‹‹‹ Vitr. 2.9.3 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 2.9.5 ›››
4That this should be the method pursued, will appear from the nature of shrubs. These, at the proper season, when pierced at the bottom, discharge from the heart through the holes made in them all the redundant and pernicious juices, and thus drying acquire strength and durability. On the contrary, when those juices do not escape, they congeal and render the tree defective and good for nothing. If, therefore, this process of draining them whilst in their growing state does not destroy their vigour, so much the more if the same rules are observed when they are about to be felled, will they last for a longer period when converted into timber for buildings.
4That this is so may be seen in the case of fruit trees. When these are tapped at the base and pruned, each at the proper time, they pour out from the heart through the tapholes all the superfluous and corrupting fluid which they contain, and thus the draining process makes them durable. But when the juices of trees have no means of escape, they clot and rot in them, making the trees hollow and good for nothing. Therefore, if the draining process does not exhaust them while they are still alive, there is no doubt that, if the same principle is followed in felling them for timber, they will last a long time and be very useful in buildings.