relative durability of various kinds of wood

A square piece of each variety, 1½ inches square and two feet in length, was driven into the ground to within one-half inch of its entire length. At the end of five years, these pieces were taken up and examined, and their condition was found to be, respectively, as follows:

Ash, elm, fir, oak, soft mahogany and every variety of soft pine were found to be entirely decayed.

Hard pine, larch and teal-wood, were sound at the core but rotten on the outside. Cedar of Lebanon and hard mahogany were in fairly good condition, decay being slight.

Virginia cedar and locust were found unaffected, being as sound, in all respects, as when driven into the ground.

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