46 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [CHAP. 



" It is stated that at the lowest estimate, the total 

 quantity of timber in these nine trees amounts to 3,200 

 cubic feet of the very best quality for naval architecture, 

 and that although they must be of great age, it is re- 

 markable that no symptoms of decay appear in them. 

 They are perfectly sound and free from blemish/' 



The characteristic properties of the British Oak are, 

 upon the whole, so good, that it has long been accepted 

 by practical men as a standard of quality and fitness for 

 architectural purposes, and in the classification of all 

 other hard and heavy woods in use in the royal dock- 

 yards, they are tabulated as " substitutes " for " Oak," 

 the individual species, differing from it either in kind or 

 specific gravity, or in having some important property 

 attached to it, being only specially noted in the specifi- 

 cation for building a ship whenever it is considered 

 desirable to secure some particular element of lightness 

 or strength, dissimilar to that of the standard. 



The English Oak tree, if grown in sheltered situa- 

 tions or in forests, frequently reaches to a height of 70 

 to 100 feet, with a clear, straight stem of from 30 to 40 

 feet, and a circumference of 8 to 10 feet, and much 

 larger specimens (though now only rarely to be met 

 with) were formerly common. If grown in open and 

 exposed situations, it is generally shorter, and frequently 

 takes strange and eccentric forms, assuming a somewhat 

 curved or crooked shape ; this, however, is one of its 

 most valuable characteristics, as naturally curved timber 

 is almost indispensable for wood ship-building. It is 

 when grown under these conditions that it appears to 

 attain its maximum of hardness, and is often found so 

 gnarled and knotty that it is difficult to work. 



The long, straight, fair-grown trees, which yield the 



