312 DECIDUOUS TREES. 



observed this tree growing in open fields, with a broad flat head, 

 and a golden green tone when the sunlight was upon it that con- 

 trasted beautifully with the darker evergreen foliage of that region. 

 But in the neighborhood of the Hudson, and at the west, this fine 

 tone is not common on the red oak, nor is the peculiarly flat top so 

 often seen. It is barely possible that the tree we have seen on the 

 coast of Maine is the gray oak, Q. ambigua, of Michaux, which is 

 a northern oak partaking of the character of both the red and the 

 scarlet oaks. But we have had no means of ascertaining the cor- 

 rectness of this surmise. The most marked trait of the red oak as 

 an ornamental tree is the dull crimson or purplish red color of its 

 leaves in the fall ; but as it is much less brilliant than the follow- 

 ing, and in no respect a finer tree, the scarlet oak will be preferred. 



THE SCARLET OAK. Q. coccinea. This differs from the pre- 

 ceding but little except in its leaves, which are more deeply lobed, 

 more sharply pointed, and have longer petioles. They are smooth 

 and shining on both sides. Their autumn color is a bright scarlet 

 or yellowish red, of uncommon intensity, and at that season it 

 has no superior among trees. It is rather an elegant tree at all 

 times, and one of the cleanest limbed of the oaks in winter. The 

 tendency of its foliage to the extremities of the branches often 

 gives the head too open and straggling an appearance, but this 

 defect can be obviated with good effect on trees from twenty to 

 forty feet high by cutting back the long branches a few times. It 

 flourishes in any good soil, moist or dry. 



THE BLACK OAK GROUP. 



THE BLACK OAK, Quercus tinctoria, becomes a tree of the largest 

 size, but of little value in ornamental grounds. The foliage is very 

 dark, and though glossy, is apt to be scattered about on the long 

 limbs, forming neither rich masses nor picturesque outlines. The 

 whole aspect of the tree, with or without its leaves, is sombre. The 

 foliage comes out late, and falls early. It grows naturally on dry 

 sandy soils. 



