AMERICAN FOREST TREES 231 



tion of statistics of uses difficult. Sawmills seldom or never list cow 

 oak in making reports of cut. Factories which further manufacture 

 lumber, after it leaves the mill, sometimes distinguish between cow oak 

 and other oaks. It has been found suitable material in the South for 

 canthook handles where it takes the place of hickory which is more 

 expensive. It is reported for that use in considerable quantity in 

 Louisiana. The handles are subjected to great strain and violent 

 shocks. The billets are split to the proper size, because if they are 

 sawed they are liable to contain cross grain which is a fatal defect. The 

 wood is cut in dimensions for chair stock and furniture, the better grades 

 usually going to furniture factories. Defective logs, short lengths, and 

 odds and ends may be worked into chair stock which contains a large pro- 

 portion of small pieces. The making of large plantation baskets of this 

 wood is still a fairly large business in Louisiana and Mississippi. Braided 

 bottoms of cheap chairs are of the same workmanship as baskets. 



Vehicle makers in the South are large users of this wood. It is 

 employed in heavy wagons chiefly, and is worked into many parts, 

 including axles, bolsters, felloes, hubs, hounds, tongues, reaches, spokes, 

 and bedbottoms. 



This tree is classed as white oak by coopers who accept it as stave 

 material. The amount used is much less than of the true white oak, but 

 the exact quantity taken yearly by barrel makers is not known because 

 statistics do not list the different white oaks separately. Cow oak 

 rives well when a trunk is found clear of knots. The trees are usually 

 smaller and less perfect than true white oak in the North. 



Railroads accept crossties of this species and they give as long 

 service as white oak, are as hard, and hold spikes as well. The wood is 

 accepted by car shops for use in repairs and in new work. Trunks are 

 split or sawed into fence posts and are used in probably larger numbers 

 than any other southern oak. 



This tree's future seems fairly well assured. It will further decline 

 in available supply, because it is cut faster than it is growing. That is 

 the status of all the timber oaks of this country. This one has advantage 

 over some of the others in that it occupies wet land which will not soon 

 be in demand for agricultural purposes, and young growth will be left 

 to develop. 



ENGELMANN OAK (Quercus engelmanni) occupies a restricted range in south- 

 western California where it is generally spoken of as a desert tree; but its rate of 

 growth appears to be much more rapid than is usual with trees in arid situations. It 

 occupies a narrow belt in San Diego county and its range extends into Lower Cali- 

 fornia. It forms about one-third of the stand in Palomar mountains, and is much 

 scarcer in the Cuyamaca mountains. The tree seldom attains a height greater than 



