8* THE WILLOW OAK. [Mat 



THE WILLOW OAK {QUERGUS PHELLOS). 



BY SAMUEL PARSONS, JUNR. 



OAKS are so seldom planted on the lawn, that when one is found 

 there, it will be safe to assume that it grew from self-sown 

 seed. The reason for this neglect by the lawn planter is evident. 

 Oaks are considered slow-growing, and they are hard to transplant 

 by the methods usually employed. Now, it is true that no art can 

 make the oak transplant as easily as the willow ; but if trees are 

 used 5 or 6 feet high that have been transplanted within three 

 years, a great deal of the difficulty will vanish. And the objection 

 that a tree takes some time to develop its full beauty is surely not a 

 weighty one, provided the attractions are as long-lived as those of 

 the oak. Many of the oaks, moreover, attain stately dimensions in 

 a score of years, which is certainly not a long time to wait, con- 

 sidering the periods required for the development of some of our 

 best lawn trees. 



The willow oak, however, is not one of the loftiest of the genus, 

 but its unique character and the attractiveness of its appearance, 

 when even partially developed, abundantly repay the planter for 

 the length of time consumed in its growth. This oak is found as 

 far north as New York, and southward as far as Georgia and Florida. 

 It is an erect, sturdy tree, with young shoots straight, spreading, 

 and wandlike. The bark of the trunk and main branches is smooth, 

 black, and seldom cracked, and, like that of the beech and birch, 

 constitutes one of the specially attractive features of the trees. The 

 leaves are quite entire, narrow, and tapering at each end, with a 

 small tip or point. Their resemblance to the willow leaf is com- 

 pleted by a bright shining surface. These leaves are frequently 

 persistent to a considerable degree, remaining on the tree late in the 

 fall, and sometimes all winter. The acorns are roundish and small. 

 In its native habitat, and under favourable conditions, the tree often 

 attains sixty or seventy feet in height. Of rounded contour and 

 solid, sturdy growth, the willow oak should be classed on the lawn 

 planter's list with such trees as liquidamber and sour gum {JSfysa 

 sylvatica). There is a distinctly quaint, striking quality about its 

 attitude and general aspect that attracts the eye at once. It should 

 on this account be planted in isolated positions on the lawn, or in 

 gatherings of its own kind. 



Altliough the willow oak is not often found in our nurseries, if 

 inquiry were only frequently made for it, I have no doubt the supply 

 would in a few years equal the demand, for it could be readily pro- 

 pagated from either seeds or grafts. The trouble is that most people 

 do not care to know many trees possessed of the best lawn- 

 planting qualities. 



