Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



grows well along the Atlantic coast 

 close to the ocean, as well as inland in 

 northern localities. It attains a height 

 of 50 to 85 feet, occasionally up to 150 

 feet. The trunk is usually short. The 

 widespreading branches form a broad, 

 open, symmetrical crown. The leaves 

 are 5 to 9 inches long, thin, firm, dull 

 dark green, 7- to 1 1-lobed, with bristles 

 at the tips of the lobes. The northern 

 red oak is rather slow in leafing in the 

 spring but retains its leaves late in the 

 autumn, when they turn a brilliant red. 

 Its inconspicuous light-green flowers 

 appear late in May or early in June 

 when the leaves are about one-half de- 

 veloped. It is relatively easy to trans- 

 plant in early spring. The tree is of 

 moderately rapid growth. It sometimes 

 reaches a height of 18 feet in 10 years, 

 and 50 to 75 feet in 50 years. It may 

 live two or three centuries. It grows 

 well in any well-drained soil, particu- 

 larly in gravelly or sandy loam. It is 

 intolerant of shade and wet soils. Be- 

 cause of its spreading crown, it re- 

 quires a relatively large area for its 

 best development, and therefore it is 

 adapted for planting on lawns and 

 along wide streets. It is moderately 

 tolerant of smoke and soot and may 

 be used on wide streets in suburban 

 and moderately congested districts. 



The northern red oak is susceptible 

 to the fungus disease, Strumella can- 

 ker, which may attack shade trees but 

 is much more serious in the forest. Like 

 most of our northern oaks, northern 

 red oak may be severely attacked by 

 wound-decay fungi. Its most serious 

 enemy at present is oak wilt disease. 



The scarlet oak is native throughout 

 most of the area and makes an excel- 

 lent shade tree except in northern New 

 England, the northern half of the up- 

 per Lake States, the edge of the Plains, 

 and the Coastal Plain in Virginia. In 

 the most northern part of the region 

 it is of medium height, 30 to 50 feet, 

 but under more favorable growing 

 conditions southward it may grow to 

 60 or 80 feet. The trunk is tapering 

 and usually continuous into the crown. 

 The lateral branches are ascending 



above, horizontal and spreading below, 

 and form an open, narrow, irregular, 

 or rounded head. The leaves are 3 to 6 

 inches long, with five to nine bristle- 

 tipped lobes, thin, firm, glossy, and 

 dark green. They turn dark red to 

 bright scarlet in autumn. The flowers 

 develop in May and early June when 

 the leaves are about one-half grown. 



The scarlet oak is quite readily trans- 

 planted, grows rapidly, and prefers dry, 

 sandy soil, but it is more tolerant of 

 moist soils than the red oak. It is 

 adapted for planting on lawns and the 

 wide streets in suburban areas, for it 

 requires slightly less room for develop- 

 ment than the northern red oak. It 

 also endures city conditions and resists 

 drought and smoke, but it is subject to 

 rot by wound-decay fungi and there- 

 fore may suffer from wind breakage. It 

 is subject to oak wilt. 



White oak is one of our best shade 

 trees for lawn planting. It is native to 

 all parts of the region except a small 

 area in the northern part of Michigan 

 and northern and western Minnesota. 

 It is a slow-growing, sturdy tree that 

 grows 60 to 90 feet tall and develops a 

 broad, rounded, open crown. It bears 

 light-green leaves that turn brown in 

 autumn and cling to the twigs through 

 the winter. Its large size makes it un- 

 suitable for planting along most streets. 

 Young white oaks can be transplanted 

 readily if carefully handled, but large 

 specimens are difficult to transplant 

 successfully. White oak trees often live 

 more than a century. White oak is af- 

 fected by oak wilt but is said to be less 

 severely injured by the disease than are 

 red or black oaks. 



The Texas, or Shumard, oak is an 

 attractive tree not often seen in most 

 parts of the Northeast. It is hardy in 

 southern Illinois and Indiana, western 

 Ohio, southeastern Iowa, and the 

 Coastal Plain of Virginia. It is not 

 native in the Appalachians or north of 

 Maryland. It grows 50 to 75 feet high, 

 develops an open crown, and has foli- 

 age like that of the scarlet oak. 



Willow oak develops into a hand- 

 some, large tree, and is useful along 



