THE BEECH, CHESTNUT, AND OAKS 



more deeply fissured than that of the white oak. 

 The twigs are coarser than those of the white 

 oak, often shorter in length, a?id the stems are 

 rounder. Short, thick-set buds and alternate 

 leaf-scars. Acorns set in a shallow cup, often 

 mossy-fringed at the margin ; the nut is sweet 

 and edible. 



When once the swamp white oak's peculiar- 

 ities are known it is seldom confused with any 

 other oak, even in winter. Its unkempt appear- 

 ance, the peeling away of the bark along the 

 branches, and its generally straggling habit of 

 growth distinguish it quite as much in the 

 winter as at any other season of the year ; it 

 is at all times the untidy member of the oak 

 family. The branches begin very low down 

 on the trunk of this oak, and one can dis- 

 tinguish the tree from a distance in this way. 

 Emerson says that in warm and sheltered 

 situations it is a neat and beautiful tree, but 

 that when it is too much exposed to the east 

 or north wind it shows the effect by its ragged 

 appearance; as one sees the tree generally 

 through Southeastern New England one de- 

 duces from its appearance that the prevalent 

 winds are those from the east and north. 



The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and tough, 

 and is used for the same things that that of the 



87 



