On The Testing And Strength Of Railway Materials, &C.

" Iii the conversion of timber to its purposes in the budding , a little care will sometimes save a great deal of money . " Sometimes one comes across a butt of Memel perfectly clean and free from knot or shake of any kind . In a largish purchase , say 100 loads , there are generally some of them : if these are selected ancl put on one side , afterwards cut doAvn by the mill—at home if you have oneabroad if have not—they make simplthe best staircase

, you y treads . From their width , 13 £ " , they save cross-tonguing ; the price , of course , is cheap as compared with the Petersburgh or Onega planks usually used ; and for appearance and Avear nothing more can be required by the most fastidious ; they only want a Ettle seasoninff .

" When timber runs rather coarse , that is , knotty , reserve it for the larger scantlings ; a 4-inch knot should be avoided in a girder 12 " deep , but is fatal in a piece of 6 x 4 , Avhile in its bulk the piece of half timber Avould probably bear more weight on proof than a soft-grained piece perfectly clean and free from knot of any kind . " The variation of the market in various classes of goods sometimes makes it worth Avhile to use battens , planks , and deals for timber purposes , the price per standard at Avhich they are sometimes bought—taking into consideration the sawing which is saved—having the result of making them cheaper than timber .

' ¦ Caution must , however , be exercised iu doing this where heavy weights have to he carried . These materials , planks , battens , and deals , are usually cut out of smaller and younger timber , and area for area it AVEI be found , as I have proved more than once by experiment , that , used in this form , they AVEI not do the wo ? -7 t ; thatbythe ordinary calculations , accepted ancl used by the engineering profession , timber is usually supposed to do ; indeed a soft open-grained deal , say of 9 x 3 , as compared Avith a close-grown iece of

p strong Memel timber , should have an alloAvance of at least 20 per cent . ; i . e ., if the strength of timber is nicely proportioned to- the Aveig ht to be carried by the engineer Avho furnishes the design . In some cases the substitution of these materials for cut timber from the log becomes a . dangerous experiment , and should only be attempted Avhen there is plenty of strength to spare ; in ordinary , house-building , for instanceit may be adopted occasionallwith the most economical results .

, y "As to the prices of timber , they vary more perhaps than any other article used for building purposes ; Avhen I first began to buy timber , UOAV many years ago , I paid £ 10 for goods that often since I have bought for £ 20 , and at the higher price I was Avell served .

At present , the trade shares the general commercial depression around , and prices rule lower than I have recollected them for many years . " While the forei gn markets have also changed to a great extent , there is much more care taken in the selection and arrangement of timber abroad than there used to he , and , therefore , judgment has not quite so much play . The timber is sorted much more carefull y , or to a line , and therefore mixed lots , as we used to call them , never come into the market . By mixed lots I mean frei ghts Avhere firsts , seconds , and thirds were sent together without distinction of quality , and Avhere , therefore , personal judgment Avas the only tost of value . "

Moritz Graf Von Strachwitz.

MORITZ GRAF VON STRACHWITZ .

THE poems of Maurice , Count Straelrwitz , Avere published in a little volume ( 5 th edition ) by EdAvnrd TreAvondt , Breslau , 1864 . We are not , unfortunately , aivaro Avhether any subsequent or larger edition has appeared , and only , therefore , deal Avith what AVC knoAV , ancl , to say the truth , like much . We are not , of course , prepared to uphold all the vieAvs of the poet , nor even to