480 BOTANY. 



teen metres or more (40-50 feet). "It furnishes the hardest oak wood 

 of the Pacific Coast, and is used in making ox-bows, ax-handles, etc." 

 (Vasey). 



Q. Suber, the Cork Oak, is found in Southern France, Spain, Italy, 

 Sardinia, and, to a limited extent, in Northern Africa. It is a spread- 

 ing topped tree, bearing oval, dentate evergreen leaves. Certain lay- 

 ers of cells in its bark retain their power of growth for a long time, 

 and give rise to a thick mass of cork. This is removed every eight or 

 ten years by making vertical and transverse cuts in the bark, and then 

 peeling off all but the inner bark layers. Most of the supply of cork 

 comes from Spain and Southern France. The tree might very profit- 

 ably be grown in our Southern States and in California. 



Q. cerris, the Turkey Oak of Southeastern Europe, is a fine tree with 

 deciduous, lobed leaves, and bears a considerable resemblance to our 

 native Q. mavrocarpa, from which it differs, however, in requiring two 

 years to mature its fruits. Its timber is much used for ship-building 

 and other purposes. 



(6) Black Oaks. 



In this are the Black Jack (Q. nigra), the Red Oak (Q. rrtbra}. Scarlet 

 Oak (Q. coccinea), Quercitron Oak, (Q. aceinea, var. tinctorial, all of 

 the Eastern United States. The timber obtained from these is coarse- 

 grained, and not so durable as that of the white oaks ; the two last fur- 

 nish a yellow dye, Quercitron, which is derived from the bark. Q. agri- 

 folia, the Field Oak of California is a broad-topped evergreen species. 

 Its wood is of but little value. 



SECTION II., the Spiny -Cupped Oak, includes but a single species, 

 found in California. 



Q. densiflora, the California Tan-bark Oak. This is a beautiful tree, 

 often thirty metres or more in height (100 feet), with curious chestnut- 

 like fruits. 



The remaining sections contain eighty to ninety species, confined en- 

 tirely to India, China, Japan, and the Malay Islands. They differ in 

 many respects from our oaks. 



Order Juglandaceee. The Walnut Family. Trees and shrubs 

 with pinnately compound leaves ; fruit a dry drupe, containing a hard, 

 one-seeded nut (Figs. 380-382). This family includes about thirty spe- 

 cies, about equally divided between North America and Asia. They 

 possess an acrid aromatic principle, which has been used in medicine. 



Juglans regia, the Walnut of the Old World, is a native of Asia 

 Minor and the country eastward, but long cultivated in all parts of 

 Europe, and, to some extent, in this country. The light brown wood is 

 highly prized in England for cabinet-making, the manufacture of fur- 

 niture, piano-cases, gun-stocks, etc. Its thin-shelled nuts are highly 

 esteemed, and are imported from Europe in large quantities under the 

 name of "English Walnuts." (Figs. 375-82.) 



J. nigra, the Blnck Walnut of the Eastern United States, is a giant 





