l68 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [cHAP. 



without being more than very sh'ghtly deteriorated 

 thereby. It will therefore be safe to say that it is by 

 far the best foreign Oak timber, of straight growth and 

 large dimensions, for constructive purposes that has ever 

 been imported. 



The American White Oak timber, introduced in 

 1 86 1 by Mr. Donald McKay, of Boston, U.S.A., was 

 used in the royal dockyards as a substitute for British 

 Oak, chiefly for beams, keelsons, and other works 

 requiring large scantlings. At the moment of its 

 introduction, however, the great change took place by 

 which iron was substituted for wood in ship-building ; 

 consequently the demand for it fell, and owing to the 

 large stock of other woods at the time upon hand, 

 it was difficult to employ it profitably. Ultimately it 

 passed away in the repairs of ships and some minor 

 services. Very little of this wood has ever been placed 

 upon the London market for employment in the private 

 trade. 



In the experiments that were made, it was found 

 White Oak compared very favourably with all the 

 foreign Oaks, but proved to be slightly inferior in 

 strength to the English Oak. 



