MYRTLE OAK. 253 



Himalayas and Japan, and to various other entirely unrelated 

 timber- trees, chiefly species of Casuarina, in Australia. It will 

 be convenient to depart from the strictly alphabetical arrange- 

 ment of the many kinds of "Oak" in use, in favour of a 

 geographical enumeration. Beginning, therefore, with the 

 Common Oak of Europe, we will then describe the other 

 European and North African forms, taking those of North 

 America next, and then those of the Himalayas and of Japan, 

 and relegating the so-called Oaks of Australia to the last. 



Oak, Common, British or European (Q. R6bur L.) Syria, 

 Mt. Taurus and Mt. Atlas to 60 N. lat. French " Chne." 

 Germ. "Eiche." Span. "Roble." Japan. "Gashi." Height 

 60100 ft. ; diam. 1 22 ft., often with a straight stem 30 40 

 ft. high and 24 ft. in diam. S.G. 1280 when fresh cut, to 780 

 or 597 when seasoned. "It must be borne in mind, however, 

 that these weights refer to the wood as a structure, and do not 

 give the specific gravity of the wood substance itself. This latter 

 may be obtained by driving off all the air and water from the 

 wood, and is found to be 1560" (Marshall Ward). W 6243. 

 E 535 800 tons, e' Mr. Laslett takes the mean elasticity of 

 British Oak as unity for the comparison of other woods. Other 

 specimens of the species range from -64 1-41. p 6500 11,300. 

 p' Here too Oak is unity, its range being -6 1-06. / 5-27. ft 

 3-48-8. c 75718102. c' English Oak being taken as unity, 

 French-grown Oak is 1-071. fc 2-7 4-5. tf English Oak unity, 

 Dantzic Oak, probably the same species, -99, French 1-04. fs 

 11-03. R 10,00013,600 Ibs. Sapwood narrow, yellowish; 

 heart of various shades, from greyish or yellow-brown (fawn- 

 colour) to reddish or very dark brown, darkening on exposure. 

 " Oak is neither the hardest and heaviest, nor the most supple 

 and toughest of woods, but it combines in a useful manner the 

 average of these qualities. Good oak is hard, firm and compact, 

 and with a glossy surface, and varies much ; young oak is often 

 tougher, more cross-grained, and harder to work than older 

 wood " (Marshall Ward). A stress of 1900 Ibs. per square inch 

 is stated as the average requisite to indent Oak ^ in. transversely 



