104 THE EXHIBITION AT PARIS. 



deaux, Brest, Cherbourg, and Havre ; have ascertained the dimensions 

 of timber requisite for ship-building, and have found that in these 

 places a good business could be created, as the ship-builders pay high 

 prices for the raw material. 



To give an idea of the quantity of Oak timber used for this purpose, 

 I may mention that France requires annually for the Imperial navy, 

 1,120,000 cubic feet, and for the commercial navy, 1,400,000 cubic 

 feet; total, 2,520,000 cubic feet. England needs five times as much, 

 and obtains this material from all parts of the world. The need of 

 Oak timber is increasing every year. Europe is left behind by America 

 in ship-building. 



One example, stating what is performed in our days in ship-building, 

 may be of interest to this Society. There was at the Exhibition the 

 model of a ship that is building at present in England, under the direc- 

 tion of the famous Mr. Brunei, and is intended to sail for Australia. 

 It is the largest ship ever borne by the ocean, a steamer of 2500-horse 

 power, and 460,000 centner burden ; it is 11 5° long and 12*° in width : 



it requires 644,000 cubic feet solid timber. The commercial navy of 

 the United States of America is greater than the English, and six times 

 as large as the French. Ship-building in America is very flourishing, 

 nevertheless the timber used for that purpose is not particularly good, 

 and therefore the quality of these ships is inferior to those built of 

 European Oak. 



Besides ship-building, very much timber is consumed by the rail- 

 roads. A sleeper measures three cubic feet, and one mile of single 

 rails requires about 8000 sleepers ; they last on an average five years ; 

 therefore 1600 require changing annually, that is, for 100 miles 

 160,000. Austria will have finished, at no distant time, 300 meilett of 

 railroads, and is continually constructing more and more new railways ; 

 therefore in future an annual supply of 500,000 sleepers will be re- 

 quired. Supposing that there exists a seventy-years-old Oak-forest 

 and a fifty-years-old Fir-forest, to provide trees fit for sleepers, and 

 that there are growing 250 sleepers in the area of one jock, then a 

 forest of 790,000 jock will be required for the supply of the above; 

 this is equal to seventy square meilen. Science has assisted here too by 

 the ingenious and simple method of Dr. Boucherie, who impregnates 

 wood with metallic oxides, and especially with sulphate of copper, by 

 which soft woods, as Birches, Alders, Beeches, Maple-trees, etc., which 



