338 On the Quality of Oak Timber produced in Great Britain, 



Q. sessiliflora appears to grow equally well withQ. pedunculate, it 

 is a handsomer tree in the foliage, and from rinding so much of it 

 sound in old buildings I suspect it may be the most durable. It 

 bends from a weight much sooner than Q. pedunculata but requires 

 a much greater weight to break it ; from its toughness I consider it 

 the best calculated for ship timber. The old Sovereign of the Seas 

 was broken up after forty seven years service, much longer than the 

 general durability of ships, and as the wood the ship was built of was 

 had from the north of England, it is very probable it was the Q. ses- 

 siliflora. 



Turkey Oak, (Quercus Cerris) is a native of the Levant, and I 

 believe is found in many parts of Poland, particularly about Warsaw. 

 The introduction of this oak into England has been within the last 

 century, therefore we have very few trees of large dimensions. The 

 largest I have seen are at the Marquis of Downshire's, East Hamp- 

 stead in Berkshire. I had never been able to obtain a specimen of 

 the wood grown in England, till about five years ago, when two 

 trees were cut down at East Hampstead, and the wood was made 

 into doors for the principal rooms of the house ; it is much finer in 

 the grain than our British oak, or foreign wainscot, it takes a better 

 polish, and is more beautiful than any other oak I have ever seen. 

 From only a single specimen I had broken, it was not so strong as 

 our native oak, but equal in toughness ; but my specimen being 

 rather cross-grained, it was not a correct experiment, and I suspect it 

 is equal in strength to our oak. For all ornamental purposes where 

 the wood has to be polished it is superior, and must be a profitable 

 tree to plant, as it grows much quicker than our common oaks, and 

 I have seen it thrive rapidly in poor land. 



Oak timber has for a great length of time been imported into this 

 country from Holland by the name of Dutch wainscot, which is 

 generally used for floors, doors and furniture ; it is more straight in 

 its growth, tender, and more easy to work than British oak, does not 



