98 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



SPECIMENS OF SCARLET OAK (0. coccieq)j 

 SHOWING FORMS OF ACORNS AND 



LEAVES 



Fig. 27 The acorns of any oak are of great value 

 in determining the species; they never vary to 

 the extent the leaves do, which is very fortunate 

 for the student of this puzzling group. 



finest specimens of the scarlet oak 

 grow in light, dry soil, and the species 

 has a wide distribution in the East, 

 being found in suitable localities from 

 Maine to Minnesota and southward. 



Julia Rogers says: "The splendor 

 of our autumnal forests owes much 

 to the foliage of the scarlet oak. The 

 tree blazes like a torch against the 

 duller reds and browns in the woods, 

 and often keeps its brilliancy until 

 after snow covers the ground." 



It is only within recent time that 

 the merits of this species as an orna- 

 mental tree have been fully recogniz- 

 ed; but its reputation as a rapid 

 grower and a very hardy tree is now 

 spreading. Perhaps the finest specimens of it in this country are to be found 

 growing in the lower valley of the Ohio River; and, aside from the White 

 Oak (Q. alba) and others, no wood of all the oaks is in greater demand, it 

 being a close second, if not an actual equal of the red oak (Q. rubra). 



Beyond all comparison, the grandest tree in our American forests, and 

 unexcelled in the matters of vitality, dignity, and strength, is the White 

 Oak (Q. alba), and it is far and away ahead of any species in its own par-> 

 ticular genus. Sometimes, to be sure, we may come across small and scraggly 

 specimens deficient in beauty of contour ; but even so, they are invariably 

 picturesque, contributing their share to the loveliness of the woods in which 

 they occur. Acorns of this tree are well shown in Fig. 28, while a handsome 

 specimen of its leaf may be studied in Fig. 20 the upper one. 



Giant specimens of the white oak may occur that have attained a height of 

 over one hundred and fifty feet, with an average diameter of seven feet from 

 ground to lowermost branches. Trees vary in contour, depending upon their 



growing out in the open, or among other trees in the forest. In the former case 

 they are generally shorter, more symmetrical and spreading, having a rounded 

 contour. White oaks occur over nearly all the eastern part of the United 

 States, and the wood furnished by the tree, including even that of the roots, 

 is the finest that American forests can produce. Its uses are altogether too 

 numerous to be listed, as they range all the way from the substantial wooden 

 parts of a battleship to a dining room table. Tanneries use tons of the bark 

 in making high-class leather, and in not a few parts of the country the nuts 

 arc gathered to be eaten during the winter. It is an historical fact that in 



colonial days Indians, as well as the 

 colonists themselves, ate the. acorns 

 of the white oak. 



Another notable oak is the Post 

 oak, by some called the Iron oak, since 

 its wood so stubbornly resists the rot- 

 ting process of soil and water, when 

 it is used for either subterranean or 

 subaquatic purposes. Scientifically, it 

 is known as Quercus stellata (Fig. 

 29), and the tree rarely exceeds fifty 

 feet in height. We find it growing all 

 the way from southern Massachusetts 

 to some parts of northern Florida, 

 thence westward to Texas, where it is 

 more common than over its eastern 

 range. It often passes for white oak 

 among lumbermen, and in many 

 things for which oak is demanded it 

 is equally good. Like the white oak, 



UNDER SIDE OF A LEAF OF THE LARGE- 

 LEAVED MAGNOLIA OR CUCUMBER TREE 

 (Magnolia macrophylla). GREATLY REDUCED 



Fig. 17 The leaves of this tree sometimes attain 

 a length of over 30 inches; it is a remarkable 

 sight to see them all on the ground in the autumn. 



ACORNS OF THE WHITE OAK (Q. alba): 

 WASHINGTON, D. C 



Fig. 28 The acorns as well as the leaves of this 

 species of oak tree are quite characteristic, and 

 not easily confused with any other. 



