138 THE BEECH FAMILY. 



sia, swaying from their great boughis and impressions of their grave and 

 faithful aspect. Strangers travelling through the gulf and southern Atlantic 

 states are usually keenly alive to the beauty of this tree while to those who 

 have grown up near its shade it is a familiar friend. Once I saw a child's 

 playhouse built in a live oak, a number of steps making it accessible, and 

 here a tea party was held nearly every afternoon. In former days the tree's 

 timber was largely used in ship building, but now, fortunately, iron is sub- 

 stituted. It is much too hard and difficult to work to be available for many 

 purposes, although it is very handsome. The acorns have a sweeter meat 

 than those of any other oak and from them a pleasing oil, similar to that of 

 almonds, is made. The Indians are known to have utilised them to flavour 

 their venison soup and they also laid them by for food during the winter. 



Q, Chapmanii caught first the attention of Dr. Chapman as it grew -in 

 front of his own dooryard. He thought it, however, to be a form of the 

 post oak, Quercus minor. But later it was raised to specific rank by Pro- 

 fessor Sargent who then named it in honour of its discoverer. It is usually 

 a stiff shrub, growing through sandy barrens and in pine lands from Florida 

 to South Carolina, although in the streets of Appalachicola, it attains arbor- 

 escent proportions and grows as high as thirty feet. The leaves it bears are 

 from one and a half to three and a half inches long, oblong-obovate in out- 

 line, rounded and notched at the apices and taper to form squared bases. 

 Although entire their margins are uneven and show a strong inclination to 

 be lobed, or to even project those that are blunt. They are leather-like and 

 grow very closely to the branches. The greyish brown cup covers about 

 half of the nut and is at its summit minutely fringed. 



Quercus minima seems to have touched, when in comparison with such 

 great oaks as Quercus alba and macrocarpa, the other extreme of the 

 family. It is a strange little plant with oblong, or oblanceolate leaves from 

 an inch to one and a half inches long. On their margins they are revolute 

 and entire, or very irregularly toothed. In early days they are a pale apple- 

 green, although showing on their under sides a much darker colour. The 

 greyish cups are top-shaped and finely fringed at their summits while the ob- 

 long nuts, projecting the base of the style, arise considerably above them. 



