Indigenous Trees and Shrubs. 



CAPULIFER/E.-OAK FAMILY. 



The oak is one of the most useful trees in the world. Having greater 

 tenacity of fiber, solidity and durability, it is first sought in the construc- 

 tion of bridges, cars, sea vessels, implements of industry and husbandry 

 of every description. It does not produce good seed until it is about six 

 years old, and seldom fruits two successive years. It increases in pro- 

 ductiveness with age. It takes five or six years to get a good foothold in 

 the soil, and then it grows rapidly till it has attained the age of thirty or 

 forty years. Some of the oaks have great longevity, extending to upwards 

 of a thousand years. 



Prof. Asa Gray classifies thirty-two species of the oak family in the 

 United States. Prof. Warren Upham, in his catalogue of the Flora of 

 Minnesota, mentions fourteen, eight of which are classed as oaks real 

 quercus. 



the white oak, Quercus alba. 



The white or American oak is common over the middle states, also the 

 Canadasand as far north as Lake Winnipeg where it is rarely over ten or 

 twenty feet. It used to be abundant in our state, and still remains with 

 us, scattered over woodlands, more especially where the transportation 

 does no* warrant cutting. The size varies with the soil and climate. An 

 idea obtains that where it naturally grows the soil is strong. It does not 

 follow, for it plants itself on gravelly and sterile soils, and wherever its 

 acorns can get a foothold. The larger in size and better in fiber are found 

 in deep, rich soils. 



It can be readily distinguished from other oak by its leaves which are 

 regular and oblique, divided into oblong, rounded lobes, destitute of points. 

 "Soon after unfolding," says Nuttall, "they are reddish above and white 

 and downy beneath; when fully grown, they are smooth and of a light 

 green on the upper surface and glaucous underneath. In the fall they 

 change to a bright violet color, and form an agreeable contrast with the 

 surrounding foliage which has not yet suffered from the frost." It can 

 also be distinguished by the whiteness of its bark, frequently variegated 



