388 APPENDIX 



Germination. The germination of acorns is quick and takes place at a low tem- 

 perature, from 3 to 4 degrees C. (37 degrees to 39 degrees F.) above zero; they are 

 difficult to preserve even till spring. A bushel weighs about 40 pounds on an average 

 and contains approximately from 8,000 to 9,300 seeds. 



Rooting. The tap root of pedunculate oak is developed first; at one year of age 

 it is often 12 inches in length. Only when about 6 to 8 years old does it produce a few 

 laterals; but at 60 to 70 years the laterals are dominant and the tap root becomes of 

 secondary importance and seldom reaches below 3 to 5 feet. Stump and root wood, 

 with 12-inch stumps, represents 14 per cent to 17 per cent of the total cubic volume. 



Shoots and Suckers. Dormant buds keep alive a long time and retain great 

 reproductive power to an advanced age; per contra, it means that standards are liable 

 to have numerous root suckers after the coppice has been felled. Pedunculate oak is 

 therefore more liable to have epicormic branches than its associate sessile oak. 



Adventitious buds are but rarely formed and only in very fertile soils; they produce 

 poorly attached shoots which wind, snow, and hoarfrost easily cause to break. Stump 

 shoots root but superficially and do not require deep soil. 



Bark. The bark is smooth, shiny, and silver-gray up to 20 to 30 years . . . 

 after that age, a brown bark with longitudinal flakes which becomes thicker and 

 thicker. . . . 



Geographical Distribution. The habitat of pedunculate oak is very extensive. 

 It is found between east and west longitude 65 degrees, from the Ural Mountains and 

 the coast of the Caspian Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Its southern limit is from southern 

 Spain, at a point in the Sierra Morena, south of Sicily, Italy, Greece, thence through 

 Minor Asia as far as the Eastern Caucasus. The northern limit starts from Scotland, 

 goes to 63d latitude in Norway and thence southeastward through St. Petersburg to 

 Orenburg, in the Ural. It thus extends through about 26 degrees of latitude. 



Location. The pedunculate oak prefers the plains and the valley bottoms, but it 

 is found in the hills and even reaches as high as 3,280 feet in the Eastern Pyrenees. 



Soil. Pedunculate oak does not show any particular preference as regards the 

 mineral nature of the soil provided it is sufficiently moist, and deep. Sandy-clay soils, 

 even if occasionally flooded, suit it especially well; it is a serious error to drain them. 



Tolerance. Pedunculate oak is a light demanding species. In order to grow, it 

 requires at least four months of uninterrupted vegetative activity with a mean tempera- 

 ture of 12.25 C. (54 F.), provided no protracted drought intervenes; in order that 

 acorns may mature a total temperature varying (south to north) from 28.75 to 20.20 C. 

 (83.75 to 68.50 F.) is necessary. The maximum temperatures that it can stand are, 

 in the south, 44 C. (111 F.); in the north, 37 C. (98 F.). When in vegetative ac- 

 tivity, it is easily affected by cold; young shoots, leaves and flowers will usually die if, 

 during spring, the thermometer falls below C. (32 F.). 



Timber. It yields primarily building timber. The sapwood is white and clearly 

 defined; the more active the vegetation the wider is the sapwood. According to the 

 Nancy Forest School collection the total thickness of sapwood is from 0.63 to 3.0 inches; 

 the total number of annual rings 36 to 7. The density for timber completely air dried 

 is from 0.647 (Forest of Haye, Nancy) to 0.906 (Adour oak), with average yearly incre- 

 ments of 0.186 of an inch. 



Uses. ... The wood is especially prized for ship building. 



Fuel Value. Its fuel value (based on calorific power) averages, as compared with 

 beech, 91/100, according to G. L. Hartig; 85/100, according to Worneck. 



The market value of firewood is below this because pedunculate oak crackles while 

 burning, requires a strong draught, and the coals do not hold the fire well. There is a 

 great difference as to quality in this respect. Bark from mature trees, on the other 



