color in the fall. The dense branching of this tree causes some of the twigs to 

 die, and these spurlike projections form the "pins" which give the tree its 

 common name. 



Oaks do not give as quick results as some species, but their permanence, 

 stability and individuality recommend them for planting over many of the 

 expressionless, quick-growing trees that are now used. On account of their 

 spreading habit and irregular outline they should be given plenty of space in 

 which to develop. 



VALLEY OAK 



Valley oak (Quercus lobata), also known as weeping oak from its graceful 

 drooping sprays, grows naturally only in the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

 valleys, and the valleys of the Sierra foothills and Coast ranges. It was 

 discovered in 1792 by Spanish naval officers, and is often mentioned in the 

 narratives of Fremont, Vancouver and other early explorers as a tree of graceful 

 beauty. 



It is stated by an early traveler that the Indians along the Rio Sacra- 

 mento "have a very pernicious habit of lighting their fires at the bases of 

 the valley oaks ; and as they naturally select the largest, it was really a sorrowful 

 sight to behold numbers of the finest trees thus prematurely and wantonly 

 destroyed." 



The most famous valley oak is the Hooker Oak, at Chico, California, 

 which was named in honor of Sir Joseph Hooker, who visited the tree in 1877. 

 According to Gen. W. T. Sherman, 7000 men could be seated in the shade of 

 this tree at noon. It has a height of 1 10 feet and a circumference of over 

 twenty-eight feet. This tree is in a park deeded to Chico by the widow of 

 Gen. John Bidwell. 



The leaves of the valley oak, which are deciduous, are deeply lobed. 

 The trunk of mature trees is dark-brown and divided by longitudinal fissures 

 into broad flat ridges, broken horizontally into short plates. The tree usually 

 divides twenty or thirty feet above the ground, the limbs spreading at wide 

 angles and forming a broad head of slender branches hanging gracefully in 

 long sprays. Valley oak does best on soils where the water table is close to 

 the surface. It is a native species which deserves a place, and is recom- 

 mended for planting in those parts of the state where it is one of the dominant 



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