EXOGENOUS SERIES-BROADLEAF WOODS. 19 



White Oak. Quercus alba Linn. 



Nomenclature. 



White Oak (general). Stave Oak (Ark.). 



Locality. 



Widespread, north-central and eastern United States. 

 Features of Tree. 



Seventy-five to one hundred feet in height, Three to six feet in 

 diameter, fine shape and appearance. Grayish-white bark. 

 Comparatively sweet ovoid oblong acorns in rough shallow 

 cups. Rounded lobes or projections to leaves. 



Color, Grain, or Appearance of Wood. 



Heartwood brown with sapwood lighter. Annual layers well 



marked. 

 Medullary rays broad and prominent. 



Structural Qualities of Wood. 



Tough, strong, heavy, hard, liable to check unless seasoned 

 with care. Durable in contact with the soil. Receives a 

 high polish. 



Representative Uses of Wood. 



Ship-building, construction, cooperage, cabinet-making, rail- 

 way ties, fuel, etc. Bark is rich in tannin. 



Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot. 

 50 (U. S. Forestry Div.).* 

 46. 



Modulus of Elasticity. 



2,090,000 (average of 218 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).* 



1,380,000. 



Modulus of Rupture. 



13, 100 (average of 218 tests by U. S. Forestry Div.).* 



12,800. 



Remarks. 



A tree of the first economic importance. The most widely 

 employed of all American oaks. Name refers to appearance 

 of baric. The supply diminishing because of value of timber, 

 also the sweetness of nuts causes them to be eaten by animals. 

 Oaks warp and check easily because of their complicated fiber 

 arrangements. Some cell-structures dry faster than others. 

 Oaks stand well after having once been seasoned; there is 

 then little further distortion. 



* See page 8. 



