and other valuable Timber Trees. 387 



which grows in the timher hke a thin hroad patch of 3'^ellow 

 leather, and the Serpula distruens, which is not so large, of 

 a reddish color, and white at the edge growing externally. 

 As the canse of this dry rot proceeds from an excess of vege- 

 table albumen in those woods that have been in modern use 

 for ship-building, we may answer the latter question by say- 

 ing that the primitive oaks of Great Britain, and those of our 

 country, which were used in the early construction of their 

 navies, were not so rich in albuminous matter as the oaks of 

 secondary growths, and those of various locations, are now : 

 therefore the dry rot and fungous growths in such timbers 

 were not known, nor never would have been, had we the tim- 

 ber now of those primitive forests of our country, Europe, and 

 Great Britain. It will appear, by these observations, that we 

 intend to maintain that the cause of dry rot proceeds from the 

 inegligence and want of knowledge in the selection of those 

 trees which resist the effects of time and exposure without 

 the process of decay. Such is our position, and. without fur- 

 ther comment, we proceed to illustrate many points connect- 

 ed with the subject under consideration, as it is one of the 

 most important to which the attention of a maritime people 

 can be turned. 



The oaks of North America, as described by Andrew Mi- 

 chaux, consist of twenty-nine species and varieties, most of 

 which are useful in ship-building; the one considered the most 

 useful, and stands at the head of the list, is the live oak, 

 Quercus virens. It is a perennial tree, of slow growth, like the 

 rest of its congeners, and is common to Florida, where the 

 most extensive forests of this tree are seen. It is generally 

 found growing from latitude 37° to Florida, '' and westward 

 to the mouth of the Sabine River," but never more than 15" or 

 20 miles from the sea. This valuable tree can be said to con- 

 tain less of the causes of decomposition, as albumen, sugar, 

 and starch, than any of the species hitherto described ; there- 

 fore, it is the most durable, and less liable to decay ; and, 

 with all this natural immunity against spontaneous decompo- 

 sition, we should not overlook the locality of its growth, age, 

 and season of cutting for ship-timber. This is a necessary 

 precaution, which is applicable to the whole tribe of oaks 

 that are used in the mechanics. The best localities for the 



