Did you know that you can date wood so preciously by the patterns in the rings of the wood?
As an oak tree grows it makes large amounts of new tissue in the spring followed by a much smaller amount of much denser wood later in the year. This rapid then slow growth gives the appearance of rings.
If the summer weather is good a tree will grow a much wider ring and that gives us a tantalizing insight to its past and its climate. By looking at similar patterns across a log it is possible to date oak with extreme precision, it is even possible to tell where an individual oak tree was grown.
Tree ring growth patterns are affected by the climate, weather, rain, temperature, soil pH, plant nutrition, carbon dioxide concentration, and sunspots. Rings happen because of the change in growth speed through winter, spring, summer and fall, so one ring usually marks the passage of one year in the life of the tree. Tree rings are more visible in places where the seasons change between hot and cold. Moisture and a long growing season result in a wide ring. A dry year may result in a very narrow ring. Trees from the same area will tend to grow the same pattern of rings.
Oak is an incredible building material and has been used for centuries by the Europeans, for not only construction, but also shipping building. The widespread use of oak as a construction timber in the past suggests that our ancestors were well aware that oak heartwood is more resistant to rot and beetle infestation. When kept dry, European White Oak has a longevity that no other native hardwood species enjoys.
SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL. SIMPLY NATURAL. SIMPLY OAK.™
