EUROPEAN TIMBER 41 



scores of roofs in old English churches, and at the half- 

 timbered houses throughout England, where it has 

 weathered successfully for centuries. 



The two large door-posts and arched lintel of Llangstone 

 Church, Monmouthshire, are of oak, probably Q.pedunculata, 

 which is the prevailing species. The lintel has carved 

 upon it the date April, 1022 ; both it and the door-posts 

 are in fairly good condition. 



The oak ties between the piers in the oldest portion of 

 Westminster Abbey, put in during the reign of Henry III., 

 in the thirteenth century, are still intact. Owing to the 

 difficulty in obtaining it in suitable sizes, English oak 

 is now but little used for constructional purp'oses, although 

 quite recently it was specified for heel and mitre posts 

 for dock gates, to be entirely free from sap. The 

 required nett sizes, being 31 ft. long by 22 inches by 18 

 inches, were with much difficulty procured, and the price 

 was very high ; they must have been large trees to produce 

 logs of this size. Oak of that reddish brown tint called 

 " foxiness," which it assumes when beginning to decay, is 

 prized by some cabinet-makers, doubtless owing to the 

 colour. For beauty there are few woods which will com- 

 pare with the variety known as English brown oak ; its 

 knotty, gnarled grain brings out the best results owing to 

 the variety of shade and colour, especially when used as a 

 veneer. Irish oak, when sound, is equal in all respects to 

 good English oak, but the supply is scarce. The greater 

 proportion of the oak used in Great Britain comes from 

 America and the Continent, and many varieties are 

 imported. 



Dantzic or Stettin and Riga oak comes from these Baltic 

 ports ; it is grown in Prussia and Russia, and is somewhat 

 similar in appearance to English oak; it is really the 

 produce of the same tree, rather more of a yellowish tinge 



