o the dry rot than the oak grown in any other country.
Canadian timber has increased in value since the causes of its former
rapid decay have been more fully understood. Mr. Nathaniel Gould asserts
that the wane of the moon is now universally considered the best season
for felling timber, both in the United States and in Canada. The
Americans contract for their ship timber to be felled or girdled between
the 20th of October and the 12th of February. Dry rot being probably
caused by the natural moisture or sap being left in the wood, the less
there is in the tree when cut, the longer it will keep sound. As regards
the Canadian oak, it is stated by Mr. M'Taggart (the engineer, who so
ably distinguished himself while in the colony), that it is not so
durable as that of the British, the fiber not being so compact and
strong; it grows in extensive groves near the banks of large lakes and
rivers, sometimes found growing to 50 feet in length by 2 feet 6 inches;
its specific gravity is greater than water, and therefore, when floated
down in rafts, it is rendered buoyant with cross bars of pine. It is
easily squared with the hatchet, and answers well for ship-building and
heavy work; will endure the seasons for about fifteen years,[172] and
does not decay in England so soon as in Canada.--Montgomery Martin's
_Canada_, p. 257; Gray's _Canada_, p. 207.]

[Footnote 172: Kalm says, in 1748, "They were now building several ships
below Quebec for the king's account. However, before my departure, an
order arrived from France prohibiting the further building of ships of
war, because they had found that the ships built of American oak do not
last so long as those of European oak. Near Quebec is found very little
oak, and what grows there is not fit for use, being very small;
therefore they are obliged to fetch their oak timber from those parts of
Canada which border upon New England. But all the North American oaks
have the quality of lasting longer, and withstanding putrefaction
better, the further north they grow."--Kalm, p. 663.]

[Footnote 173: The most useful American plants in the small order
Betulaceae are the birches, of which Canada contains six species. The
most celebrated is Betula Papyracea, the canoe birch, so called from the
use made of the bark in the construction of the Indian boats. It extends
from the shore of the Hudson in New York to a considerable range of
country northward of Canada. The bark is obtained with facili