158 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



the new leaves appear in the spring. The wood has 

 a yellowish color and is extremely heavy, a cubic 

 foot weighing a trifle over fifty -nine pounds. It has 

 a beautiful grain and is susceptible of a fine polish, 

 but it is extremely hard to work, and takes the edge 

 off every tool. Years ago it was highly esteemed 

 for shipbuilding, and in 1799 the Government spent 

 two hundred thousand dollars in the purchase of 

 Southern lands on which live-oak timber was grow- 

 ing suitable for the navy. The use of iron in mod- 

 ern shipbuilding, however, having greatly diminished 

 the need of oak timber, tlie Government, by the con- 

 summation of an act finally approved by Congress in 

 February, 1895, opened for entry and occupation by 

 tlie public large tracts of wooded land which it had 

 held for many years in the interest of the navy.* 



Live oak grows from Virginia southward near the 

 coast to Florida, wliere it abounds. It extends along 

 the Gulf States to Texas, where it reaches its limit in 

 the valley of the Red River and the extreme western 

 borders of the State. It varies in size from a mere 

 shrub to a tree 40 or 50 feet high. 



* Vide Silva of North America, 0. S. Sargent. 



