On the care we take in seasoning timber previous to applying it to the purposes of building, depends in a great measure the strength and durability of the structure we erect, for green or unseasoned timber must inevitably not only shrink and warp after your framing is put together, making the several joints loose, and straining the several parts of the framing, but also from due care not being taken in this particular, the dry rot is almost an inevitable consequence, bringing on premature decay in the structure; I would therefore recommend the following observations to the notice of the builder: first, that the timber should be felled at the proper season; secondly, that a sufficient time is given it before it is cut into the necessary scantling; and thirdly, that when thus cut it should be stacked so as the wind and air should have sufficient power over it, to dry up as far as possible the remaining moisture and sap that it contains; and on the first head, that timber which is felled in autumn is always the best, as at that time the sap is low, and consequently less of the juicy qualities are present, and the timber is consequently of a firmer texture, and not so subject to the dry rot; and though the objection to this season of the year (particularly with regard to oak) may have some weight, as the bark is not so easily separated, yet with regard to the art of building, though the timber may be somewhat enhanced in price, still we ought not to let the quality of it be deteriorated from this consideration, which, in my opinion, is but a secondary one, particularly as many suggestions have been brought forward, which, though not generally adopted, would be found not only advantageous to the timber itself, but the bark would be found superior in quality if means were adopted to bark the trees in the spring as they stand, and let them remain till the autumn to be felled; and I am confident some mechanical contrivance might be found to perform this operation with as great facility as the present mode in use, after the tree is felled.

With regard to the second head, the tree should remain at least till the following spring; but if longer the better, before it is sawn into scantling as timber, as time should be given for the action of the wind and. sun to dry any moisture that remains from the sap contained in the pores of the wood. If possible, it should remain on the spot where it is felled; but, at any rate, no builder should cut his timber immediately it is drawn into his yard, unless previously laid some time in the field.

Lastly, in the third place, after the timber is cut into such planks and scantlings as it is wanted for, it will be necessary to let it dry further, and for which purpose we should expose it to such action of the air as will completely season it for use: this process should be, at the very least, six months; and as every builder has a different method of stacking, so it is necessary to select that which seems best adapted to the purpose intended. And first, with regard to planks, the general method is, as soon as cut, to nail a piece of wood at each end, to prevent them splitting, and then place them upon each other with a piece of pantile lath or other similar piece of wood between each, across the plank; or else place them side by side at a distance apart, so that the second tier or row, when laid on the first, shall rest only on the edges of the row beneath, and thus piled one above another, so that the air may have a free passage throughout the whole height of the stack, which is, perhaps, the best way, as the planks will not be so liable to warp in their length, though this method certainly takes up more room than the first. Boards are best seasoned by being placed on end resting between racks at the upper ends; and the same may be said with scantling of different dimensions, as all we have to do is to place them in such a situation that the air shall have free access to them, to dry up, as far as possible, the remaining sap or moisture they may have contracted; for if timber after being cut is suffered to lay close together, without admitting the free circulation of air, the effect will be, that the juices will cause a degree of heat to be evolved, which produces fermentation, and consequently a kind of premature decay, and which among workmen is called doaty timber, and which causes it to lose that firmness of texture which is natural to it, and become short or brittle; as, also, to be liable to decay much faster than timber properly seasoned. And here I shall take occasion to observe, that from the natural growth of timber, which consists of alternate layers of a spungy matter, and a harder substance which appears as rings arranged round the centre of the tree, that we must, where possible, consult the natural structure of timber to Arrange it in the best possible manner to ensure strength and solidity: now these hard layers, or rings, are technically called the beat of the wood, and according as this is placed in our framing, so much the greater or less strength is obtained; a circumstance but little attended to, but which is at least worthy of consideration, both from mechanical and mathematical principles, as we might show, that in a beam where the beat is perpendicular to the horizon, the strength would be far greater than in one where it was in a parallel direction, or that it would be much less liable to bend in the former position than in the latter; for any rafter or beam whose sides are in the proportion - for instance, as three to one, will bear a greater weight when it is placed with its widest side perpendicular to the horizon, than when in a contrary position, so, in like manner, if we suppose it to be square, and on the supposition that the beat is the firmest part of the wood, if the beat is placed perpendicular, the beam or rafter will be much stronger than if it is placed parallel to the horizon, nearly in the same proportion as the beat is to the porous parts of the timber; the truth of this every workman may prove; by taking a shaving off the end of a plank and breaking it, he will find that it separates much more easily when bent in the direction of the beat than when in a contrary direction; this circumstance, though not generally noticed, is, I think, worthy some consideration, for the business of the carpenter is to combine with the least possible quantity of timber the greatest strength; and as a saving of material with requisite solidity is of material consequence, I wish to impress on the minds of the workman everything that will tend to improve the practice and application of his art.