J920 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. TART III. 



nowhere but in Florida." The object of the American government being to 

 provide for the establishment and maintenance of a powerful navy, the culti- 

 vation of the live oak, which is almost the only oak they have suitable for 

 ship timber, is an object of national importance. 



Properties and Uses. According to Michaux, and all authors who have 

 written on the oaks of America, the wood of the live oak is much stronger, 

 and incomparably more durable, than that even of the white oak, and is more 

 esteemed for ship-building than any other wood in the United States. " From 

 its great durability, when perfectly seasoned, it is almost exclusively employed 

 for the upper part of the frame. To compensate its excessive weight, it is 

 joined to the red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), which is extremely light, and 

 equally lasting. The live oak does not afford large timber ; but its wide and 

 branching summit makes amends for this disadvantage, by furnishing a great 

 number of knees." (Michx.) " The vessels built at New York and Philadel- 

 phia, with the upper frame of red cedar and live oak, and the lower timbers 

 of white oak, are as durable as those constructed of the best materials in 

 Europe.'* (Id.) The best trenails used formerly to be made of the wood 

 of the live oak; but they are now made of locust wood, and of the heart wood 

 of Pinus palustris. In the southern states, the live oak is used for the naves 

 and felloes of heavy wheels, and for screws and the cogs of mill-wheels ; for all 

 which purposes it is far superior to the white oak. The bark is excellent for 

 tanning ; but it is so hard and thin, that it is seldom found in sufficient quan- 

 tities. From the acorns, which, though not sweet, are eatable, Michaux says 

 that the Indians still extract an oil which they use in cookery. A great 

 many trees of this species were raised and sold by Cobbett; the acorn not 

 losing its vitality during the voyage from America to Europe ; but we never 

 hear of the trees attaining any size ; and, as we have already observed, the 

 climate is against them. As a low evergreen tree or large shrub, the live oak 

 well deserves a place in collections, forming an interesting bush, as shown in the 

 portrait, given in our last Volume, of the tree at the Duke of Devonshire's villa 

 at Chiswick. In France, near Nantes, 80 years planted, it is 40 ft. high ; the 

 diameter of the trunk being 4 ft. In Lombardy, at Monza, 20 years from the 

 acorn, it is 20ft. highj diameter of the trunk 5 in., and of the head 14ft. 

 Abundance of young plants and of acorns may be had from Mr. Charlwood, 

 at 105. per hundred, or 5s. per bushel. At Bollwyller, plants are 5 francs per 

 dozen ; and at New York, where, according to Prince's Catofagne, it requires 

 protection during winter (a fact that speaks volumes against its ever becoming 

 a profitable timber tree in this country), plants are 50 cents each. 



? i 37. Q. A/YRTIFO X LIA Willd. The Myrtle-leaved Oak. 



identijicntton. WilKI., No. 4. ; Pursh, No. 4. ; N. Du Ham., 7. p. 151. ; Rees's Cycl , No. 4. 



Spec. Char.,S(C. Leaves coriaceous, oblong, entire, -smooth ; acute at each end. A native of Carolina, 

 according to Willdenow, who alone has noticed this species. Pursh has admitted it into his work. 

 The branches are round and brown ; the leaves 1 in. or more in length, coriacoous, evergreen, 

 oblong, somewhat acute at the base; entire and slightly revolute at the margin ; shiny above; 

 opaque, but smooth, beneath ; on short footstalks. The form of the leaves is much like those of the 

 common broad-leaved myrtle. The flowers and fruit are unknown. (Willd., ai quoted in Rees's 

 Cycl.) 



c. Natives of Nepal. 

 x. Lanatte. Woolly or downy -leaved Oaks. 



Serf. Char. Leaves oval-oblong or lanceolate, serrated or dentated, but 

 tlot sinuated or lobed; woolly beneath. Trees, natives of Nepal ; and only 

 half-hardy in the climate of London. They may be propagated by cuttings, 

 which foot without much difficulty ; and the plants require the protection 

 of a wall. 



J 38. Q. LANA^TA Smith. The woolly-leaved Nepal Oak. 



Identification. Recs's Cycl., No. 27. 



Synonymet. Q. l.inuginosa D. Don Prod. Fl. Nep., p. .77., and Lodd. Cat., cd. 183fi; Q. Jl&nja 



Ham. MSS. ; ? Q. oblong&ta D. Dan, 1. c. ; ? Q. ino&na Roi/lc I/tusf., p. 341. 

 Knffraving. Our.///;'. 1S()4., from the tree at Kew. 



