46 TIMBER 
having been fenced with cleft oak, remarkably rich 
in colour and figure and which would probably have 
been worth in the tree from five to six shillings per 
foot cube. These trees are mostly found in the Southern 
and more often in the Midland Counties, but are rare 
in the North,.and only one instance of their having been 
found in Scotland appears to be known. Whether 
this beautiful wood is indigenous to Great Britain or 
not is an interesting question, but so far as is known 
it has never been found in other countries. 
It is generally sawn into veneers, and high prices are 
obtainable when they are of good description,—the 
wood making remarkably handsome furniture. A 
fashion for its use obtained in the United States some 
twenty years ago, and some fairly large shipments 
left England for New York. 
Stettin-Dantzig Oak.—Oak timber from _ these 
Prussian ports was the first that arrived in England 
to augment the failing supply of her native wood. 
Principally extracted from Polish forests this timber 
was formerly largely shipped in the form of planks 
and partly hewn logs. At the present time the small 
amount imported is practically all of the latter manu- 
facture. The wood, although not equal in strength 
or toughness, and deficient in durability as compared 
with that grown in England, was largely used for naval 
purposes at the outset and continued in demand for 
shipbuilding up to about 1865, when iron began to take 
its place. Large amounts of the wood were however 
still shipped, its economical use in comparison with 
native wood for the building of railway rolling-stock 
being fully appreciated, until wood of the American 
variety began to supplant it for this purpose. The 
wood is somewhat yellow in colour, straight-grained, 
and has easier working qualities than the English, and 
