o 



1505. Variable foliage of the 

 Oak.— Pin Oak type. 



OAK. Plate XXI. Strength, solidity, durability are 

 .symbolized in the Oak. The tree is connected with the 

 traditions of the race, and it is associated with litera- 

 ture. It is a tree of strong individuality, with bold, free 

 growth and massive framework. Its longevity appeals 

 to every person, even though he has no feeling for 

 trees. It connects the present with the past. It spans 

 the centuries. 



This feeling that the Oak represents a long span of 

 years is itself the reason why we should consider the 

 tree with veneration and let it live its full time; and 

 this is the particular lesson which the writer would im- 

 press. Spare the isolated 

 Oak trees I Of whatever 

 kind or species, a mature 

 Oak is beyond price. To 

 allow it to remain be- 

 speaks culture and kind- 

 ly feeling. 



Many species of Oak 

 are now available in nur- 

 series. There are per- 

 haps 25 species that can 

 be relied on for planting 

 in the northeastern 

 states, and there are par- 

 ticular varieties adapted 

 to almost every habitable 

 part of North America. 

 The planting of cheap, 

 quick - growing willows 

 and poplars is so com- 

 mon that one almost de- 

 spairs of the time when 

 such strong and expres- 

 sive trees as Oaks shall be planted. There is little diffi- 

 culty in the planting of Oaks if one secures nursery- 

 grown stock. They grow more slowly than some other 

 trees, but what they lack in rapidity of growth they make 

 up in character and foliage color. If quick effects are 

 wanted, some fast-growing tree may be planted with 

 them, to be removed as the Oaks need the space. Some 

 of the species grow nearly or quite as rapidly as hard 

 maples, when young. Other species are mere bushes 

 and make an excellent border-mass on the farther side 

 of large grounds. Of such is the native Scrub-Oak 

 (Qiiereus ilicifolia) of the eastern states. The native 

 species are usually the best for any region, from the 

 fact that they are adapted to climate and soil ; and 

 then, a feeling for common native plants is an indica- 

 tion of the highest appreciation .and of the keenest re- 

 sponse to the conditions in which one lives. 

 For a full sketch of the kinds of Oaks, see Quercus. 



L. H. B. 

 Among the native deciduous trees of the eastern 

 United States no kinds are more useful or attractive, 

 either in economic value or for ornamental planting, 

 than the various species of Oaks. Hardiness, lon- 

 gevity, beauty of foliage and fruit, exemption from the 

 injurious attacks of disease or insect pests, and beauty, 

 strength and durability of the lumber are among their 

 especially valuable characteristics. The family of Oaks 

 is a large one, but they mix and vary so much by 

 natural hybridization and geographical variations that 

 their botany is puzzling to all but the most astute 

 scientific students. Casual observers and amateur bot- 

 anists who attempt their study find them an interesting 

 but difficult family to identify. A sprig from a tree 

 which is probably a hybrid between the willow and Pin 

 Oaks, Pig. 1505, is a fair sample of the kind of variations 

 which are frequent in Oak forests. Experienced woods- 

 men, who are quite familiar with .ill the Oaks in their 

 neighborhood, find that, a few miles from home, on dif- 

 ferent soil and elevation, they meet with varietal differ- 

 ences of bark, foliage, fruit and general appearance of 



trees which they can scarcely associate with the species 

 as they have known them. 



That Oaks have been esteemed and admired from 

 time immemorial is evidenced by the numerous forms 

 in which their leaves and fruit appear in all kinds of 

 ornamentations in all ages. 



Acorns of all species are objects of interest, but the 

 larger forms, especially those of the Fringed or Mossy- 

 cup Oak, are particularly attractive. 



In autumn the foliage of Oaks remains green until 

 many other trees have shed their leaves; then they as- 

 sume rich shades of red, bronze and brown, presenting 

 a splendor of ripening foliage less brilliant but not less 

 beautifvil than that which, a few weeks before, arrayed 

 some of their forest companions so gorgeously. 



It has been said that "Who plants Oaks, plants for 

 posterity." Too often this has been interpreted to mean 

 that Oak trees grow and develop so slowly that a planter 

 m.iy not reasonably expect to realize much benefit from 

 his own plantings, but that long after he has passed 

 away posterity will reap the harvest which he has sown. 

 Judged from a lumberman's standpoint, this is nearly 

 correct. The Pin Oak and some other species are ma- 

 ture at from 75 to 80 years of age, and seldom live more 

 than 100 years, but the White Oaks are not fit for 

 sawing into lumber until they have passed 125 years of 

 age, and most of the large valuable trees are much older 

 than this. 



The White Oak, found naturally on low lands and clay 

 soil, is unquestionably the patriarchal aristocrat among 

 native trees of the eastern U. S. While it is a sorrow- 

 ful fact that nearly all the tall forest Oaks with large 

 trunks have fallen before the march of human progress, 

 still there are a few venerable specimens left, with very 

 large, spreading heads, but whose trunks are so short 

 as to have little commercial value. These have un- 

 doubtedly stood for several centuries, and are still in 

 unimpaired strength and vigor, being typical speci- 

 mens of the natural development of their species when 

 allowed time and room for growth in open clearings. 

 One notable example is a White Oak in the Friends' 

 graveyard in the city of Salem, N. J. Its trunk is 19 ft. 

 in circumference 3 ft. from the ground, and its branches 

 cover an area 118 ft. in diameter north and south, and 

 105 ft. east and west. Another specimen in North Mt. 

 Moriah Cemetery, in Delaware county. Pa., in the sub- 

 urbs of Philadelphia, measures 28 ft. 4 in. in circumfer- 

 ence of trunk a foot above groimd, and 22 ft. 4 in. at 3 

 ft. above ground, the branches spreading 96 and 106 ft. 

 in diameter. 



A few years ago one such white Oak was ruthlessly 

 destroyed near South Glastonbury, Conn., by its vandal 

 owner for the value of the fire-wood it contained. These 

 trees were no doubt well 

 established in the soil be ,•.■"". 



fore Christopher Columbus 

 discovered America. Such 

 specimens are now so scarce 

 it is a pity that they cannot 

 be protected by law, and 

 tmappreciative owners be 

 taught to regard such vener 

 able trees for the pleasure 

 which their presence affords 

 to an intelligent public, if 

 from no other motive. A 

 fine old pasture Oak is 

 shown in Fig. 1506. 



Considered from a gar 

 dener's or planter's stand 

 point, the Oaks are among 

 the most valuable of our na- 

 tive trees. An idea that they are very difficult to trans- 

 plant and slow of growth, for many years almost barred 

 them from cultivation, but experiments made within 

 the past 20 years have done much to correct this popu- 



1506 

 Field-erown white Oak. 



(1110) 



