OAK. 



OAK. 



In the greater part of North America, as 

 well as in Europe, there is no tree so generally 

 useful as the oak, which seems to have been 

 multiplied in proportion to its utility. 



Linnaeus, in the third edition of his Species 

 Plantarum, published in 1774, described 14 spe- 

 cies of oak, of which 5 only are natives of the 

 New World. Since then, owing to the labours of 

 those indefatigable naturalists, Humboldt, Bon- 

 pland, and especially Michaux, the father, the 

 number of American species of oak has been 

 increased to no less than 44, all of which are 

 comprised between the 20th and 48th degrees 

 of North latitude. In the Old Continents, only 

 30 species are enumerated, and these are scat- 

 tered on both sides of the equator. The spe- 

 cies and varieties of the oak added to those 

 described by the Michaux, are chiefly found in 

 the extreme Southern States, Texas, and Mexi- 

 can possessions. 



The following classification of American 

 oaks was made by the elder Michaux, who in- 

 cludes in it three European species : 



FIRST DIVISION. 



Fructification annual. 



FIRST SECTION Leaves lobed. 



1. White oak (Quercus alba). 



2. Common European oak (Quercus robur). 



3. European white oak (Quercus robur peduncu- 



lata). 



4. Mossy-cup oak (Quercus oliveeformis'). 



5. Over-cup white oak {Quercus macrocarpa). 



6. Post oak (Quercus obtusiloba). 



7. Over-cup oak (Quercus lyrata). 



SECOND SECTION. Leaves toothed. 



8. Swamp white oak (Quercus prinus discolor). 



9. Chestnut white oak (Quercus prinus palustris). 



10. Rock chestnut oak (Quercus prinus monticola). 



11. Yellow oak (Quercus prinus acuminata). 



12. Small chestnut oak (Quercus prinus chinca- 



piri). 



SECOND DIVISION. 



Fructification biennial; haves mucronated (except 

 in the 13th species). 



FIRST SECTION. Leaves obtuse or entire. 



13. Live oak (Quercus virens). 



14. Cork oak (Quercus suber). 



15. Willow oak (Quercus phellos). 



16. Laurel oak (Quercus imbricaria). 



17. Upland willow oak (Quercus cinerea'). 



18. Running oak (Quercus pumila). 



SECOND SECTION. Leaves lobed. 



19. Bartram oak (Quercus heterophylla). 



20. Water oak (Quercus aquatica). 



21. Black Jack oak (Quercus ferruginea). 



22. Bear oak (Quercus banisteri). 



THIRD SECTION. Leaves multifid or many-clef ted. 



23. Barren scrub oak (Quercus Catesbcri). 



24. Spanish oak (Quercus falcata). 



25. Black oak (Quercus tinctorial). 



26. Scarlet oak (Quercus cocdnea). 



27. Gray oak (Quercus ambigua). 



28. Pin oak (Quercus palustris). 



29. Red oak (Quercus rubra). 



852 



The most valuable species of the American 

 oaks is the white oak, which is found as far 

 north as the small town of Trois Rivieres, in 

 Canada, lat. 46 20', and the lower part of the 

 river Kennebec, in Maine, and thence south on 

 both sides of the Alleghanies down to the 28th 

 degree of latitude. Its vegetation is repr< ssed 

 in the Northern States by the severity of the 

 winters. In the lowermost Southern States it 

 is found only on the borders of swamps, with 

 a few other trees, which likewise shun a dry 

 and barren soil. The white oak is observed 

 to be uncommon on lands of extraordinary 

 fertility, like those of Tennessee; Kentucky, 

 and Genesee, and in all the spacious valleys 

 watered by the western rivers. One may travel 

 whole days in those states without seeing a 

 single stock, though the few that exist, both 

 there and in the Southern States, exhibit the 

 most luxuriant vegetation. 



The white oak abounds chiefly in the Middle 

 States and in Virginia, particularly in that 

 part of Pennsylvania and Virginia which lies 

 between the Alleghanies and the Ohio. East 

 of the mountains this tree is found in every 

 exposure, and in every soil which is not ex- 

 tremely dry or subject to long inundations; but 

 the largest stocks grow in humid places. In 

 the western districts, where it composes entire 

 forests, the face of the country is undulated, 

 and the yellow soil, consisting partly of clay 

 with a mixture of calcareous stones, yields 

 abundant crops of wheat. 



By the foregoing observations it appears that 

 the severity of the climate, the fertility of the 

 soil, its dryness or humidity, are the causes 

 which render the white oak so rare over three- 

 quarters of the United States that it is in- 

 adequate to supply the local demand, though 

 the country contains but a small proportion 

 of the population which it is capable of sup- 

 porting. 



Among the American oaks this species bears 

 the greatest analogy to the European oak, espe- 

 cially to the variety called European white oak, 

 Quercus pedunculata, which it resembles in fo- 

 liage and in the qualities of its wood. The 

 American white oak is 70 or 80 feet high, and 

 6 or 7 feet in diameter; but its proportions vary 

 with the soil and climate. 



The excellent properties of the white oak 

 for the construction of houses, ships, and 

 almost innumerable other purposes, are too 

 well known to need any particular description 

 in this place. 



Great black oak (Quercus tinctoria). The wood 

 of this tree is of a coarser grain than that of 

 the white oak, and of a reddish colour. Be- 

 tween every year's growth, also, it appears 

 porous, yet when dry and seasoned, it becomes 

 strong and durable. The bark has, for a long 

 time, been in great repute for tanning, and 

 for the very excellent yellow dye which it 

 affords. Dr. Bancroft, of London, learned the 

 use of the bark as a dye, when in this country, 

 during the revolutionary war; and introduced 

 it in the manufactories of England, to which 

 country many ship-loads of the article, ground, 

 have been annually shipped, under the name 

 of Quercitron bark. 



