74 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



of six and four parts by weight respectively. 

 An application of spirits of turpentine to the 

 nose, ears, feet, or an}^ spot that seems 

 tender and likely to shed its hair, is very 

 beneficial. 



The Native Trees of Rhode Island. 



BY L. W. RUSSELL. 

 No. VI. 



Quercus tinctoria — Black Oak. 



Q. tinctoria^ commonly known as the 

 black oak, is the most abundant member of 

 the biennial oaks in Rhode Island. It still 

 occupies, for all the ruinous tree-cutting of 

 our people, numerous areas of many acres 

 each, almost to the exclusion of other trees. 

 On the plains of Providence, and below 

 along the bay, it has notably had possession 

 of the ground. With many well-preserved 

 groups still standing, there are scores of 

 single specimens now growing, which from 

 their symmetry and beauty, and in some 

 instances their massive proportions, appeal 

 alluringly to lovers of trees, A few of these 

 will be mentioned later. 



The general appearance of this tree in its 

 full development, which is nowhere finer than 

 in this state, is that of a widel_y expanded 

 orbicular mound of well-balanced limbs, sup- 

 porting a dense foliage of shining green. 

 This, in open ground, supported by a short 

 sturdy trunk. 



On approaching these trees we find the 

 bark black, thick, deeply furrowed, and 

 transversely broken, so as to make irregular 

 oblong pieces, firmly united underneath. 

 The inner surface is yellowish in color and 

 excessively bitter, which quality extends to 

 that of the smallest branches. The young 

 branchlets are brownish, tinted with red or 

 green, and somewhat furrowed. Before the 

 recent discoveries in dyeing materials, the 

 inner bark was much used for coloring, giv- 

 ing, primaril}', shades of yellow, but, mixed 

 with other, a variet}^ of beautiful colors. 

 It was lai-gely shipped from Philadelphia. 



The fertile blossoms come from the axils 

 of the leaves, and like those of all the bien- 

 nial oaks, do not develop their fruit until 

 the second year. The staminate flowers 

 are long, pendent catkins, forming a pretty 

 appearance, as they do upon the oaks gen- 

 erally. 



The acorns are flattish at the base, about 

 one-half an inch long, usually finely striped 

 from base to apex with alternate bands 

 of dark and lighter brown. The meat of 

 the acorn is yellowish and verj" bitter, like 

 the bark. The acorn is set in a deep cup, 

 made up of scales with recurved tips : The 

 fruit is very abundant, and it would seem 

 should serve some good purpose besides 

 that of propagating its species, and of feed- 

 ing wild animals. The leaves are the glory 

 of the tree. They are on long, slender foot- 

 stalks, deepl}' cut, sometimes almost to the 

 mid-rib, by rounded sinuses, showing three 

 pairs of lobes and a terminal on each, end- 

 ing with a bristly point. They are a lively 

 green covered with a natural varnish which 

 heightens their beauty of form. In the 

 autumn the leaves turn into shades of orange 

 and 3'ellow, often slightly tinted with red. 



The wood is probabl}' the best, as timber 

 or fuel, of any of the biennial oaks. It 

 should, however, be fastened, in work where 

 durability is important, with wooden pins, 

 as it decays readily around iron nails. 



One of the grandest specimens of this 

 tree in the state is now standing in the rear 

 of the barn in Roger Williams Park. It is 

 upon a sloping bank bordering the swampy 

 ground which its roots probably reach. This 

 tree is about twelve feet in circumference 

 near the ground, and seventy feet high. Its 

 age must be verj' great, but it is still vigor- 

 ous. In the vicinity of the Broad Street 

 entrance to the Park, both within and out- 

 side its limits, are some fiuel}' developed 

 trees of this kind. Indeed, the Park owes 

 much of its sylvan attractiveness to the 

 numerous trees of this species occupying 

 the drj'er wooded portions. 



It is rare to find this tree further north 

 than the southern part of Maine and New 

 Hampshire, but it is common in the middle 

 Atlantic states, and its range extends far to 

 the south and west. Is is notably variable, 

 running into some other species by almost 

 insensible gradations. 



As a substitute for the white, mealy ap- 

 pearance seen around the e3^es of birds, 

 the following is recommended: "In a 

 coflfee-pot of water put scraps of slightly 

 sized white paper, boil six hours ; take out 

 and squeeze through a colander, pound in a 

 mortar to a fine paste, dry well and pound 

 again to a fine powder." 



