80 



STUDIES OF TREES 



lawns and on certain streets where the tree can find plenty 



of water and where conditions will permit its branches to 



droop low. 



Commercial value: The wood is heavy and hard but 



coarse grained and liable to check and warp. Its principal 



use is in the construction of 

 houses and for shingles. 



CHESTNUT (Castanea dentata) 



Distinguishing characters : 

 The bark in young trees is 

 smooth and of a marked red- 

 dish-bronze color, but when the 

 tree grows older, the bark 

 breaks up into diamond-shaped 

 ridges, sufficiently characteris- 

 tic to distinguish the tree at a 

 glance, see Fig. 65. A close 

 examination of the terminal 

 twig will show three ridges and 

 two grooves running down along 

 the stem from the base of each 

 leaf or leaf-scar. The twig has 

 no true terminal bud. The 



fruit, a large, round bur, prickly without and hairy within 



and enclosing the familiar dark brown, sweet edible nuts 



is also a distinguishing mark of the tree. 



Leaf: The leaves are distinctly long and narrow. 



They are from 6 to 8 inches long. 



FIG. 64. Leaf and Fruit of 

 Pin Oak. 



