78 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [CHAP. 
The first sample shipped to the London market 
after the relaxation of the French laws bearing upon 
it (about the year 1860) enabled the British Government 
to give it a trial in ship-building; and as this proved 
to be satisfactory, a contract was soon after made with 
a London merchant for a supply to the several dock- 
yards in England. 
French Oak, until about the time I am speaking 
of, was looked upon with some disfavour in this country, 
and thought to be generally inferior in quality to the 
British Oak; but this opinion was probably formed 
from very unfavourable specimens, there being certain 
localities in France, as there are in most other countries, 
where the trees do not attain any degree of excellence, 
and also from the fact that the best timber had been 
first selected and retained by the French Govern- 
ment. 
The Oak timber, however, of the north-west pro- 
vinces of France is generally of very good quality, and 
experience in the employment of it in ship-building 
proves it to be an excellent substitute for that of British 
produce. It is a very remarkable fact that, of all the 
supplies sent to the several royal dockyards, the only 
complaint ever urged against it was that it had not been 
hewn in accordance with English practice as applied to 
“sided timber,” and that the loss in conversion would 
be greater in consequence. This, however, was only 
imaginary, as the converters at Woolwich proved that 
there was little to object to on that score, their returns 
for the three years ending in 1863 making the difference 
in the loss per cent. in the conversion of the French, 
as compared with that of British Oak, to be quite 
insignificant, the figures actually showing that the loss 
on the French Oak was 47°3 per cent., and on the 
