Before English commerce had extended the leather trade beyond the needs of home consumers, and English naval enterprise had caused a drain upon our Oak forests for ship-building, these same acorns, now despised by the advanced agriculturist, constituted the chief value of the Oak. Gurth had not then been replaced by the axe-armed woodman, or by the gamekeeper with dogs and gun. Whatever may be the extension of the use of iron, Oak timber will always be of peculiar value for many purposes, though that important bye-product, the bark, is of sufficient consequence to considerably influence the English forester's treatment of his woods. There is more tannin in the bark in spring, when the sap is rising, than at any other season, and it is, therefore, the common practice to fell the trees at that season instead of in winter, though for timber only it is admittedly preferable to adopt the latter period. The best judges cannot separate the woods of the two best varieties.
Few woods are so durable under all circumstances, few so generally useful.