FRENCH DEAL. 9IN × 1¼IN ENGLISH DEAL. 9IN × 3IN ENGLISH DEAL. 9IN × 3IN FRENCH DEAL. 9IN × 1¼IN 9 × 3 = 27 × 2 = 54in 9 × 1¼ = 11¼ × 2 = 22½/76½ _Notes on Deals._ _All deals are liable to dry rot, if placed in contact with damp brickwork._ _If the pith of a tree be left in the centre of a deal, dry rot attacks it._ _Dry rot first attacks the sapwood of a deal; and next, the pith._ _Stockholm, or Gefle deals are not liable to be affected with dry rot._ “STRONG” DEALS _rend. When sawn, they do not give saw dust, but the fibres tear_. BEST DEALS _are light, mellow, and exhibit a silky texture when planed_. “BESTS”. _Wholly free from knots, shakes, sapwood, or cross grain, and well seasoned._ “SECONDS”. _Free from shakes, and sapwood: small knots allowed._ “THIRDS”. _All that remains after “bests” and “seconds” have been picked out._] If timber is not used round, it is good to bore out the core; as, by so doing, the drying is advanced, and splitting prevented, with almost no sacrifice of strength. If it is to be squared into logs, it should be done soon after some slow drying, and whole squared, if large enough, as that removes much of the sap-wood, facilitates the drying, and prevents splitting, which is apt to take place when it is in the round form, in consequence of the sap-wood drying before the heart, from being less dense. If it may be quartered, it is well to treat it so after some time, as the seasoning is by that means rendered more equal. It is well also to turn it now and then, as the evaporation is greatest from the upper side. In France, the term “bois du brin,” means timber the whole size of the tree, excepting that which is taken off to render it square.