46 
TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [chap. 
“ It is stated that at the lowest estimate, the total 
quantity of timber in these nine trees amounts to 3,200 
cubic feet of the very best quality for naval architecture, 
and that although they must be of great age, it is re¬ 
markable that no symptoms of decay appear in them. 
They are perfectly sound and free from blemish.” 
The characteristic properties of the British Oak are, 
upon the whole, so good, that it has long been accepted 
by practical men as a standard of quality and fitness for 
architectural purposes, and in the classification of all 
other hard and heavy woods in use in the royal dock¬ 
yards, they are tabulated as “ substitutes ” for “ Oak,” 
the individual species, differing from it either in kind or 
specific gravity, or in having some important property 
attached to it, being only specially noted in the specifi¬ 
cation for building a ship whenever it is considered 
desirable to secure some particular element of lightness 
or strength, dissimilar to that of the standard. 
The English Oak tree, if grown in sheltered situa¬ 
tions or in forests, frequently reaches to a height of 70 
to 100 feet, with a clear, straight stem of from 30 to 40 
feet, and a circumference of 8 to 10 feet, and much 
larger specimens (though now only rarely to be met 
with) were formerly common. If grown in open and 
exposed situations, it is generally shorter, and frequently 
takes strange and eccentric forms, assuming a somewhat 
curved or crooked shape ; this, however, is one of its 
most valuable characteristics, as naturally curved timber 
is almost indispensable for wood ship-building. It is 
when grown under these conditions that it appears to 
attain its maximum of hardness, and is often found so 
gnarled and knotty that it is difficult to work. 
The long, straight, fair-grown trees, which yield the 
