XIII.] 



FRENCH OAK. 



125 



tough, and elastic. It is also in its favour that it shrinks 

 only moderately in seasoning, and rends or splits some- 

 what less than the English Oak during that process. 



That it is suitable and fit for all the purposes to 

 which English Oak is applied, in ship-building or other 

 works of construction, there is no reason to doubt ; and, 

 except that the timber procured from the north-west of 

 France is generally smaller, shorter, and has a more 

 tapering form than the English Oak timber tree, there 

 is no appreciable difference in them, and in a manu- 

 factured state the cleverest expert could not tell one 

 from the other. 



The experiments made on French Oak (Tables 

 XXIV., XXV., and XXVI.) are perhaps sufficient to 

 show its relative merits as compared with our standard- 

 French is classed with English Oak at Lloyd's, for 

 employment in ship-building. 



Table XXIV. 

 Transverse Experiments, 



Remarks.— All the specimens broke with a fibrous fracture fully lo inches in length. 



