AMERICAN FOREST TREES 321 



banks of rivers, and low swales where the ground water is just below the 

 surface, but it is not confined to such situations. It does well, within 

 its range, wherever willow oak flourishes, but willow oak has a wider 

 range. The leaves take on various forms, and they change shape as 

 they increase in size. Some have smooth margins, others are lobed. 

 Some are wedge-shaped, others coffin-shaped. Their typical form, if it 

 may be said of them that they have a typical form, is narrow at the stem 

 end and wide at the other. To this is usually added rudimentary lobes, 

 which are sometimes nearly as well developed as in any other oak. 

 Their typical form is like the leaf of the black jack oak ; but they are not 

 half as large, and are thin and delicate, while the black jack's leaf is thick 

 and leathery. 



The range of water oak begins in Delaware and follows the Atlantic 

 coastal plain south to central Florida, and through the Gulf States to 

 Texas. It grows as far north as Kentucky and Missouri. It keeps clear 

 of the Appalachian mountain region, and other hilly districts. It is 

 plentiful in some parts of its range, and trunks three feet in diameter 

 and long enough for two or three logs are not unusual, yet large numbers 

 of water oaks may be seen in the South which are not fit for sawlogs 

 because they stand in open ground and are limby down to ten feet of the 

 ground. Many have been planted for shade trees in streets and in parks, 

 and are justly admired. They grow rapidly and are extremely graceful. 

 Their leaves are deciduous, but adhere to the branches most of the year. 

 South of the belt of severe frost, the old leaves frequently hang until the 

 buds for the new crop are opening. The acorns are bitter, and even the 

 southern pine hog passes them by until the pinch of famine edges up his 

 appetite. 



Water oak possesses value as a source of lumber, but it belongs 

 with the large class of oaks which lose their names and their identity 

 when they pass the threshold of the sawmill. They come out red 

 oak. Only in rare instances is water oak called by its own name in 

 the factory and lumber yard. Wagon makers employ it for bolsters, 

 axles, spokes, tongues, sandboards, hounds, felloes and reaches. 

 Entire dump carts, except the iron, are constructed of this wood. 

 Furniture manufacturers use it as frame material, but seldom 

 as the outside visible parts, though no reason for not doing so is 

 offered. Objection is made to its seasoning qualities, but the same 

 objection applies to most red oaks. A considerable amount of water 

 oak is cut in the South into thick planks for bridge floors. It is strong 

 and hard, and satisfactorily resists decay in that place; though, in com- 

 mon with the black oaks generally, it is liable to decay when exposed to 

 dampness. The wood weighs a little less than white oak, and is not 



