[2727] There is nothing very surprising in this, as most woods are preserved better when completely immersed in water, than when exposed to the variations of the atmosphere.
[2728] He borrows this fable from Theophrastus, B. v. c. 5.
[2729] This process, Fée says, would be attended with no success.
[2730] It is not quite clear whether he intends this observation to apply to the poplar and the palm, or to the last only. It is true, however, in neither case, and is contrary, as Fée observes, to all physical laws.
[2731] The resistance that woods offer when placed vertically is in the same ratio as that presented by them when employed horizontally. This paragraph is borrowed from Theophrastus, B. iii. c. 4, and B. v. cc. 6, 7, 8.
[2732] Ferula.