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As a family the oaks are very useful; but there is a great difference 

 between the several species, especially as to rate of growth, hardness of 

 wood, and usefulness of wood. In general the white oaks are harder 

 and more durable than the black oaks, and when a carpenter or a wood- 

 worker wants a piece of very hard, heavy, durable wood that will hold 

 its shape without shrinking, warping, or checking, he will be likely to 

 choose a piece of white oak in preference to any other kind, of oak. In 

 the market, swamp white oak passes for white oak and sometimes a 

 small quantity of chestnut oak may be included with true white oak; 

 but the wood of chestnut oak is not so strong and good as that of true 

 white oak. 



In form the oaks present a great variety. White oak growing in the 

 woods has a long, clear stem for perhaps fifty or sixty feet and reaches 

 a height of over one hundred feet. In the open fields, where it has plenty 

 of room to develop a big crown, the form is likely to be short and round- 

 headed, with a stout trunk and with little of it clear of branches. The 

 oak always presents an appearance of great strength and sturdiness; 

 the winds of winter have little effect on its tough, strong branches but 

 these are frequently gnarled and irregular as a result of exposure to storms. 

 The acorns of the white oak will germinate soon after falling in autumn 

 if the conditions are favorable; but because so many acorns are eaten 

 by squirrels, and because so many others do not find the right conditions 

 of soil and moisture, only a small number succeed in growing to a size 

 that will enable them to live over the first winter. 



Although a widely distributed tree, the white oak is found most 

 commonly on good moist soil in rich bottom lands or in protected hollows. 

 In the country adjacent to the Ohio River valley the white oak finds 

 the best conditions of soil, climate, and rainfall. It will grow also on 

 rather dry, stony soil, but it never reaches such good size under these 

 conditions. 



Of the black oaks, the common red oak is the most desirable because 

 of the rapidity of its growth and the general quality of its wood. Although 

 not nearly so strong as white oak, it is heavy and rather hard and will 

 be useful where great strength is not required. The grain of the wood 

 is rather coarse and it never seasons so well as does the white oak. In 

 form the red oak develops a very large, wide-spreading crown, with a 

 number of large branches; but it almost always has a well-formed stem, 

 making possible the cutting of good saw logs from it. The red oak grows 

 farther north than any of our native oaks, and is not nearly so particular 

 as the white oak as to quality of soil. 



The common black oak is of relatively little importance. The tree 

 does not grow to such good proportions as the red oak and the wood is 



