THE USES OF WOOD 



981 



the Congress, Constitution, President, United States, 

 Constellation, and Chesapeake. They were built of yel- 

 low pine, live oak, and locust. The Constitution was the 

 famous "Old Ironsides" and it was never defeated though 

 it fought many battles. It is still afloat, though much 

 patched. The United States fell into the hands of the 

 Confederates early in the Civil War, and when it was 



When these six ships were planned it was believed that 

 war vessels could not properly be built in America with- 

 out live oak timber. The strong knees, cut from roots, 

 limbs, and trunks, were the best in the world, and the 

 planking and frames were nearly indestructible. In order 

 to make sure of a supply of this splendid timber for all 

 time, the government entered upon a policy of buying 



THE BATEAU STILL CARRIES TRADE 



Bateaus, those serviceable boats of burden of the olden days, did not all disappear when the steamboat was invented. The accompanying cut 

 represents a bateau advertised by its builder as being "for river and lake use," having "exceptional carrying capacity" and in great demand 

 "among lumbermen, river drivers and contractors." 



about to be recaptured, they sunk it in the Elizabeth 

 River. It was raised, and it rounded out its 112 years 

 of~service. The Chesapeake was captured by the British 

 in the War of 1812, but the commander's last command 

 before his death in the fight has become a famous rally- 

 ing cry, "Don't give up the ship." The shot-marked 

 timbers were used in building a mill in England which 

 was still in existence a few years ago. 



live oak land and secured several tracts in Florida and 

 Louisiana. That was really the beginning of the National 

 Forest Service. It is worthy of note that the policy of 

 buying land at that time was opposed, and prominent 

 men urged the purchase of oak without the land. Their 

 ideas of what would be needed were betrayed by the decla- 

 ration of Benjamin Stoddart, a naval officer of that 

 time (1799) that "$100,000 will buy enough timber to 



WITHOUT A RIVAL IN THE WORLD 



long, large and clear Douglas fir timbers like these were recently shipped by the trainload across the continent to eastern shipyards where a 

 shortage of such stock threatened to tie up building operations and delay the completion of transports to carry American troops to kurope. 

 Supplies were ample and the transports were completed in time, as is now a well-known fact. 



