RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



45 



and cannot be induced to bite. On irrita- 

 tion, it seems to become perfectly exliausted 

 with fear, and will act more like a huge cat- 

 erpillar than an able-bodied ophidian. The 

 peculiar shaped snout, which is seen in a 

 previous number, in the cut illustrating the 

 plates of the head, is said to be used as a 

 shovel in burrowing. The name " Blowing 

 Adder," has been given from its habit of 

 inflating and spreading itself when sur- 

 prised. 



The Native Trees of Rhode Island. 



BY L. W. RUSSELL. 

 No. III. 



QuERCUs BicoLOu — Swamp White Oak. 



Of the annual-fruited oaks the two, Q. 

 alba and Q. obtvsi loba, treated of in the 

 previous articles, belong to tbe" lyrate- 

 leaved sub-division, while the remaining 

 annual-fruited oaks of this state are classed 

 with chestnut-leaved sub-division, so called 

 from the resemblance of their leaves to 

 those of the chestnut, castanea. 



Q. hicolor is frequentl}^ met with in the 

 moist spring}' grounds of llhode Island. 

 Here, as in the eastern counties of Massa- 

 chusetts, it forms a notable characteristic 

 in the scenery of swampy regions. It 

 thrives well, too, on ground dry enough for 

 cultivation, if tlie subsoil be retentive of 

 moisture. This species does not commonly 

 mass itself in forest groups, as other oaks 

 often do, to the exclusion of most other 

 trees ; but the specimens are found scattered 

 about in spots specially suited to them, 

 frequently overhanging streams and pools 

 of water. The tree itself is an object of 

 picturesque beauty, often made more so 

 from the situation in which it grows. As 

 finely shaped specimens are found in this 

 state, j)robably, as anywhere in the country, 

 although they grow larger farther south 

 and west. They form a cylindrical head, 

 reaching, in this region, from forty to sixty 

 feet in height. The limbs begin very low, 

 but the lowest are short, irregular and ' 

 bushy, bending downward as though to 

 reach the ground. An intricate interlacing 

 of the branches is a characteristic of the 

 tree, particularly in exposed situations. 

 The bark on the trunk and larger limbs is 

 whitish, the older portions attached in long, 



loose scales. The bark of the young 

 branchlets is of a light, grayish green. 

 The foliage is dense. The leaves are 

 wedge-shaped at the base, much expanded 

 above, scarcel}- toothed, but coarsely sin- 

 uate-crenate, down}- underneath, particu- 

 larly when young, having 6 to 8 pairs of 

 primary veins from the prominent raid-rib, 

 which are covered with a rust}' down. The 

 leaves are on short foot-stalks, six to seven 

 inches long, two to four inches broad. 

 Several leaves come out close together, the 

 lower ojies being much the smallest, and 

 but slightly sinuous. They are thick and 

 leathery, and dark-green above, turning to 

 dull yellow hues in fading. It is easy to 

 distinguish a branch in winter by the short, 

 rounded, obtuse buds. The blossoms ap- 

 pear, in this climate, during the last of 

 May, the male blossoms on threads two or 

 three inches long, from the lower buds only. 

 The female blossoms appear from the axils 

 of the expanding leaves above, single or 

 in twos, upon foot-stalks which increase in 

 length until autumn, when they beai' fruit 

 two inches or more from the base. The 

 acorns are roundish-ovate, broad and 

 pointed, in a deep cup, rough outside, 

 sometimes fringed on the margin. The 

 fruit is sweet, not usually abundant. 



The w^ood is tough, compact, and firm, 

 forming timber scarcely inferior to that of 

 the white oak. The heart-wood is dark, 

 the sap-wood light in color, — hence, the 

 term " bicolor." The trees of this species, 

 in this region, exhibit many variations, both 

 in their general appearance and in their 

 details. 



Fine specimens of this tree are still 

 growing in Providence, especially on the 

 open lots in the vicinity of "■' Cat Swamp." 

 The largest in this region, known to the 

 writer, are by the borders of the " Ten- 

 Mile River," below "Hunt's Mills." Its 

 northern limit is the southern part of 

 Maine, but it is found in many localities 

 south to the Gulf states, and west to the 

 Mississippi River. It is a fine, vigorous 

 tree in Rhode Island. 



A KNOWLEDGE of sciencB obtained by 

 mere reading, though infinitel}' better than 

 ignorance, is knowledge of a very different 

 kind from that which conies from contact 

 with fact. — Ilaxley. 



