The White Oak 137 



a rich brown. The edges are smooth, but the 

 leaves are deeply notched or lobed. Some of 

 the lobes are wide, with broad, shallow spaces 

 between each one; others are narrower, and the 

 space between deeper. The oak is not an ever- 

 green, but many of its leaves cling to the tree 

 through the winter. The buds of the oak are 

 brown, and covered with small scales. 



The fruit or seed is a light brown acorn, which 

 rests in a little cup. This nut is nearly three 

 quarters of an inch long, with a very sweet kernel 

 inside. It is ripe in the fall, and the wild animals 

 and some of the birds are very fond of the white 

 oak acorn. Those small tree-planters, the squir- 

 rels, eat many of them, and the wild ducks and 

 blue jays many more. 



The bark on the young twigs and branches is 

 light green. On the old tree-trunks it is thick and 

 nearly white. The wood of the white oak is 

 light brown, heavy, and very tough. It is last- 

 ing, and is used far and wide in a great many 

 ways, from building ships to furnishing houses. 



In the woods the old oaks, with moss-grown 

 trunks and twisted limbs, stretch far above the 

 other trees. They grow to a larger size and live 



