234 WHITE OAK CLASS 



ter-sawed " is the commercial and trade term it is one of 

 the most esteemed among our native woods for cabinet- 

 work, interior finish, and floors, only Black Walnut and 

 Black Cherry contesting with it for supremacy. Large 

 quantities of it are cu^ into veneers for interior finish and 

 the like. It takes high polish, and, when not covered with 

 artificial stain, grows richer in color and transparency of 

 texture as age creeps on. The annual layers are very dis- 

 tinct and show several rows of pores or ducts which must 

 be closed with some kind of " wood filler " before varnish 

 is applied. It seasons well, but when sawed from young 

 and rapidly growing trees is liable to spring and warp and 

 also check if not properly piled and cared for. When 

 sawed tangentially " bastard fashion," " plain," or " flat- 

 sawed," its medullary rays are starting-points for checks, 

 and decay enters there when exposed. No wood has a wider 

 range of usefulness. It is used in shipbuilding and for trestles, 

 bridges, piles, railroad ties, carriagework, agricultural im- 

 plements, and tight and loose cooperage, as well as for interior 

 finish and furniture. For vessels containing wine and other 

 spirits no satisfactory substitute has been found. For pur- 

 poses where strength and durability are desired it is uni- 

 versally sought. 



White Oak is at best a slow grower, but when fairly 

 established it continues in a very regular and uniform way 

 to a good old age, three hundred years or more. As indi- 

 cated, it cannot stand much crowding, and it is doubtful if 

 more than one hundred trees to the acre, if so many, should be 

 left to mature if the best results for sawed lumber are 

 sought, but the trees must be crowded in early life and until 

 they attain a proper height. There is little probability, how- 

 ever, that future generations will see much White Oak al- 

 lowed to grow to a profitable size for that purpose. It will 

 be cut for railroad ties and like uses as soon as large 

 enough, which will be when the trees are from sixty to 

 eighty years of age. To let them stand long enough for 

 good width of boards would require more than twice that 



