FOREST TREES. 191 



The acorns of this species are large and sweet, of a 

 grayish color, contained in a rough and shallow cup, but 

 not abundant. The bark is white and rough, the leaves 

 deeply indented, and by that means cut into large lobes ; 

 many of them continue upon the tree through the winter, 

 which circumstance is peculiar to this species. 



LIVE OAK. 



This singular and useful tree is confined to the south- 

 ern sections of the United Slates. It has the most luxu- 

 riant growth on the islands, and near the creeks in the 

 Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. Its northern limit is near 

 Richmond, Virginia, and it extends from thence to the 

 mouth of the Mississippi. Its numerous limbs, with their 

 branching and irregular form, and the hardness and dura- 

 bility of the wood, render it the most valuable material 

 that grows, for the building of ships. Its great impor- 

 tance to our navy, the narrow limits to which it is confin- 

 ed, and the great destruction it has suffered, to give place 

 to the growth of cotton, have led Congress to take meas- 

 ures to preserve and cultivate it. 



It is neither so large, or so high, as many other trees ; 

 its common height being from forty to fiftyfive, and the 

 diameter of the body from one to two feet. It has a 

 broad tufted head, supported upon a trunk about eighteen 

 or twenty feet high, and when seen from a distance, has 

 some resemblance to an aged apple tree, or perhaps more 

 like a pear tree. Its leaves are small, of an oval shape, 

 not indented, of a dark green on the upper surface, and 

 whitish beneath. They continue upon the tree several 

 years, and fall but gradually, so that the tree always re- 

 tains its rich and native verdure. 



The acorns are of a long oval form, almost black, cups 

 shallow with a gray color. The natives are said to have 

 extracted an oil from them, which they used with their 

 food, besides eating them in their natural state. They 

 are abundant, some seasons particularly, and they germi- 

 nate so readily, as sometimes to shoot out their radicals 

 before they fall from the tree. 



Few trees are probably more deserving of an extensive 

 cultivation ; but doubts are entertained whether they can 



