19* 
ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS. 
In density and hardness the Live Oak much exceeds 
every other species of the genus hitherto examined. At 
first glance, and aided by its great weight, it appears 
almost like Lignum Vitse. The sap-wood is of a pale 
brownish-yellow, the perfect wood of a pale chestnut- 
brown, and the extremely fine saw-dust almost as bright 
a brown as that from Mahogany. Growing in a climate 
subject to small changes of temperature, and being ever- 
green, the woody circles of annual increment are very 
faint and obscurely marked, which adds to the common 
density of the fibres. These rings, on young trees, vary 
from 1 to 2 lines in width, but in the older wood they 
are much narrower. One of the most striking features 
of this wood, however, is the distinctness of the me- 
dullary rays which traverse in strong and pale lines the 
faint waves of the annual increments. For the first 
forty or fifty years, the Live Oak appears to increase in 
the bulk of its trunk, as fast as our White Oak; but after 
that period the growth is much more slow; still the 
density of its wood is so great, that, through a strong 
magnifier, the pores and vessels are barely visible. In 
the United States Navy Yard, in this place, I have mea- 
sured a squared log of Live Oak, 32 feet long, which 
probably formed the trunk of a tree not less than 50 to 
60 feet in height. The present value of moulded Live 
Oak varies from $1.20 to $1.30 and $1.45 per cubic 
foot. Promiscuous unprepared logs sell from $1.20 to 
98 cents and $1 the cubic foot. Some very choice 
timber sells as high as $1.65. This valuable timber has 
been employed in the United States navy between fifty 
and sixty years. 
