White Rot. 221 



outside of the bark, through which, at that spot, a hard 

 stick may be driven several inches, and generally follows 

 the heart up or down the trunk of the tree. So deceiving 

 are these spots and trees to persons unacquainted w ith this 

 defect, that thousands of trees are cut and abandoned. 

 The great number of trees of this sort strewn in the woods 

 would tend to make a stranger, believe that there is much 

 more good oak in the country than there really is ; and 

 perhaps, in reality, not more than one fourth of the quan- 

 tity usually reported is to be procured. The 'live oakers ' 

 generally revisit their distant homes in the middle and 

 eastern states, where they spend the summer, returning 

 to the Floridas at the approach of winter. Some, how- 

 ever, who have gone there with their families, remain for 

 years in succession, although they suffer much from the 

 climate, by which their once good constitutions are often 

 greatly impaired. This was the case with the individual 

 above mentioned, from whom I subsequently received 

 much friendly assistance in my pursuits." 





