XVII.] 



SPANISH OAK. 



99 



The star-shake defect is common to it, and, taken 

 altogether, it is of very inferior quality. f ne Spanish 

 Oak did not meet with approval in either the royal or 

 private ship-building yards, and consequently the ship- 

 ments of it to this country have declined for some time 

 past. It is remarkable that this Oak is of very slow 

 growth (vide Table II., p. 17) ; and perhaps this in some 

 measure accounts for its inferior quality, our theory 

 being that the trees of the same species which mature 

 their wood most rapidly are generally the best of their 

 kind. 



TABLE XXXVII. SPANISH OAK. 

 Transverse Experiments. 



REMARKS. Each piece broke short ; in no instance was there more than 3 to 4 inches 

 of fracture. 



There are, besides the Oaks already mentioned, 

 several others which have not yet been brought 

 sufficiently into use for their capabilities to be fairly 

 tested ; and among these are the Oaks of Turkey. In 



