Ex ea autem, antequam est excisa, quae pars est proxima terrae, per radices recipiens ex proximitate umorem enodis et liquida efficitur; quae vero est superior, vehementia caloris eductis in aera per nodos ramis, praecisa alte circiter pedes xx et perdolata propter nodationis duritiem dicitur esse fusterna.
Of the tree before it is cut down, the part which is nearest the earth receives the moisture from the neighbourhood through the roots and is rendered free from knots and moist. The upper part (since by the vehemence of the heat the branches are carried into the air through the knots) is cut off about twenty feet up. It is rough-axed and because of the hardness of the knotted portion is called knotwood.
final_alignments\Vitruvius_Architecture_Book_2.json