artful bodger
27th October 2016, 06:57 PM
Today I was given a few small burls that were from a very historically significant property. They are Elm burls from a tree that was planted over 200 years ago. Also the particular property has various written records that go back to it's start. In the records apparently it mentions that when planted this tree was injected with something to make burls grow and flourish. It seems the original owners of the property were keen to grow burls to make "snuff boxes" from. Not sure if any snuff boxes were ever made but the tree which has died and recently fallen/cut down has burls on it of the size that, one of them might fit onto the tray of a flat tray ute!.
It is clear from the bits that the truewood of the tree has some kind of rot, maybe Dutch elm disease or maybe old age. The burls I was given still look pretty sound and colourful nonetheless.
It is certainly the first time I have heard of burls being encouraged to grow by human intervention. Whats more it was meant to have happened over 200 years ago, from folk who had not long been here from England.
I have often marveled at the burl veneer that was plastered over things like old piano's, antique furniture etc and wondered how they got their hands on such large flawless burls all those years ago. Maybe it (the intentional burl growing) thing has been going on for longer than a couple of hundred years?
Anybody know anything about it?
It is clear from the bits that the truewood of the tree has some kind of rot, maybe Dutch elm disease or maybe old age. The burls I was given still look pretty sound and colourful nonetheless.
It is certainly the first time I have heard of burls being encouraged to grow by human intervention. Whats more it was meant to have happened over 200 years ago, from folk who had not long been here from England.
I have often marveled at the burl veneer that was plastered over things like old piano's, antique furniture etc and wondered how they got their hands on such large flawless burls all those years ago. Maybe it (the intentional burl growing) thing has been going on for longer than a couple of hundred years?
Anybody know anything about it?