256 WOODS OF COMMERCE. 



blanc"; but it is generally more compact, denser and tougher, 

 and therefore better for purposes where strength is a primary 

 consideration. 



Q. Edbur sessilifldra, known, from a supposedly greater resemb- 

 lance in its wood, as "chestnut oak," by the French as "Chene 

 rouge," and by the Germans as " Traubeneiche " " red, (Rotheiche) 

 hill, (Bergeiche) late " (Spateiche) or " winter oak," has long 

 stalks to its leaves, but not to its acorns, and is apparently 

 generally less dense in its timber. It is also, perhaps, more 

 liable to shakes ; but it must be admitted that, in the absence of 

 any record as to the source of the logs or of any exact measure- 

 ment of specific gravity, timber-dealers cannot discriminate the 

 wood of these two varieties. Stunted specimens, grown on rocky 

 hill-sides, produce crooked, hard, knotty wood, difficult to split, 

 formerly of considerable value in shipbuilding ; and coppice oak 

 is of a similar character. 



Q, R6bwr intermedia, the Durmast Oak, is not common. It has 

 short stalks to both leaves and acorns and its leaves are downy 

 on their under surfaces. It has a broad sapwood and a dark- 

 brown heart, and is considered of inferior quality. 



There is, perhaps, greater difference between the woods of Q. 

 Edbur imported from various parts of the continent than there is 

 between these home-grown varieties. French Oak, largely Q. 

 Edbur pedunculdta grown in Brittany and Normandy, is generally 

 smaller, shorter and more tapering than English ; but, with S.G. 

 992720, e' 1-39 1-41, p' 1-011-06, c 8102, c' 1-071, v' 1-04, 

 and shrinking and splitting less in seasoning than English, it 

 would appear, in spite of some former prejudice, to be better all 

 round, always presuming that a good sample be selected. 

 Dantzic Oak, shipped partly from Memel and Stettin, mostly 

 brought down the Vistula from Poland, which comes to market 

 as staves, in logs 18 30 ft. long and 10 16 in. square, or in 

 planks about 32 ft. long, 9 15 in. wide and 2 8 in. thick, is 

 brown, straight and clean-grained and free from knots. It would 

 seem to be largely Q. Eobur sessilifldra, and is sometimes so 

 figured as to be classed as " wainscot-oak." It has S.G. 897 768, 



