APPENDIX. 461 



twelve to thirty inches in diameter. The tree is of slow growth and the 

 wood more compact than that of Q. Garryana. and for some purposes it is 

 preferable to the latter. 



Range — Oregon and California. 



Use — Wagon worl^, tool handles, pack saddles, etc. 



CALIFORNIA BLACK OAK. 

 {Q. Oali/ornica (Torr.) Cooper.) 



The largest of our native oaks, sometimes attaining a height of seventy- 

 live to one hundred feet, and a basal diameter of three to five feet or more. 

 The bark is closely checked and dark-gray in color. The sapwood is very 

 limited in amount, and the heartwood dark and close grained. 



Range — California to Oregon. 



Use — Finishing lumber, furniture and wagonwork. 



TANBARK OAK. 

 (Q. (lcn.<ii_ffora H. A L.) 



A large evergreen tree usually preferring a moist soil. The bark i,s 

 smoother than that of the black oak, lighter in color and contains much 

 more tannin, hence it is highly prized for tanning purposes. 



This tree bears immense quantities of acorns which are quite edible and 

 have been used for food from time immemorial to the present day by the 

 Indians of Northern California and Southern Oregon. The acorns are 

 gathered in autumn, the kernels extracted and reduced to a flour which, 

 being made into cakes and dried, keeps quite a long time. In fact some of 

 the old Indian graves in Southern Oregon, on being opened, disclose some of 

 these cakes still preserved while the remains of the departed brave, to 

 whose comfort they were intended to minister while on the way to the 

 "happy hunting ground," had crumbled into dust. 



Range — Northern California and Southern Oregon. 



Use — Cabinetwork, tanbark and fuel. 



CALIFORNIA LAUREL. 

 ( I'mbcUidaria Californica (H. & A.) Nutt.) 



In dry localities, as in Eastern Oregon, this tree seldom exceeds twenty- 

 five to thirty feet high by twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, but in 

 moist situations, as in theupperUmpqua Valley, it attains a height of seventy- 

 five to one hundred feet and a basal diameter of two and one-half to five feet. 

 The tree is an evergreen. The wood is olive-brown in color and of such a 

 high specific gravity that it will not float in water. This property of sink- 

 ing in water is made use of by sawmill men for the purpose of improving the 

 color of the wood ; immersion in water for a few months causing it to acquire 

 a darker- hue. It is hard, compact and durable, and is highly valued for 

 cabinetwork. 



Range — California to Central Oregon, the best groves being found in Coos 

 and Douglas counties. 



Use — Inside finishing, furniture and cabinetwork. 



