viii.] BRITISH OAK. 47 



largest proportion of useful wood, are most in request 

 for the general purposes of the architect and en- 

 gineer, but they are also fully appreciated by ship- 

 builders, who employ them for beams, waterways, 

 keelsons, &c. 



Oak timber of the gnarled description, and having 

 some figure in the grain, is in request for articles of 

 furniture ; and even when in a state of decay, or in its 

 worst stage of " foxiness," the cabinet-maker prizes it for 

 its deep-red colour, and works it up in a variety of 

 ways. 



The economical uses of Oak timber, and especially 

 the English varieties of it, are, on account of its many 

 valuable properties and freedom from excessive weight 

 the specific gravity being only about "730 to '900 so 

 extensive that it would be impossible to enumerate the 

 many useful purposes to which it is applied, while in wood 

 ship-building it is invaluable, and, indeed, almost indis- 

 pensable, as it is flexible enough to bear bending to the 

 most curved and difficult parts in a ship's construction, 

 without breaking. ". 



The wood is light-brown in colour, hard, tough, and 

 very strong ; it does not splinter readily, and its solidity 

 of character is such that it resists well the action of 

 water. In seasoning it is apt to warp and shrink, 

 although not to any considerable extent ; consequently 

 it cannot be used in a partially dried state without in- 

 curring some risk to the stability of the work ; but when 

 once its moisture is completely evaporated, few woods 

 are liable to so little change, particularly when employed 

 in situations where it is protected from the influence of 

 moisture or draught. If subjected to alternations of 

 wet and dry, it withstands the change better than most 



