386 Importance of the Cultivation of the Oak 



briefly descant, at present, on the vital importance of a com- 

 munity being well versed in agricultural science, in order to 

 improve with advantage those rich fields which a bounteous 

 Creator has spread out before us, we shall principally ad- 

 vert to the forest-growth of this peninsular portion of our 

 United States, with some original observations on the preser- 

 vation of ship timber, and the process of decay in these woods. 



As our navy may be considered the present and future bul- 

 wark of our safety as a commercial nation, it is not thought in- 

 appropriate to make a few remarks on those woods which are 

 principally used in the construction of our ships of war and 

 commerce. 



The process of decay termed dry rot has been a theme of 

 scientific inquiries for man)?^ years among many of our most 

 eminent chemists ; and the most elaborate investigations have 

 been made, both at home and abroad, in order to ascertain 

 the chemical effects of air, heat, light, and moisture, on the 

 same, as our oaks and various timbers that have been pre- 

 viously prepared and appropriated to use for ship-building. 

 We do not, at present, have the presumption to offer any pre- 

 servative means that would counteract the effects of this 

 dreaded enemy to our national purse, but simply to throw 

 out some hints that may, in the future, be useful as a rally- 

 ing point to others that can claim a precedence over their 

 more humble brothers in the profession of science. The mod- 

 ern use of iron in the construction of marine vessels has been 

 thought, at a subsequent period, would supersede that of 

 wood ; we should then have oxides to contend with instead 

 of fungi ; but we do not believe the former will ever super- 

 sede that of the latter. As the grand engine of navigation is 

 deteriorating every day from the causes of decay, it may be 

 asked, what is the dry rot ? and how long has it been known 

 to affect the timbers of vessels, and the cause of this effect? 

 Well, in answer to the former, the dry rot is caused by the 

 spontaneous decomposition of the vegetable albumen which 

 acts as a ferment on the other constituent principles that may 

 be present in the wood, as sugar and starch, which disinte- 

 grates the fibres of the wood, and accelerates the growth of 

 mushrooms by the formation of ammoniacal salts. Of these 

 fungi, there are two species, — as the Xylostroma giganteum^ 



