278 



TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 



not the value to which it would be entitled if it could be pro- 

 cured in larger quantities. 



All living in and about New York have an opportunity to 

 study the tree as it has been most abundantly planted in 

 Central Park. 



POST OAK. IRON OAK. BOX WHITE OAK. ROUND- 

 LEAVED WHITE OAK. {Plate CLII.) 

 Qudrcus minor. 



FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT 



Beech. Head, round, dense; io-\<x>-feet. 

 branches, spreading. 



RANGE 



Mass. southward and 



westward to Indian 



Territory and Texas. 



TIME OF BLOOM 



May, June. 

 Fruit: Sept., Oct. 



Bark : rather dark grey; rough but slightly so in comparison to other oaks, 

 excepting the white oak. Leaves; simple; alternate; long-obovate; with 

 rounded or wedge-shaped base, and having from three to seven variously 

 shaped lobes, frequently spreading out at almost right angles from the midrib. 

 At the apex they are lobed, or hollowed and become narrow or remain square 

 at the base; dark green and shiny above with fine hairs, lighter coloured and 

 downy underneath ; thick ; coarse. Flowers ; appearing before the leaves are 

 partly grown. Staminate catkins; three or four inches long. Pistillate ones : 

 sessile. Acorns : two or three growing on a short stem, or solitary, and 

 almost sessile. Cup: deeply saucer-shaped, with small, lanceolate scales often 

 fringed at the margin. Nut: small; dark brown, delicately striped and 

 lustrous; oval; very sweet. 



What is the object, we sometimes 

 wonder, to which trees direct their 

 ,.,. growth, and why are some of them 

 '^-content to be low while others are lofty, 

 and why do many remain weak when 

 others grow strong ? It is not difficult 

 to trace the aspirations of the oaks ; 

 they are visibly for power and en- 

 durance. Quercus minor displays it, in 

 its compact, rough manner of growth, 

 which is so noticeable that the tree 

 could hardly be mistaken for a member' 

 of any other genus. Its dark foliage 

 too is ruggedly and distinctively cut. 

 Throughout the south where the tree 



