Handbook of Trep:s of the Noktjikkn States and Canada. 177 



The Chestnut Oak ii-^ii,illy nttnins a height 

 of from ()() to 70 ft., Iml in forests wliore 

 foiiditions ;uc csiu'cially favoralilo somctiines 

 '(Id ft., with trunk :! or 4 ft in dianioter vested 

 in :i dark firm l)roadly ridj,'cd l)ark. A tree 

 of tliis spccios of excejjtional tliickiiess of 

 trunk, as well as being famous from historic 

 association, is the " Washington Oak," located 

 on the east bank of the Hudson River near 

 Fishkill. It is 7 ft. in diameter and the esti- 

 mated age of the tree, based upon the known 

 age of a fallen companion, is eight or ten 

 centuries. 1 



The Cliestnut Oak inhabits well drained 

 slopes, uplands anil rocky ridges in company 

 with the Sliag-bark and Pig-nut Hickories, 

 various Oaks, the Tulip-tree, etc. 



A cubic foot of its absolutely dry wood 



weighs 46.73 lbs., and is used for the same 



purposes as that of the White Oak.2 Its bark 



is used for tanning leather. 



Leaves from ohlong-Ianceolatc to obovate, ob- 

 tuse, acute or acuminate at apex, from obtuse to 

 subeordate at base, coarsely crenate, with 10 to 

 10 pairs of straight primary veins, glabrous dark 

 green above, paler and puberulous beneath. 

 Flowers: staminate with 7-9 calyx lobes : pistillate 

 with short dark red stigmas. Fruit single or in 

 pairs with pedicels shorter than the petioles : nut 

 ovoid-oblong, lustrous brown, from 1-1 1/^ in. long 

 and about half immersed in the thin pubescent 

 cup which is somewhat roughened outside by the 

 thickened centers and free tips of its scales. 



1. A. W., Ill, 07. 



