148 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Mississippi River. It grows under favorable circum- 

 stances from 150 to 170 feet high ; its average height, 



however, is not much over 75 feet. 

 In the open it develops a 

 broad, round head and 

 wide - spreading branches. 

 The bark of the trunk is 

 deeply furrowed, and fre- 

 quently broken into plate- 

 like, light-brown scales ; that 

 of the young branches is 

 dark brown, marked with 

 corky ridges or wings. The 

 new leaves are a tender 

 yellow green, and the 

 thicker mature ones deep 

 green and shiny ; beneath, the color is lighter ; in 

 autumn they turn dull yellow or yellow brown. A 

 mature leaf will measure from six to twelve inches 

 in length. The acorn of this oak is distinguished by 

 the heavy fringing around the nut at the edge of 

 the cup ; the cup itself is extremely rough. The 

 acorns usually grow solitary, and vary in size and 

 shape. 



The burr oak is found in the Penobscot River 

 Valley, Me., along the shore of Lake Champlain, Vt., 

 and in the valley of the Ware River, Mass. ; it is also 



Over 



