KAURI TIMBER FOR SHIP BUILDING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6832, 10 October 1883, Page 3

KAURI TIMBER FOR SHIP BUILDING.

■ TO THE EDITOR. Sib,—The agitation among the shipwrights appears to me to be uncalled for—a veritable storm in a tea pot. I understand that a> Captain Russell asserted that kauri timber was not equal to other timbers, he -mentions, viz., pitch pine, oregon piue, red pine, and the gums of Australia. Beyond that, he does not appear to travel, neither in his assertion does he travel outside of shipbuilding. He is met by specimens of timber in , houses in the bush and places, totally foreign to the subject. Now, I take it, the true test of timber in a Bhip is between wind and water. Other causes contribute to decay in the upper works of ships, dry or wet rot. Will any of the self-elected jury who sat on the subject, assert that, in their experience, kauri is superior to the timbers enumerated ? Beyond that, Captain Russell does not appear to travel, Mr. J. B. Graham's timber, hand sawn, on the banks of the Waitemata, and floated in Bait water to its destination, is different to ths coppice timber of the present day. Kauri timber wants very little defending, and if the shipwrights would beep stocks of pohutukawa cut in season, and planking in stock to select from, instead of running haphazard to the mills for every job they got, owners would feel better satisfied with their speculations in shipowning, when they balance their earnings against their disbursements. It is just possible Captain Russell may justify his assertions; if so, the shipwrights may be more to blame than the timber, which is the best general timber I ha%-e ever seen.—l am, &c.,

A Shipwright of 35 Years' Experience,