88G 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUIVl. 



PART III. 



lowish brown, beginning with 

 the petiole. This oak is nearly 

 as extensively distributed in 

 North America as the white 

 oak ; and, except in the district 

 of Maine, and the northern 



1757 





1756 



part of New Hampshire, Ver- 

 mont, and Tennessee, this spe- 

 cies is found throughout the 

 United States, on both sides 

 ot the Alleghanies ; and it is 

 everywhere called the black 

 oak, except in some parts of 

 New England, where, according to Dr. Brown (Si/l. Amer.), it is called the 

 yellow oak. It flourishes in Maryland, and in some parts of Virginia, where 

 the soil is lean, gravelly, and uneven ; and it generally will grow in a poorer soil 

 than the white oak. This oak was one of those enumerated by the elder 

 Michaux, as being advisable to introduce into France, and of'which he sent 

 seeds to that country in 1786 (see p. 142.); notwithstanding which, it does 

 not appear that there are any large specimens in France; and the plants 

 raised by Michaux were probably lost during the revolution of 1789, when 

 a great part of the plantations of Rambouillet were destroyed. It was in- 

 troduced into England in 1800, by the Messrs. Fraser, but has been but very 

 little cultivated, though it is a tree of great regularity and beauty, and, even in 

 this country, might possibly become of use for its bark. 



Properties and Uses. The wood, though coarse-grained and porous, is 

 much more esteemed for strength and durability than that of any other Ame- 

 rican oak of biennial fructiiication. In Philadelphia, it is employed in building ; 

 and, in most parts of the northern states, it is used as a substitute for the 

 white oak, whenever that tree is scarce; and a large proportion of what are 

 called the best red oak staves, which are used, in Canada and the West Indies, 

 to form casks for flour, salted provisions, and molasses, are made of the wood 

 of this tree. The bark is extensively used in tanning; for which it is well 

 adapted, as it is produced in great abundance, and is rich in tannin. The only 

 inconvenience is, that shoes made of leather tanned with it are apt to impart 

 a yellow tinge to the stockings. This colour, however, may be discharged by 

 subjecting the leather to a particular process, when it is thought worth while 

 to incur the expense. The most useful product of this oak is the quercitron, 

 which is much used in both America and England for dyeing ; and which is 

 not only e(|ual to woad in the brilliancy of the yellow [)roduced, but is so nuich 

 stronger, that Dr. Bancroft states that one part of quercitron yields as much 

 colouring matter as 8 or 10 parts of woad. The colouring matter is con- 

 tained in the inner bark, a decoction of which forms a brt)wnish yellow dye, 

 which may be rendered deeper by alkalies, and lighter by acids. A solution of 

 alum causes a small portion of the colouring matter to fall in a deep yellow 

 precipitate; and solutions of tin afford a more abundant precipitate, of a 

 brighter huci To dye wool, it is sufficient to boil the quercitron with an equal 



