WHITE OAK. 
11 
exported to the West Indies, Great Britain, and the Islands of Madeira 
and Teneriffe. The Post Oak might, indeed, be applied to the same use, 
but even in Maryland and Virginia, where it is most common, it is not 
sufficiently multiplied to supply the local demand. 
The Rock Chesnut Oak and the Swamp White Oak in the Northern 
and Middle States, the Chesnut White Oak and the Over-cup Oak in the 
South, are compact enough to prevent the escape of spirits and fine oils, 
yet porous enough to absorb them. If they united every requisite quality, 
and were employed for this purpose, they would be consumed in less than 
ten years. 
It is well understood at Bordeaux that the wood of the European White 
Oak is closer grained than that of the American species, and the prefer- 
ence is given to our domestic growth, or to that imported from Dantzick. 
The American Oak is exclusively employed in Madeira and the West 
Indies, only because it is cheaper and more easily procured. 
White Oak staves are exported from all the parts of the Northern and 
Middle States, and from New Orleans. Those which come from Balti- 
more, Norfolk and New Orleans, are far superior to those of the Northern 
States ; the difference results naturally from that of the soil and climate. 
The quantity of Oak staves exported to England and the West Indies 
appears, by two official documents that I have examined, to be consider- 
able. In 1808, the value received by England amounted to more than 
$146,000, and the number of staves sent to the West Indies exceeded 
53,000,000. I am unable to fix the proportion of the two species of White 
and Red Oak ; probably more of the first are sent to England, and of the 
second to the Colonies. The price of both have varied surprisingly within 
a hundred years : In 1720, staves for barrels were sold at Philadelphia at 
$3 a thousand ; in 1798, at $18 ; and in 1818, at $30. In August, 1807, 
before the American Embargo, they were advertised at $55, and in April 
1808, after that municipal regulation became known, at $100. 
The young White Oak, on account of its elasticity, is very proper for 
hoops, but it has less strength and less durability than the Hickory. 
Among the uses of this wood, the most important is in ship-building. 
In all the dock-yards of the northern and Middle States, except in the 
district of Maine, it is almost exclusively employed for the keel, and 
always for the lower part of the frame and the sides ; it is preferred for 
the knees when sticks of a proper form can be found. In the smaller 
ports south of New York, the upper part of the frame is also of White 
Oak; but such vessels are less esteemed than those built of more durable 
wood. 
At Boston, the tree-nails, or the pins by which the side planks are 
attached to the ribs, are of this species. 
To obtain correct notions on the comparative value of the American 
