222 OAK. 
giddiness and head-aches. When, however, it is dried 
and powdered, it may be made into a wholesome bread. 
The inhabitants of Scio, one of the Ionian Islands, 
were once enabled to endure a memorable siege by the 
beech-mast which their island supplied. This fruit has, 
occasionally, been roasted and used as a substitute for 
coffee. When subjected to pressure, it yields a sweet 
and palatable oil, which, if properly made, is equal, in 
quality, to the best olive-oil, and has the advantage of 
continuing longer than that without becoming rancid. 
Beech-oil is manufactured in several parts of France ; 
and is used by the lower classes of Silesia instead of 
butter. The cakes which remain after the oil is ex- 
tracted are a wholesome food, and may also be advan- 
tageously employed for the fattening of swine, poultry, 
and oxen. 
In some countries the leaves of the beech-tree are 
collected in the autumn, before they have been injured 
by the frosts, and are used instead of feathers for beds ; 
and mattresses formed of them are said to be preferable 
to those either of straw or chaff. 
237. The OA K (Quercus robur, Fig. 68) is a well-known 
timber tree, of native grozvth in this country, as well as other 
countries in northern temperate climates. 
It is to this valuable tree that our navy is indebted 
for its existence ; and without it this invincible barrier 
of the country could not be supported. Oak timber 
being hard, tough, tolerably flexible, and not very 
liable to splinter, is, in Europe, preferred to every other 
kind for the construction of ships of war. It is also 
well adapted to every purpose of rural and domestic 
economy, particularly for staves, laths, and the spokes 
of wheels. Until the introduction of mahogany, it was 
very generally used for furniture ; and, in large man- 
sions, it was customary even to line the walls of rooms 
with wainscot, or panelling of oak. 
This tree is remarkable for the slowness of its growth, 
for its great longevity, and the dimensions to which it 
