128 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [chap- 



The wood of Italian Oak is brown in colour, hard, 

 horny, tough, strong, less elastic and slightly heavier 

 than the English Oak, and is, on account of its extreme 

 hardness, more difficult to work. In seasoning it is 

 very apt to split and leave deep shakes on the exterior 

 of the log, which are detrimental to its value for general 

 purposes ; but, viewed as to its form and properties, it 

 is employed in preference to most other Oaks for the 

 frame of a ship. It may also be used in any work of 

 construction where strength and durability are impor- 

 tant, if care be taken to protect it, by planks or other- 

 wise, from exposure. 



Owing to its characteristic defect of shakes in season- 

 ing, Italian Oak is unfit for conversion into planks, 

 or boards, or into almost any small scantlings ; and its 

 introduction into this country (about the year 1820) 

 was not with the view to its general employment, but 

 solely to supplement the supply of British Oak timber, 

 which was then scarce, and seemed likely to be in- 

 sufiScient in quantity to meet the growing demands for 

 it, especially for the framing of our ships of war. For 

 this particular purpose, where it is generally used in 

 bulk to nearly the full growth of the tree, preference 

 may even be given to it over English Oak. 



Of the different varieties of Italian Oak, the Tuscan, 

 Neapolitan, and Sicilian are the hardest and most 

 horny in texture, and, when thoroughly seasoned, by 

 far the most difficult to work ; while the Modena, Roman, 

 and Sardinian are what the workmen call milder in 

 character — that is to say, they are easier to work, and a 

 little less hard than the former. 



The Modena and Sardinian also yield an easier 

 curved form of timber than the other kinds, and do not 

 split to the same extent in seasoning; they are all, 



