KKPLACIvMKNT ()1- TlIK CHKSTXUT 109 



Year 



1004 

 lOOJ 

 I'llXi 

 I'.)(I7 

 I 'JOS 

 I'.KI'.I 

 llllO 

 1 '.U 1 



I'.ii:.' 



I'.iKi 

 1014 



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Observations and field studies of chestnut oak. extending over sev- 

 eral seasons have convinced me that its rate of ii^rowth in height, 

 diameter, and volume has been underrated. Its actual growth differs 

 considerably from the apparent growth, the latter having probably been 

 the basis upon which much of the existing information contained in 

 forestry literature about this tree, was based. The growth rings of 

 chestnut oak, particularly in case of specimens of sprout origin, are 

 not an accurate indicator of age. Neither are the growth demarcations 

 on the twigs an accurate basis for determining age. Two or even three 

 growth periods occur frequently in a single growing season. The 

 several growth periods are clearly demarcated on the twigs, and on 

 the cross-section of the stem occur rings for each growth period. This 

 periodicity of growth within a single growing season may be respon- 

 sible for the somewhat erroneous belief that the growth of chestnut 

 oak is extremely slow. The low yield generally credited to this tree 

 may also be due to an inadequate and inaccurate knowledge of its real 

 growth. These observations and conclusions on periodicity of chestnut 

 oak growth coincide with the experience of bark peelers, who recognize 

 each year, two and sometimes three bark-peeling periods which cover 

 the time when the "sap is up" and the twigs are making their elonga- 

 tion. 



Sprouts are common, which during youth make an average annual 

 height growth of two to four feet. Occasional sprouts make a height 

 growth of 5 to 6 feet in a single season, but in nearly all cases of 

 unusual height growth it is laid on in two or more installments. For 

 example, two of the many sprouts examined and measured, each grew 

 to a total height of 6 feet during 1920. One grew 3 feet and 8 inches, 



