194 



ARBORICULTURE 



The Oak for City Streets 



A song to the oak, the brave old oak, 



Who hath ruled in the greenwood long; 

 Here's health ai.d renown to his broad green crown 



And his lifty arms so strong. 



There's fear in his frown when the sun goes down. 



And tire in the west fades out; 

 And he showeth his might on a wild midnight. 



When the storms tlirough his branches shout. 



Then here's to the oak, the brave old oak. 



Who stands in his pride alone. 

 And still nourish he, a hale green tree. 



When a hundred years are gone. 



In street planting oaks have been used but little. 

 The iew that grace the avenues ot northern cities 

 are there as the result of accident rather than of 

 deliberate planting. This condition is not due to 

 any fault of the trees, other than that they are 

 known to be slow growing and that they bear 

 acorns. Housekeepers have a deeply seated pre- 

 judice agatnst litter on the sidewalks, and blowing 

 oak leaves and falling acorns are sufficient to con- 

 demn the most stately tree. 



Oaks may be classihed into white oaks, chestnut 

 oaks and the evergreen live oaks, all of which 

 bear acorns that ripen within the year; next the 

 black and red oaks, whose acorns take two years 

 in which to mature; and finally the leather-leaved 

 oaks, some of which are evergreen in the South, 

 likewise requiring two years to ripen their acorns. 



All these oaks do not take kindly to civilization. 

 In our own locality on the shores of Lake Michigan 

 the scrub oaks which stand along the sand dunes 

 and crown low hilltops refuse to live when brought 

 within inclosing fences and the ground about the 

 roots becomes hard from the tramp of many feet 

 and the air above their branches heavy with soot 

 and gases. 



Others among the scarlet, black, bur, chestnut 

 and pin oaks change character entirely when cared 

 for by intelligent hands. The leaves take a vivid 

 coloring and the foliage becomes denser; the tree 

 that once looked as ragged as the "raggedy man," 

 spruces up like a gentleman. 



The avenues of live oaks of New Orleans and 

 other southern cities are never forgotten by one 

 who has seen them. These are trees indeed, 

 growing luxuriantly, with a dignity that is magnifi- 

 cent. The live oak is, however, essentially differ- 

 ent from our common oaks and will not survive 

 northern winters. The leaf is evergreen, thick 

 and leathery, without lobes or divisions and is 

 rarely if ever toothed. They remain a dull green 

 all winter, turning yellowish brown in spring, 

 falling when the new leaves push them off. Live 

 oaks are picturesque features of the southern and 

 Californian land-^capes. 



The Village of Flushing. L. I , is noted for the 

 beautiful oaks that shade some of its streets. 

 Different species, including pin onks and scarlet 

 oaks, have been used to good effect. The scarlet 



oak deserves to be more popular than it is. Its 

 leaves are uncommonly graceful, sharply toothed 

 with rounded curvings — a pattern that charms the 

 eyes of the decorative designer. Being of a bril- 

 liant green, the tree presents a handsoiije appear- 

 ance all summer long. The hard polish ot the 

 upper leaf surface sheds the dust and the leaves 

 have the power of persistence to a high degree, 

 clinging fast through dry weather and storms and 

 turning scarlet at the approach of autumn, pre- 

 senting a gorgeous mass of color amid the October 

 display. 



'I'he red oak is the most rapid in growth of all 

 the oaks. It has hne proportions — the best of the 

 acorn-bearing species, and has adopted fewer of 

 the gnarled habits and contorted fashions peculiar 

 to many of its relatives. 



While the conservative tree planter does not 

 recommend oaks for a grand boulevard — at least 

 oaks that are native to this particular locality — 

 theie is no reasan why they should not be given a 

 trial. Still, by its very nature the oak of the 

 West seems better adapted to rural suburbs and 

 short streets and parks, where they impart a hint 

 of the forest wilds and grow into the affections of 

 those who watch them from the early spring days, 

 when the velvety clawlike leaves push forth, 

 veiling the naked branches in an atmosphere of 

 rosy and violet tints, until the glossy brown 

 leaves rustle in the December winds, clinging 

 fast to the parent tree through winter storms until 

 the swelling buds of spring push them off to make 

 way for the garments of spring. 



Of all the tree families the oaks are among the 

 most interesting, and anyone taking the trouble to 

 examine the specimens in Lincoln Park, or in any 

 one of the public parks, and making a collection 

 of leaves of those growing in the suburbs and in 

 vacant lots — will be astonished at the variety and 

 the individual distinction of the native collection. 

 In addition to well-known varieties listed in the 

 average books are many with ornamental foliage 

 and dwarf species adapted to lend themselves to 

 the decorative features of landscape gardening. 



America has no exact counterpart of the English 

 oak, which is regarded with reverence and honor 

 among our British cousins. The English oak 

 (quercus robur) is a relative of the American 

 willow oak, frequently found shading the streets 

 of southern cities and distributed in the wet dis- 

 tricts from New York south along the gulf States 

 and west to Missouri. The English oak has exist- 

 ing specimens of an age estimated from 1,200 to 

 1,800 years, with girths measuring from sixty to 

 seventy-eight feet. America does not offer a rival 

 to enter the list.s against the giants of this species. 



Fortnnafelv oaks are exempt from many insect 

 ppsts, though haunted bv leaf beetles and the 

 familiar "oak gall insect." Common-sen^e care 

 sppedi'v routs the pests and the oak will respond 

 gratefully to attention. — Chicago Evening Post. 



