cupuLiFER^. SILVA OF NORTH AMERICA. 



M9 



coarse-grained, and liable to check badly in drying ; it is light red, with thick lighter colored sapwood, 

 and contains remote conspicuous medullary rays and bands of several rows of large open ducts marking 

 the layers of annual growth. The specific gravity of the absolutely dry wood is 0.6928, a cubic foot 

 weighing 43.17 pounds. It is sometimes used in construction and largely as fuel. The bark is rich in 

 tannin and is employed with that of other species in tanning leather,* and sometimes medicinally in 

 domestic practice in the form of decoctions.^ 



The Spanish Oak was mentioned by Kalm ' in the account of his travels in North America during 

 the middle of the last century, and appears to have been first described in the second edition of Clayton's 

 Flora Virginica, published in 1762.* A year later, according to Aiton,^ it was introduced into English 

 plantations. 



The Spanish Oak is one of the most distinct of the Black Oaks of North America which bear lobed 

 leaves, and, in spite of the various forms its leaves assume, it may always be easily recognized by their 

 drooping habit and the pecuHar rusty covering of their lower surface. Their ample size, curious forms, 

 and distinct coloring make the Spanish Oak a conspicuous and a most desirable ornamental tree, and it 

 is often used to shade houses and village streets in the upper districts of the south Atlantic and Gulf 

 states, where noble old specimens may often be seen. 



1 Trimble, The Tannins, ii. 37, f . 23. 



* Quercus rubra sen Hispanica hie dicta, foliis amplis varie profun- 



2 Lindley, Fl, Med. 292. — Porcher, Resources of Southern Fields deque incisis. Cortex ad corium depsendum utilissimus, 149. 



and Forests, 256. 



8 Travels, English ed. i. 66. 



^ Hort. Kew. ed. 2, v. 291 {Quercus elongata). — Loudon, ^r J. 

 Brit. iii. 1882, f. 1750, 1761. 



