IN EXTRA-TROPICAL COUNTRIES. 281 



(Salisbury). The Durmast Oak with a darker, heavier timber, 

 more elastic, less fissile, easier to bend under steam. This tree is 

 also the quickest of the two in growth, and lives in poorer soil. 

 Its bark is also richer in medicinal, dyeing, and tanning principles. 

 Extract of Oak-bark for tanners' use fetches about XI 8 per ton in 

 the London market, the best oak-bark yields 16 to 20 per cent, 

 tannin. 2, Q. pedunculata (Ehrh.). This variety supplies most of 

 the oak timber in Britain for ship-building, and is the best for 

 cabinet-makers' and joiners' work. In Britain it is attacked by 

 Scolytus multistriatus. Mr. W. Winter noticed that the British Oak 

 withstood an occasional shade temperature of 118 degrees F. in 

 Biverina. The long continued adherence of dead leaves in the cool 

 and most verdant season renders this Oak not so well adapted for 

 pleasure-grounds in the warmer parts of the temperate zone as many 

 other, particularly evergreen Oaks. The English Oak is however 

 of quicker growth than most other species. 



Quercus rubra, Linn6 



The Red Oak of North America. Height 100 feet ; diameter of 

 stem 4 feet, content with poor soil. The wood though coarse, is of 

 rigidity and has not the fault of warping. It is of fair quality for 

 staves (Simmonds), and even building purposes, but variable in 

 quality according to soil and clime (Sargent). The bark is rich in 

 tannin. Autumnal tint of foliage beatifully red. The acorns, 

 which are produced in great abundance, are relished by animals. 



Quercus seme car pifolia, Smith. 



In the Himalayas, up to 10,000 feet. The largest of the Oaks of 

 India, upwards of 100 feet high, with a stem up to 18 feet in girth. 

 Leafless for a short time. It furnishes a hard and heavy timber of 

 fair quality. 



Quercus s errata, Thunberg.* 



One of the twenty-three known Japan Oaks ; extending to China 

 and Nepal. A good avenue-tree, though deciduous. It yields the 

 best food for the Oak Silkworm (Bombyx Yamamai). It is recom- 

 mendable to pack acorns intended for far distances in dry moss or 

 sand, to secure retention of vitality ; moreover they must be quite 

 fresh, when packed. 



Quercus Sideroxylon, Humboldt. 



Mountains of Mexico, at 8,000 feet elevation. An Oak of great 

 size, of compact timber, almost imperishable in water. Q. lanceo- 

 lata, Q. chrysophylla, Q. reticulata, Q. laurina, Q. obtusata, 

 Q. glaucescens, Q. Xalapensis (Humb.), and Q. acutifolia (Nee) 

 are among the many other highly important timber Oaks of 

 the cooler regions of Mexico. No printed records seem extant 



