Rural School Leaflet 



1351 



a height of over one hundred feet. In the open fields, where it has plenty 

 of room to develop a big crown, the form is likely to be short and round- 

 headed, with a stout, much-branched trunk. The oak always presents an 

 appearance of great strength and sturdincss; the winds of winter have 

 Httle effect on its tough, strong branches, but these are frequently gnarled 

 and irregular as a result of exposure to storms. The acorns of the white 

 oak will germinate soon after falling in autumn if conditions are 

 favorable; but be- 

 cause so many acorns 

 are eaten by squirrels, 

 and because so many 

 others do not find the 

 right conditions of 

 soil and moisture, only 

 a small number suc- 

 ceed in growing. 



Although a widely 

 distributed tree, the 

 white oak is found 

 most commonly on 

 good moist soil in rich 

 bottom lands or in 

 protected hollows. In 

 the country adjacent 

 to the Ohio River 

 valley the white oak 

 finds the best condi- 

 tions of soil, climate, 

 and rainfall. It will 

 grow also on rather 

 dry, stony soil, but 

 it never reaches such 

 good size under these 

 conditions. 



Of the black oaks, 

 the common red oak is the most desirable because of the rapidity 

 of its growth and the general quality of its wood. Although not nearly 

 so strong as white oak, it is heavy and rather hard and is useful 

 where great strength is not required. The grain of the wood is 

 rather coarse, and it never seasons so well as does the white oak. In 

 form the red oak develops a very large, wide-spreading crown, with a 

 number of large branches; but it almost always has a well-formed stem, 



Red oak 



