248 RED OAK CLASS 



long and grows to a great size. It is hardy, will grow tall, 

 straight, and free from limbs if crowded in early life. It 

 can be transplanted when young with fair success, and, in 

 addition to its value for lumber, there is considerable tan- 

 nic acid in its bark. So many good qualities does it possess 

 that it is largely planted in Europe and is deemed equal to 

 any of the Oaks there grown. 



Its range is from Maine to Minnesota and southward to 

 Kansas, Alabama, and North Carolina, and along the At- 

 lantic Coast northward. In the region of its best develop- 

 ment which is in the central and southern portions of 

 the Northern States it has been frequently found one 

 hundred and twenty-five feet high, and even more, with a 

 stem six feet in diameter. It is the smallest in the extreme 

 northern limits. It thrives well in glacial drift, in the car- 

 boniferous formations, and in alluvial deposits, but prefers 

 an easy slope of hillside and a well-drained soil. The 

 rapidity of its growth is much affected by the character of 

 its surroundings and soil. Frequently lumber cut from it 

 will show a slow growth and in other cases a very rapid 

 one. Dr. J. T. Rothrock, in his report as Commissioner of 

 Forestry of Pennsylvania, for 1895, relates that he counted 

 the annual rings in a Red Oak tree which was just four 

 feet in diameter and found only one hundred and eighty. 

 That averaged twenty-six hundredths of an inch per an- 

 num, or substantially one eighth of an inch of annual 

 layer. It thrives well in practically pure stands or mixed 

 with other broadleaf trees and with Hemlock, but it is 

 generally found with other Oaks and Chestnut. It is emin- 

 ently a light-demanding tree. When grown in the open, it 

 will branch out low down and throw out limbs which grow 

 large and spread out nearly horizontally ; but if crowded in 

 early life the tree will push upward until it gets light or 

 die in the attempt. In dense growth the stem is slightly 

 tapering and generally straight. 



The wood is heavy, hard, strong in rapidly growing 

 trees, but generally brittle in old or slow-growing ones, 



