Africa have been destroyed by over-tapping and felling.
The only drawback to these good qualities is a certain liability to warp and bend, unless very carefully seasoned; for this purpose it is recommended to be left floating in water for a year after felling, and then allowed some months to dry slowly and completely before sawing up the logs; barking the trunk in winter while the tree is standing, and leaving it in that state till the next year, has been often advised with the larch as with other timber, but the practical inconveniences of the plan have prevented its adoption on any large scale.
Records were made as to the nature of the soil and climate where the trees were grown; their conditions of growth, their age and size, and the season of felling.
This desiccation is partly attributable to the unrestricted felling of wood practised for many centuries by the inhabitants.
The greatest care should be exercised in the selection of trees for felling.
