OF EDUCATION 63 



quite large near the bark, but grow smaller as they 

 reach the pith, until they can hardly be seen. They 

 are on the annual rings. The pith-rays are quite 

 large and wide. The annual rings can hardly be 

 seen, as they are so perforated with ducts. The 

 wood is used for a variety of things, such as shingles 

 for barns, sometimes for ships, and timber. It is 

 very good for floors, but it is very Jhard to dry. 

 Wood that has been kept eighty years in a house 

 will not be dry, and if burned, the sap will ooze out. 

 The bark is of a light gray color and thin. 



" The leaf is about four or five inches in length, 

 and three inches broad at the widest part. It has nine 

 lobes, and the sinuses are very deep and rounded. 

 Each lobe has a very sharp bristle, and from two to 

 four bristles on the sides. The apex is rather accu- 

 mulate, and has a bristle at the end. The leaf is 

 oval-shaped, growing larger near the apex. The 

 petiole is red on the upper side, but is yellow on the 

 under, and is not quite round. The mid-vein shows 

 much more plainly on the under side than on the 

 upper, and also the veinlets. The under side of the 

 leaf is much the lighter. In the autumn the leaves 

 turn to a brownish-red color, and that is one reason 

 why the tree is called the red oak. They never 

 turn yellow. The leaf is net-veined. 



"The acorn is about one inch long and three- 



