i6 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES. 



Pin Oak. 

 Quercus palustris. — Mueuch. 



Pin oak ranges from certain sections of 

 Masaschusetts, notably the Connecticut river 

 valley, and near Amherst, westward as far 

 as tlie southeastern part of Missouri; on the 

 south it is found along the lower Potomac 

 liver in Virginia, through Kentucky, north- 

 ern Arkansas and southeastern Indian Ter- 

 ritory. 



Ir is known by the above name in 

 the states of Massachusetts, Connec- 

 ticut, Ehode Island, New York, 

 Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, 

 Mai-yland, Arkansas, Missouri, Il- 

 linois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas; 

 in Arkansas and Kansas it is called 

 swamp Spanish oak; in Ehode Is- 

 land and Illinois it is often known as 

 water oak; in Pennsylvania, Ohio 

 and Kansas as swamp oak; in Ar- 

 kansas as water Spanish oak. 



The term pin oak is one of the 

 names which are used interchange- 

 ably for so many species of the 

 genus Quercus, but the subject of 

 this sketch, (Quercus palustris, is the 

 only variety to which it rightly be- 

 longs. The name palustyis, which is 

 the Latin for swampy, has been 

 given to the tree because of the fact 

 that its preferred habitat is the bor- 

 ders of swamps and river bottoms 

 where the soil is deep, rich, and 

 moist; while the term' "pin" is ap- 

 plied to it because of the appear- 

 ance of the tiny twigs set in its 

 trunk and limbs, which are so crowd- 

 ed together that they never develop 

 into anything larger. Pin oak 

 reaches its maximum development 

 and is most abundant along the rich 

 bottom lands of the lower Ohio and 

 tributary streams, while in New 

 England it is much less plentiful, 

 and is of small size. 



The bark of a mature tree is dark 

 gray or brownish-green; it is rough, 

 being full of small furrows, ami 

 frequently cracks open and shows 

 the reddish inner layer of bark; on 

 small branches and young trunks, it 

 is smoother, lighter, and more lus- 

 trous. 



The staminate flowers grow in 

 hairy aments two to three inches 

 long; the pistillate on short pedun- 

 cles, and have bright red stigmas. 



The fruit of pin oak is a small acorn which 

 grows either sessile or on a very short stem; 

 sometimes in clusters, and sometimes singly. 

 In shape the acorns are nearly hemispherical, 

 and measure about a half inch in diameter; 

 they are enclosed only at the base, in a thin, 

 saucer-shaped cup, dark brown, and scaly. 



The leaves are three to five inches long; 

 tlicy are simple, and alternate. They are 



FIFTT-SECOXD PAPER 



liroad, and have from five to nine lobes which 

 .■ire toothed, and bristle-tipped on the ends. 

 The sinuses are broad and rounded, and ex- 

 tend well toward the midrib, which is stout, 

 and from which the veins branch off con- 

 spicuously. In color the leaves are bright 

 green above and lighter below when young, 

 becoming thin, tirm and darker green at ma- 

 turity; late in autumn they turn a rich, deep 



attained an average height of thirty feet, 

 although they were planted only about twen- 

 ty-five years ago. They now measure about 

 twelve inches in diameter, but when planted 

 were only an inch and a half. Frequently the 

 ]iin oak, though tapering and symmetrical in 

 form when young, becomes irregular and un- 

 couth when old. The branches are pendulous 

 and are a ijrominent distinguishing mark of 

 the species. 



Pin oak is often cultivated as an 

 ornamental tree in the eastern part 

 of the United States and in some 

 countries of Europe. In the city of 

 Washington one may see a fine ave- 

 nue of pin oaks on the way from the 

 capitol to the navy yard, which, 

 though very young, are already ex- 

 cellent shade trees. In Flushing, 

 Long Island, the pin oak is a favor- 

 ite ornamental and shade tree, and 

 many are the handsome specimens to 

 be seen there. 



The wood of this tree is heavy, 

 hard, strong, coarse-grained, and 

 tuugh. The heartwood is light 

 brown and the sapwood nearly 

 white ; the medullary rays are nu- 

 merous and plainly marked. The 

 wootl is apt to cheek and warp badly 

 in seasoning, but is used extensively 

 for shingles, clapboards, cooperage, 

 interior finish and construction. A 

 cubic foot of seasoned wood weighs 

 about forty-three pounds. 



Oak-apples are the round excres- 

 cences formed on the limbs by gall- 

 flies and their eggs. They seem par- 

 ticularly fond of this species and 

 specimens are often seen which are 

 literally covered "with them; the 

 worms which live inside seem to 

 flourish particularly well on the food 

 they imbibe from pin oak. 



The photograph from which the 

 accomj)anying illustration was made 

 is among the collection of William 

 H. l''reeman, secretary of the Indi- 

 ana State Board of Forestry. 



TYI'ICAL FOltEST GROWTH TIN OAK, IXDI AXA. 



scarlet. They are coated below with pubes- 

 cense, and have large tufts of pale hairs in 

 the axils of the veins. 



Pin oak reaches a height of from seventy 

 or eighty feet ordinarily, although in thick 

 forests it sometimes becomes 120 feet high. 

 In Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, there is an 

 avenue of handsome pin oaks which are re- 

 markable for their symmetry, and which have 



Yate Wood. 



Hecent tests of the hardwoods of 

 western Australia have revealed 

 the extraordinary properties of yate. 

 Its average tensile strength is 24,000 

 pounds to the square inch, equaling 

 that of cast iron. Many specimens 

 are much stronger, and one was 

 tested which showed a resistance of seventeen 

 and one-half tons to the square inch, which is 

 equal to the tensile strength of wrought iron. 

 The sawn timber of yate is probably the 

 strongest in the world. The tree grows to a 

 maximum height of one hundred feet, and 

 occasional specimens have been found which 

 had a diameter of two and a half or even 

 three feet. 



