.
FIRS.
THE DANTZIC FIR TREE (Pinus sylvestris).
The wood of this tree takes its name from the port of shipment, the forests from which it is drawn being spread over very large districts in Prussia proper, Prussian Poland, and upon the borders of Russia, whence the timber, after being prepared partly in the round and partly in the square state, is floated in large rafts down the River Vistula to Dantzic, advantage being taken of this mode of transit for bringing considerable quantities of corn from the interior to be shipped to foreign markets.
These trees frequently grow to a great height, and throw out numerous branches; they yield the Dantzic Fir of commerce in the shape of rough spars for masts, from small to medium sizes; timber, varying from 11 to 20 inches square and from 18 to 45 and occasionally even greater lengths; deals of various thicknesses, from 2 to 5 inches and 18 to 50 feet in length; railway sleepers, &c., &c., which are shipped in large quantities chiefly to this country.
The Dantzic Fir is known locally as Redwood, although its colour is whitish, and only slightly tinged with red. It is even and straight in the grain, tough, elastic, and easily worked, and as it is moderately hard in texture, as well as of light weight (the specific gravity being only about 582), it is used more generally, and in much larger quantities, than any other kind of Fir for building purposes. It is characteristic of it to have a large amount of alburnum or sap-wood, especially upon
