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Timber nomenclature
Timber Nomenclature.
874
on the contrary, its form perfectly when confided t e a trained tough-; ener. It is important also that the temperature in the wolking-hole: should be uniform. This is attained by heating it by burning w ~ d equally distributed on the surface. Currents of air in the faetoryi~ which might cool the glass at the moment of toughening, must be carefully avoided. ,. (To be continued.)
TIMBER
NOMENCLATURE.
[From the T/mber Trade,~" Journal.] [Continued from Vol. cii, page 203. ]
i
Thorn, although general]y associated with our cultivated hedges~ had in its Anglo-Saxon form a more extended meaning. It implied a: tree, although not of the first order. In this sense it is used in the, - B u c k t h o r n , " and the " B l a c k t h o r n . " From the study of placenames in Mid England, we are led to infer th:lt thorn implied a~ wood; a portion of Sherwood Forest was known as " Thorneywood chase," and part of ttatfield chase an extensive wood known as "Thorne-waste." Indeed " Thornhills " aud " Woodhills" occur in such order that we are led to the conclusion that they are synonymous terms. Timber is from the Anglo-Saxon " t i m b e r , " and " t y m b e r . " 1, wood; 2, a t r e e ; 3, a frame structure or a building, F r o m the fact of building being conducted ~n wood, timbering (geti~:brian) was the equivalent of. building. At the burning of the first wooden church or cathedral at York, in 626~ a larger church was ordcred to be getimbrian of stone. It does not appear to have been a term much used in a territorial sense. Henry II. confirmed the grant of the church of Tymberland to Thurgarton Priory, Notts, which may or may not be the village of that name in Lincolnshire. From this we may infer that the term applied more to the wood in a dead state than to that of the living tree ; in which sense it has undergone little or no change. Tree, fzom the Anglo-Saxon " t r e o w . " 1~ a tree; 2, wood; 3~ a piece of wood. In the latter sense, it is used in shipbuilding and carpentery, as "cross-tree," "roof-tree," '~side-tree," &c. "Treowwyrhta," the tree or wood worker, was the old term for carpenter be-
Timber Nomenclature.
875
fore we borrowed the French one of eharpentier, and "treow. geweoro,i' tree Work, was the primitive of the now general , woodwork." Wainscot" is,a word of doubtful etymology. Bayley says it is from, the. Belgian " wandschote," wall defence or lining. Ogilvie says ~t is• from the Dutch " wagenschot, " which evidently means w'~gon li: ning or covering ; whereas Loudon says it is from the Dutch " ward,'" a wall I and "sehoten," to suspend. These derivations are evidently sought for, the various authorities having in view the fact of wains, cots being largely u'sed in the Tudor and Stu~Jrt ages for wall framing or panefing, whi(~h appears, probably from being made of oak, t o have taken up the name of wainscoting. As wainscots were articles of import centuries before this time, it is highly probable these authors were ia error. In the Liber Albus of the city 5f London in the reigno f Itenry i I (i215-!2ti6), we find the following n o t e : - " F o r every hundred of boards called weynscotte one halfpenny to be paid as custom upon landing at Billingsgate;" and "wainscot" formed items of assessment in the cargoes of nearly every ship arrxvmg in Huill, 2d tIenry IV (1400). The writer reeords thes.e ndt~s to assist ih the s0lution 0f this knotty term, the accepted derivs a~tiofis"of which are in no way satisfactory ~ It may be further noted that Wainsc0tin the Swedish and German dialects bears the sense oi: meaning 6fwall-iining or paneling. :. Walnut, a name that occurs with little variation in the German and Swedish'dialects, is from the Anglo-Saxon " wealh-knut,, the foreign nut. " W e a l h " was a term our rude forefathers applied to anything foreign, hence "wealh-men," Welsh-men, the Celtic race formerly inhabiting this country, but driven by them into the fi,stnesses of ~th~ Welsh mountains. The etymology of this word implies that the same people were acquainted with this fruit long before the! tree was introduced. Like many other fruit-bearing trees, it is sup~ posed to have been introduced by the Romans, but to have been 10st through the neglect they received after the departure of these warlik e people, and to have been reintroduced by the mo~ks of the~ middle ages, who were great gardeners and cultivators. Wood is a grand old Teutonic term. Iris the Anglo-Saxon " wude, " German "wald," and the Swedish " vcd." It means 1, a tree ; 2, the substance of atree; 3, a collection of trees. "Wade-beam" was the primitive term for forest-tree, and "wood-he~er" and "wood. fe~ler" of woodman. The mention of this term reminds us of the Scriptural allusion to "the hewers of wood and the drawers of water."
876
Book Notice.
In early times, the calling of wood-hewer was of that importance that it stood for a family name with the followers ~hereof; hence the common surnames of Woodyeare, Goodyear, &c. ; by the same rule the progenitors of the wood-fellers are recognized under the nora de plume of Goodfellow. In a territorial sense, " w o o d " has given its name to numerous families, some of~qhich may be recognized under the corrupted forms of " G o o d " and " H o o d . " Robin Hood, the popular myth of the middle ages, is supposed to be a name or term drawn from his calling--" Robber of the Wood," as robbers were called "Robin-men." "Robin " isgiven iwthe "Dictionar~ ~f Phrase and Fable," as highwayman. Perhaps one of the most remarkable uses of the term " w o o d " was in application to timber dealers or merchants, whom we anciently called " Wood-mongers," the equivalent of the Swedish "ved-hanlare." The writer has documentary evidence of the use of this serio-eomic term in London as early as 1350, and in Hull as late as 1650. Wright, the short or abbreviated form of "wroughter," a workman, may in conclusion be noticed. It is curious that it has affixed itself to those trades associated with wood; thus evidencing the former importance of these crafts or callings. We have already noticed that ancient "tree-wright" is buried under the modern term of carpenter, but it lives in eartwright, wheelwright, wainwright, plowrigh~, shipwright, and boatwright, which are~common as trade or personal names.--Win. Stevenson, P.R.-H..S., .Hull.
Book
Notice.
The Editor acknowledges the receipt of a pamphlet on "Interpolation, or adjustment of series, by E. L. DeForest, Watertown, Conn., privately published. This pamphlet is a continuation of two other papers on the same subject which appeared in the Annual Reports of the Smithsonian Institute, for 1871 and 1873. In this country the interest in pure mathematics, either popularly or professionally, is so little developed, that even the Smithsonian Institute is dilatoriy in publishing; and the author in this instance, fearing a loss of his reward on an original investigation, has issued the present publication. There is no study so engrossing, and oonsequently so pleasant to the student as pure mathematics ; and especially as its pursuit calls for a high order of intellectual ability, it is to be regretted that the same interest is not taken here as in foreign countries; as it is, however, we can only call the attention of the few of our readers whoh~ it concerns, to this work, which contains some new and interesting formuloe and applications.
874
on the contrary, its form perfectly when confided t e a trained tough-; ener. It is important also that the temperature in the wolking-hole: should be uniform. This is attained by heating it by burning w ~ d equally distributed on the surface. Currents of air in the faetoryi~ which might cool the glass at the moment of toughening, must be carefully avoided. ,. (To be continued.)
TIMBER
NOMENCLATURE.
[From the T/mber Trade,~" Journal.] [Continued from Vol. cii, page 203. ]
i
Thorn, although general]y associated with our cultivated hedges~ had in its Anglo-Saxon form a more extended meaning. It implied a: tree, although not of the first order. In this sense it is used in the, - B u c k t h o r n , " and the " B l a c k t h o r n . " From the study of placenames in Mid England, we are led to infer th:lt thorn implied a~ wood; a portion of Sherwood Forest was known as " Thorneywood chase," and part of ttatfield chase an extensive wood known as "Thorne-waste." Indeed " Thornhills " aud " Woodhills" occur in such order that we are led to the conclusion that they are synonymous terms. Timber is from the Anglo-Saxon " t i m b e r , " and " t y m b e r . " 1, wood; 2, a t r e e ; 3, a frame structure or a building, F r o m the fact of building being conducted ~n wood, timbering (geti~:brian) was the equivalent of. building. At the burning of the first wooden church or cathedral at York, in 626~ a larger church was ordcred to be getimbrian of stone. It does not appear to have been a term much used in a territorial sense. Henry II. confirmed the grant of the church of Tymberland to Thurgarton Priory, Notts, which may or may not be the village of that name in Lincolnshire. From this we may infer that the term applied more to the wood in a dead state than to that of the living tree ; in which sense it has undergone little or no change. Tree, fzom the Anglo-Saxon " t r e o w . " 1~ a tree; 2, wood; 3~ a piece of wood. In the latter sense, it is used in shipbuilding and carpentery, as "cross-tree," "roof-tree," '~side-tree," &c. "Treowwyrhta," the tree or wood worker, was the old term for carpenter be-
Timber Nomenclature.
875
fore we borrowed the French one of eharpentier, and "treow. geweoro,i' tree Work, was the primitive of the now general , woodwork." Wainscot" is,a word of doubtful etymology. Bayley says it is from, the. Belgian " wandschote," wall defence or lining. Ogilvie says ~t is• from the Dutch " wagenschot, " which evidently means w'~gon li: ning or covering ; whereas Loudon says it is from the Dutch " ward,'" a wall I and "sehoten," to suspend. These derivations are evidently sought for, the various authorities having in view the fact of wains, cots being largely u'sed in the Tudor and Stu~Jrt ages for wall framing or panefing, whi(~h appears, probably from being made of oak, t o have taken up the name of wainscoting. As wainscots were articles of import centuries before this time, it is highly probable these authors were ia error. In the Liber Albus of the city 5f London in the reigno f Itenry i I (i215-!2ti6), we find the following n o t e : - " F o r every hundred of boards called weynscotte one halfpenny to be paid as custom upon landing at Billingsgate;" and "wainscot" formed items of assessment in the cargoes of nearly every ship arrxvmg in Huill, 2d tIenry IV (1400). The writer reeords thes.e ndt~s to assist ih the s0lution 0f this knotty term, the accepted derivs a~tiofis"of which are in no way satisfactory ~ It may be further noted that Wainsc0tin the Swedish and German dialects bears the sense oi: meaning 6fwall-iining or paneling. :. Walnut, a name that occurs with little variation in the German and Swedish'dialects, is from the Anglo-Saxon " wealh-knut,, the foreign nut. " W e a l h " was a term our rude forefathers applied to anything foreign, hence "wealh-men," Welsh-men, the Celtic race formerly inhabiting this country, but driven by them into the fi,stnesses of ~th~ Welsh mountains. The etymology of this word implies that the same people were acquainted with this fruit long before the! tree was introduced. Like many other fruit-bearing trees, it is sup~ posed to have been introduced by the Romans, but to have been 10st through the neglect they received after the departure of these warlik e people, and to have been reintroduced by the mo~ks of the~ middle ages, who were great gardeners and cultivators. Wood is a grand old Teutonic term. Iris the Anglo-Saxon " wude, " German "wald," and the Swedish " vcd." It means 1, a tree ; 2, the substance of atree; 3, a collection of trees. "Wade-beam" was the primitive term for forest-tree, and "wood-he~er" and "wood. fe~ler" of woodman. The mention of this term reminds us of the Scriptural allusion to "the hewers of wood and the drawers of water."
876
Book Notice.
In early times, the calling of wood-hewer was of that importance that it stood for a family name with the followers ~hereof; hence the common surnames of Woodyeare, Goodyear, &c. ; by the same rule the progenitors of the wood-fellers are recognized under the nora de plume of Goodfellow. In a territorial sense, " w o o d " has given its name to numerous families, some of~qhich may be recognized under the corrupted forms of " G o o d " and " H o o d . " Robin Hood, the popular myth of the middle ages, is supposed to be a name or term drawn from his calling--" Robber of the Wood," as robbers were called "Robin-men." "Robin " isgiven iwthe "Dictionar~ ~f Phrase and Fable," as highwayman. Perhaps one of the most remarkable uses of the term " w o o d " was in application to timber dealers or merchants, whom we anciently called " Wood-mongers," the equivalent of the Swedish "ved-hanlare." The writer has documentary evidence of the use of this serio-eomic term in London as early as 1350, and in Hull as late as 1650. Wright, the short or abbreviated form of "wroughter," a workman, may in conclusion be noticed. It is curious that it has affixed itself to those trades associated with wood; thus evidencing the former importance of these crafts or callings. We have already noticed that ancient "tree-wright" is buried under the modern term of carpenter, but it lives in eartwright, wheelwright, wainwright, plowrigh~, shipwright, and boatwright, which are~common as trade or personal names.--Win. Stevenson, P.R.-H..S., .Hull.
Book
Notice.
The Editor acknowledges the receipt of a pamphlet on "Interpolation, or adjustment of series, by E. L. DeForest, Watertown, Conn., privately published. This pamphlet is a continuation of two other papers on the same subject which appeared in the Annual Reports of the Smithsonian Institute, for 1871 and 1873. In this country the interest in pure mathematics, either popularly or professionally, is so little developed, that even the Smithsonian Institute is dilatoriy in publishing; and the author in this instance, fearing a loss of his reward on an original investigation, has issued the present publication. There is no study so engrossing, and oonsequently so pleasant to the student as pure mathematics ; and especially as its pursuit calls for a high order of intellectual ability, it is to be regretted that the same interest is not taken here as in foreign countries; as it is, however, we can only call the attention of the few of our readers whoh~ it concerns, to this work, which contains some new and interesting formuloe and applications.