THE BEECH, CHESTNUT, AND OAKS 



threads do not appear when the tree is in the 

 midst of a forest or when the summers are not 

 very warm. 



The wood of the mossy cup oak is even 

 more valuable than that of the white oak. It 

 is heavy, strong, hard, tough, close-grained, and 

 durable in contact with the soil. It is used 

 for the same purposes as that of the white 

 oak. 



One can easily trace the family resemblance 

 between the mossy cup oak and the cork tree 

 of Southern Europe, which yields the cork of 

 commerce. 



The specific name, macrocarpa, comes from 



two Greek words meaning large fruit, and refers 



to the cups and acorns. The mossy cup oak 



is found in the West and in certain localities 



in New England. It is found on the banks of 



the Penobscot River in Maine, on the shores 



of Lake Champlain in Vermont, and among 



the Berkshire Hills, near Stockbridge, and on 



the banks of the Ware River in Massachusetts. 



A middle-sized or small tree 



Rock Chestnut usually, although it is sometimes 



Oak ioo feet high. The bark does 



not flake. The buds are pointed, 



an exception for the white oaks. The buds 



are long in proportion to their width. There is 



8 9 



