The Tkees of Vermont 



59 



WHITE OAK. Quercus alba Linn. 



Tlie white oak is the most beautiful as well as the most useful of the 

 oaks found in this part of the United States. Vermont has quite a generous 



supply of these trees in the Champlain valley. 

 Flint states that it occurs but sparingly in the 

 southern Connecticut valley and disappears before 

 the mouth of the Passumpsic is reached. Both 

 kinds of flowers appear at the same time, the 

 staminate being more conspicuous on account of 

 their drooping clusters. The acorns ripen and fall 

 during the first autumn. 



The tough, heavy wood of the white oak 

 needs no recommendation. On account of the 

 beauty of its grain and its capability of taking 

 a high polish, it is extensively used for furniture 

 and for inside finishings. It is also much used in carriage manufacture 

 and for car and bridge timbers. 



The famous "Charter Oak" of Connecticut was of this species. 



WHITE OAK 

 Leaves and fruit , X H- 



SWAMP WHITE OAK. Qucrcus platanoides (Lam.) Sud worth, Q. bicolor Willd. 



In beauty and variety of grain this tree nearly 

 equals the white oak and its wood is valuable for 

 similar purposes. As its name suggests it grows in 

 low, moist soil. Unfortunately the swamp oak is 

 not found in Vermont except along the intervales 

 of Lake Champlain and its tributaries. Here it is 

 quite abundant and its majestic size and symme- 

 trical, rounded top make it a conspicuous and 

 beautiful tree. It is more easily identified than 

 many of the oaks because of the scaly bark, the 

 leaves downy on the lower surface and the long, 

 downy stalks of the acorns. The flowers open late 

 in ]May and the fruits ripen the following autumn. 



SWAMP WHITE OAK 

 Leaf and fruit, X 3^. 



CHESTNUT OAK. Quercus prinus Linn. 



The popular name of this oak is suggested by the marked resemblance 

 of its leaves to those of the chestnut. It is one of the common oaks from 

 Massachusetts and New York southward, forming a large tree on rocky 

 hillsides, often associated with the chestnut. The line of its northern dis- 

 tribution passes through the Champlain valley. It is common on Snake 

 mountain and the quartzite range of the Green mountains in Addison 



