THE WHITE OAKS 



587 



THE BARK OF THE WHITE OAK BREAKS 

 UP INTO LONG PLATE LIKE SCALES. 



into tannic acid and used in the prepa- 

 ration of leather. The inner bark of 

 the black oak contains a yellow dye 

 material that is used locally in the 

 preparation of various cloths, particu- 

 larly khaki. Large quantities of this 

 bark were harvested during the world 

 war, and helped to relieve the great 

 shortage in domestic raw dye mate- 

 rials felt so keenly in many indus- 

 tries. 



The oaks satisfy many of man's es- 

 sential needs. They have been a big 

 factor in our national gorwth, and 

 worth while efforts should be put 

 forth to maintain a worthy place for 

 them in our future forests. A large 

 part of man's high regard for the oaks 

 is due to their great number and wide 

 distribution. There are more than 

 300 different kinds of oak trees in the 

 world. The center of their distribu- 

 tion is in Central America and Mexico, 

 but they are widely distributed in 

 temperate regions. Of the 300 spe- 



cies of oak that are known in the 

 world, 55 are native to North America, 

 and as many as 20 different oaks are 

 known to occur in a single eastern 

 state. In addition to the 300 recog- 

 nized species of oak, there exist an 

 almost endless number of hybrids and 

 varieties. The different oak trees 

 show such a wide range of charac- 

 teristics that the following three 

 groups are now recognized : 



I. WHITE OAKS 



They mature their acorns in one 

 season and have leaves with rounded 

 lobes. The kernels of the nuts are 

 usually sweet. They are sometimes 

 called Annual Oaks, because they ma- 

 ture their acorns in a single season. 



II. BLACK OAKS 



They mature their acorns in two 

 seasons, and have bristle-pointed leaf 

 lobes. The kernel of the nuts is usu- 



THE LARGE, LEATHERY, SQUARISH LOBED 

 LEAVES OF THE POST OAK ARE DISTINC 

 TIVE. THE THREE TERMINAL LOBES ARE 

 THE LARGEST. THE TWIGS AND LOWER 

 LEAF-SURFACES ARE COVERED WITH 

 RUSTY HAIRS. 



ally bitter. They are sometimes 

 called Biennial Oaks, because it takes 

 two seasons for their acorns to ma- 

 ture. 



III. LIVE OAKS 



They retain their leaves two or 

 three seasons, while all other oaks 

 shed their leaves annually. Evergreen 

 Oaks is another name for this group. 



Some of the most important timber 

 trees of the world belong to the 

 white oaks. Representatives of this 

 group are found in every part of the 

 United States, and among them are 



some of the best forest trees of con- 

 tinental Europe and Great Britain. 

 The most important American mem- 

 bers are : 



COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME- 



1. White Oak Quercus alba 



2. Swamp White Oak Quercus bicolor 



3. Bur Oak Quercus macrocarpa 

 i. Post Oak Quercus minor 



5. Chestnut Oak Quercus Prinus 



6. Yellow Oak Quercus MuMenbergii 



7. Valley Oak Quercus lobata 



8. Garry Oak Quercus garryana 

 The White Oak is the most impor- 

 tant hardwood tree in eastern North 

 America. It usually has a tall, broad 

 and round-top crown. It may reach 

 a height of 150 feet and occasional 

 trees attain an age of 500 years. It 

 prefers rich and moist situations, but 

 will grow on almost every kind of 

 soil found within its natural range 

 fram Maine to Minnesota and south 

 to Florida. 



In summer the White Oak can be 

 distinguished by its loose scaly, gray- 

 ish bark and by its deeply rounded- 

 lobed leaves. The leaves of all mem- 

 bers of the Black Oak group are 

 bristle-tipped and the other members 

 of the White Oak group have leaves 

 with shallow indentations on the 

 margin or else they differ from the 

 true White Oak in outline and tex- 

 ture. In winter the White Oak can 

 be distinguished by its slender, small 

 reddish brown pointed buds. These 

 characteristics should enable any one 

 to recognize this important forest 

 tree which is so common in our for- 



IMMATURE AND MATURE WHITE OAK 

 LEAVES ARE DISTINCTIVE. IT IS NOT UN- 

 USUAL FOR THE WHITE OAK TO PLACE 

 ITS SEASON'S GROWTH IN TWO INSTALL- 

 MENTS. 



