Greetings, Thank you for those people that responded to my query on the timber industry. Your responses pointed me in a good direction for my purpose. I have another question to posit now, which deals with the surface treatments of coffins. I know of very few sources that have discussed this topic, aside from the catalogs themselves listing their holdings, as well as some oral histories that discuss the topic. Yesterday, I was looking at some wood samples under teh microscope and found one piece that had white paint chips on it that seemed to have an interior that was somewhat gray. I was curious as to whether this was a lead based paint, but found no one who could give me a answer as to how to test that. Then, I was looking at a piece of wood from another coffin, and found that it also had white paint, a layer of red, and then another outer white layer. This white paint however looked very different, and actually had a yellowish-green tint. I was curious as to wether this was some more organically based paint...perhaps a whitewash. I know that the main ingredient in whitewash is lime, and I thought perhaps over time the citric acids in that might turn the color more yellow-green like I am seeing. Does any one have any ideas about this that might help me find some sources of information? Lastly, I am curious...if the wood was stained and not painted, how would that appear in wood samples which are partially deteriorated and blackened by soil and fungal invasion? Best, Jeremy Pye ____________________________________________________________________________________ Get your own web address. Have a HUGE year through Yahoo! Small Business. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/domains/?p=BESTDEAL