Trelease, 2 an outstanding authority on American oaks, divides them 

 further into a third group, the intermediate oaks (about five spe- 

 cies), with gray -brown scaly bark, firm, small, leaves which are 

 entire or have prickly or sharp-pointed teeth, and biennial usually 

 woolly acorns, the acorn shell being woolly within. Other popular 

 oak classifications include live oaks with thick, evergreen, persistent 

 leaves; chestnut oaks with lobed, more or less chestnutlike, leaves; 

 and dwarf, scrubby, shinnery oaks. All of these groups tend to inter- 

 grade more or less. 



The oaks of the southeastern and eastern States are very important 

 timber trees, especially white oak (Q. alba) which produces excellent 

 lumber, being one of the most important hardwood timber species of 

 the East. The hulls of Old Ironsides and the other famous early 

 nineteenth century frigates of the United States Navy were made of 

 timber from the eastern live oak (Q. mrginia.no). Eastern oaks are 

 also important because of the tannin contained in the bark, and are 

 used both for fuel and as ornamentals, but are of little economic im- 

 portance as forage. The western oaks are best represented and of 

 most importance in the Southwest, California, and southern Oregon, 

 although Gambel oak (Q. gwnbelii] and Utah oak (Q. utaJiensis) 

 are very abundant over large areas of the central Rockies. The 

 western oaks are chiefly valued for watershed and soil protection, 

 livestock and wild life forage and protective cover, as well as for 

 cordwood, fence posts, mine props and similar miscellaneous uses. 

 With few exceptions, these species are of little significance in the 

 lumber industry, the trunks of most of them being too crooked or 

 short for suitable saw timber. Many western oaks are shrubs or 

 small trees, and because of their abundance on many ranges are very 

 important range plants. The leaves of a few species furnish fair 

 forage but the foliage of most of them is important only as 

 emergency feed. 



The leaves of the deciduous oaks, in general, are more tender, have 

 a higher nutritive value, and are browsed more readily by all classes 

 of livestock than are the leaves of the live oaks. Sheep, and especial- 

 ly goats, utilize the leaves to a greater extent than do either cattle 

 or horses. This is especially true of the live oaks. Mackie 3 made 

 chemical analyses of the leaves of several California oak species and 

 found them relatively high in minerals, protein, crude fiber, ether 

 extract and tannin. He states that oak leaves would probably occupy 

 a high place among forage plants were it not for their excessive 

 content of crude fiber, resins and waxes, and tannin. An exclusive 

 oak leaf diet, because of its tannic acid, sometimes causes sickness, or 

 even death, among cattle and young lambs. The leading symptoms 

 are constipation, emaciation, and inertia. Ill effects are usually 

 avertable by proper management, as oak leaves are not injurious 

 when eaten with a mixture of other forage. 



The acorns of many species, especially of the white oak group, 

 constitute an important food of such domestic animals as swine and 

 turkeys, and also of various wild game species, including deer, elk, 



2 Trelease, W. THE AMERICAN OAKS. Natl. Acad. Sci. Mein. 20, 255 pp., illus. 1924. 



3 Mackie, W. W. THE VALUE OF OAK LEAVES FOR FORAGE. Calif. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 

 150, 21 pp., illus. 1903. 



