OAK-DBS KR V ATORIE3. 



0. 



OAK. The highly valuable genas of trees known 



u, Uuercut, or the oak, u found over 



8* Vol. XVJI. ncmr )y a j| lne northern hemisphere. 



" except the extreme north, cmbr..eing 



h deciduon- and evergreen species. 



The oaks naturally separate into two divisions : the 

 annual fruited, in which the acorns mat tin* in the 

 -..it. nun of the first year, and the kerne) has commonly 

 a sweet taste; ami (he liiennial-fruite<l, in which the 

 corns do not mature till the anluinn of the second 

 year, and the kernel is always bitter. To the annual- 

 Vniiu-1 divi.-ion belongs the group of white oaks, in- 

 cluding Qurretu allm. r the white oak. a large tree 

 with whitUh bark and edible seed ; Q. OWWUata, the 

 post oak ; Q. maemoirixi. the burr or over cup oak ; 

 and Q. lyrata. the southern over-eiij> oak. To the 

 name division belong the che.-tnut oaks, inoluding Q. 

 bieolor, the swamp white oak ; 0. priium. the chestnut 

 oak; Q. prinouiet, the dwarf chestnut or chinquapin 



Lire Oik Grove, Bonaventure, Savannah, Ga. 



oak ; and the live oak, Q. rirrn*. a tree of the barrens 

 fnnii Virginia south, whose wood is very tinn and dur- 

 able, and of the greatest value ( unercially. 



The biennial-fruited oaks include, Q. n'/rc<i. the 

 upland willow oak ; < t >. /'///. the willow oak; Q. 

 I'liilirii-'iln. the laurel or shingle oak ; O. IK/IHI/I'I-H, the 

 water oak : ','. -n'l/rti. the M.iek ja'-k or liarren oak ; Q. 

 illrifnlin, the black scrub oak; Q. fuli-nln. tlie Spanish 

 Ok ; Q. C'H' .<//. the barren scrub oak ; Q.eoci-im-n. 

 the ncarlet oak, with variety (}. iim-t<,n-n, the black 

 oak ; () ml i ni. the red oak ; and Q. paluitru, the 

 swamp or pin oak. 



In the Pacific States then i.d species of the 



'/'* and tJ. 

 specie* are -liruli- 



fnliil. The lost tWO of these 



t trees df :M |., In fed liigb. :l ,.. 

 they irrow dii tin- inniintnitis or the font -hills. 

 Then- are other North American oak>. mo-t 



of them of no c oiioinic.d importance. thouirh <). 

 <'/. tli- 1,.1-krt or cow oak. yields timlicr that 

 aOHMBl lor wheel stocks, baskets. ,!,- . while it.s 

 Urge itwcet acorns arc eagerly eaten by cattle and other 



The white oak gives hard and durable timber, and 



its liark is and lor tanning. The live oak yields a 

 yellow, close-grained timber, which is of unequalled 

 ice as ship timber, and is highly pri/.ed 

 everywhere. Its low habit of branching also enable* 

 it to furnish an abundance of excellent ship-knees. 

 The black oak (Q. tiiictoreii) yields a timber second 

 only to that of the white oak in value, while its bark 

 contains much tannin and an abundance of coloring 

 matter, and is much used in tanning and dyeing. < )ther 

 oaks of commercial utility might be cited, but the above 

 d are the most valuable. (c. M.) 



OAKLAND, a beautiful city of California, the 

 county-seat of Alameda co., is on the K. shore of San 

 Francisco Bay, 4i miles from San Francisco. It is the 

 terminus of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific 

 Railroads. Two narrow-gauge railroads, the South 

 Pacific Coast and the California and Nevada, also ter- 

 minate here, and there are two local steam railroads 

 and ferries to San Francisco. ^Across Oakland estuary 

 there are two railroad draw-bridges and one for general 

 use. The city contains a court-house, hall of records. 

 ity-hnll. one national and 'J other hanks. :! daily and 

 8 weekly newspapers. lio churches, L'.'i schools, and the 

 Stale 1 Ionic for the Adult Blind. It has several 

 foundries, {aiming-factories, and cotton-, jute-, woollen-, 

 iron-, and nail-mills, and maniit'aeturesol shoes, leather. 

 pottery, carriages, agricultural implements, etc. The 

 city is on a plateau shut in by hills and the bay. the 

 wide streets are macadamized and trees and flower- are 

 seen on all sides. The property of the city is valued 

 at $30,000,000. It has gas- and water works and other 

 public conveniences. It was settled in IS.'jO and incor- 

 porated in Is.V-'. but only fairly bciran to grow in 1868, 

 when the Central Pacific IJailroad established the ferry 

 and local railroad. No charge is made on these roads 

 for riding within the city limits. In the centre of the 

 city is a salt water reservoir used for flushing the 

 sewers. In Isso the population was 34,5.">I. 



OATS. See under Aditn t l/rriiK. chap. v. 1. 



OBSKKVATOKIKS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

 The honor of founding the first astro- 

 See Vol. .^ II. nomical oli-ervatory in America has 

 p. /04 (p. 7-4 be( , M ( .|., il]l( ,,i f or t ] le Universitv of 

 North Carolina. In ISlM Dr. Joseph 

 Caldwcll, the president of that university, purchased 

 in London a meridian transit instrument ana a zenith 

 telescope by Simms, a refractor by l)ollond, an astro- 

 nomical clock by Molyncux, a sextant by Wilkinson, a 

 reflecting circle by Harris, and a Iladley's quadrant, 

 and these instruments were used in the university- 

 building till 1831. when they were placed in an "ob- 

 servatory" especially designed lor their reception. 

 ( Ihscrvations were made at this place by Dr. Caldwell, 

 Prof. Klisha Mitchell, and Prof. James Phillips, but 

 the records have Ix-en lost. Tin- instruments were re- 

 moved in ls:i.'i. and in ls:;s the building was partially 

 dc.-trovcd by (ire. and a-tr. inoinical activity was never 

 renewed. The Hopkins < )bs( rvatory of Williams Col- 

 lege, erected in l>;;ii. is the oldest observatory that has 

 continued its activity to the present time, while the 

 observatory of the Western Reserve College. Hudson. 

 Ohio (1838), and the High School Observatory at 

 Philadelphia (|s;;s-l.sl(i), which l>ccame famous under 

 Walker and Kendall, deserve especial mention in the 

 early history of practical astronomy in this country. 

 These were followed by the Cincinnati Observatory, in 

 is 111. the I'nited States Naval Observatory at W:i-h- 

 in I Ml. and the Harvard Observatory at Cam- 

 bridge, envied about the same tinn 1 . In later years 

 we have the Washhimi < Hiservatorv (IsS(l). the MeCor- 

 mick Observatory (Is* I), and finally the Lick Observa- 

 tory, with its magnificent equipment, finished in 1888. 



