179 



with) there is a circumstance which strikes one at once, which is that the 

 botanists are aU upon the one side, and persons of other professions upon the 

 other. The botanists give the superiority to the sessiliflora oak, while the 

 other writers, and among them three civil engineer,, are in favour of 

 the pedunculata, or, at least, if not altogether, partially so ; and even these 

 contradict one another in important particulars. _ 



In order to lay the subject more completely before you, I will give a 

 very brief summary of a portion of the evidence I have been able to collect 



on both sides. ,, „ n -c 



And fiist, as to the advocates of the Q. ped. Mr. Ranger, C.E., 

 says the ped. is the best for lintels, sills, sash and doorframes, joists, plates, 

 rafters &c., and where stiff and straight-grained wood is required. The 

 sess he says, is harder and more elastic than the other, more difficult to 

 work, but Uable to warp and split in seasoning; the strei^gth, hardness and 

 toughness of this species render it eminently superior for ship-building, 

 loch and dock gates, pUes, ties, braces, &c., &c. 



Mr Cresy, C.E., says that Q. ped. cleaves easily into pales and laths, 

 and where stiffness is required it is very useful, as it does not bend easUy. 

 Again he says, that Q. sess. is a softer wood, and consequently yields more 

 readily to the tools of the workmen (the very reverse of what Mr. Ranger 

 says above). The timber, he says, is liable to warp and split in seasoning, 

 but in consequence of its elastic properties it is highly prized for ship buildmg, 

 its toughness and strength recommending it for that purpose ; its hardness is 

 sufficient for all purposes where such is required. The grain of this vanety 

 bearin- a strong resemblance to chestnut it is often mistaken for it ; it is very 

 durable both under water and in interiors. He says that the weight of a cubic 

 foot of this species green weighs 80 lbs. 5oz., quite dry 51 lbs. lOoz., while a 

 cubic foot of Q. ped. green weighs 761bs. 13oz., quite dry 521bs. 13ozs., showing 

 obviously that the former, which loses more weight by seasoning, is the 

 faster growing tree of the two; and also telling us a fact, perhaps not 

 generally known, that green oak timber of either species is of greater specific 

 gravity than water. I have not myself proved the experiment. 



The evidence of Mr. J. M. Rankine, C.E., and others, is substantially the 



same as that above. i c4/-v_ 



Another writer in favour of Q. ped. is the author of the work On 

 Useful and Ornamental Planting," pubUshed by the Diffusion of Useful 

 Knowledge Society. He says, after speaking of the Q. sess. as t^e inferior 

 snecies " Although there are not such clear and specific facts recorded of the 

 comparative difference of value between the quality of these two species of 

 oak as to determine the exact amount of loss which is occasioned eve^ time 

 the'acornsof the inferior species are used for planting, instead of those of 

 the more valuable above mentioned ; yet the general opinion being so strong 

 L favour of the superiority of the footstalked oak (the pedunculata, that it is 

 of much importance to collect and sow the acorns of that species only. 



