RED OAK CLASS 



OF the Red Oak class there are but few of the twenty- 

 four different species in the United States which may be 

 considered of sufficient importance to warrant undertaking 

 their cultivation. These few, however, may well demand 

 attention. They are Red Oak (Quercus rubra), Swamp 

 Spanish Oak ( Quercus pagodcpfolia), Black Oak ( Quer- 

 cus velutina), and Pin Oak (Quercus palustris). There 

 are some others which might be profitably propagated in re- 

 stricted locations where better species will not grow and 

 prove of value, but their ranges are limited. 



The Red Oaks, with two insignificant exceptions, re- 

 quire two years to perfect their fruit. The bark and leaves 

 are so unlike those of the White Oak class that there is no 

 difficulty in determining their character or where they be- 

 long. It is not always easy, however, to decide, by the 

 shape of the leaf, which one of the Red Oak class a tree 

 may be, for it is not infrequent that two, and sometimes 

 three, leaves quite differently formed may be found on the 

 same tree. The wood of the Red Oak very much resem- 

 bles that of the White Oak, but it does not require the 

 knowledge of an expert to determine to which class it 

 belongs. 



RED OAK : Quercus rubra 



NOT until within the last fifteen or twenty years was this 

 tree considered of much value, because of the superiority 

 and cheapness of its more important relative the White 

 Oak. As the supply of that wood waned and the price rose, 

 attention was turned to the large, vigorous trees of Red 

 Oak from which wide lumber could be cut. It was at last 

 discovered that the tree has many good qualities. It is a 

 rapid grower the most so of all the Oaks and it lives 



