bright flame, and making the best of charcoal, As it decays quickly when exposed to wet, it is of no use for outside work, and will not take creosote. The trunk of the tree is often very deeply furrowed, and the wood is said to be cross- grained and difficult to work. It is or was considered the best wood for cogs, mallets, and wooden screws for carpenters’ benches, also for pulleys and butchers’ blocks. Its value is uncertain, and depends largely on the locality, and on the size and age of the tree.
With regard to the use of this wood by pianoforte manufacturers, Mr. J. Rose, of Messrs. Broadwood and Sons, to whom I am indebted for much information, writes me as follows :—
“Hornbeam is still used for piano action work in England, though American maple has replaced it to a considerable extent. French hornbeam, and, I believe, Dutch also, are used for the purpose, because of larger size and more freely grown than the British product, and also because, when all charges are included, it is probably cheaper. There is a marked difference in the English hornbeam and that grown in France and elsewhere on the Continent. This is perhaps hardly perceptible in a small sample, but the English wood is smaller and more irregular, but of a distinctly firmer texture, so hard and close as sometimes to resemble ivory. It works beautifully with fine saws and small drills; but the waste is serious. The foreign timber is larger and more freely grown, producing much larger boards, but the grain is coarser, and the texture of the wood less firm, and more liable to split when in small pieces, such as are used in action work.” (H.J.E.)
