7/8 The yoitnial of Forestry. 



British oak is the universal i'avouvite. II' lie be building a ehuvch or 

 ehapel, mansion or villa, from the floors and seats in the i(jrmer to 

 the construction of the galleries and roofs, what timber can be com- 

 pared to the oak ? and in the latter from the wood bricks that are 

 lirmly built into the walls to be used for the purpose of fixing the differ- 

 ent window and door linings, to the lintels, beams, and joists, and 

 boards for the ground floors, purlins, rafters, spars, and laths for the 

 roof '. For these purposes the British oak is classed A 1, on account 

 of its durability, also for the internal fittings, such as shutters, doors, 

 and their different framings, all kinds of wainscoting and skirt- 

 ings for the lower rooms, and especially for the construction of 

 the ground staircase. "What timber is more suitable '; In i'act, it 

 possesses an inspiring and majestic grandeur to the artisan, knowing 

 as he does that when he is at work upon it for the above fittings, 

 his handiwork will 1)e seen and admired for generations to come, and 

 if execTited with taste and skill will add a lasting lustre to his name. 

 Again, for nearly all kinds of fui-niture, froin the beautiful pollard oak 

 drawing-room suite to the kitchen furnishings of the cottager, what 

 looks so substantial and so handsome, with its beautiful variety of 

 grain, as the oak ? For the construction of ornamental work, such as 

 the beautiful ornaments that are turned from the lathe, what timber 

 {or beauty surpasses the mottled pollard oak ? Again, after the mon- 

 arch has been Iniried for ages, whether it be in the shape oi" huge 

 piles or of submerged trees in Irish bogs, he is eagerly sought after, 

 and when found is quickly unearthed. In this state his timber is 

 more A'aluable than ever, nature having given to it a rich black 

 appearance far prettier than ebony, This timber is used for the manu- 

 facture of the beautiful bog oak brooches, earrings, lockets, watch- 

 guards, &Ci Again, passing from the ornamental to the useful, the oak 

 corclwood is not to be surpassed by any other wood for the manufac- 

 ture of charcoal, or for the Yule log for the Christmas fire. The timber 

 is also unsurpassed for the construction of dock gates, lock gates for 

 canals, and flood gates for M'atercourses ; also piles for engineering 

 purposes, spokes, and framing for waggons and carts and various 

 farming implements, cleft oak gates and sheep hurdles, gate-posts, 

 fenC(*-posts, &c,, and some thousand and one other things too numerous 

 to mention. In concluding this paper I am sure of one thing, and that is 

 this, that all our readers will hope for a brisk trade during the 

 present year; and should it prove so, all buyers and sellers of oak 

 timber will rejoice. At the present time I am sorry to say that oa'c 

 timber is quite a drug in the market. 



