The Oaks 



fibres extend in vertical plates from centre to bark in the tree. 

 When the wood is properly sawed these shining medullary, or 

 pith rays, show as irregular patches on the surface. Much of the 

 beauty of polished oak depends upon these "mirrors," which are 

 the largest when the wood is "quarter sawed" — that is, when 

 sawed toward the centre of the log. Gnarled roots and tortuous 

 branches of old oak trees furnish wood of curly grain which is 

 highly prized for veneering. 



Uses of Acorns. — Acorns vary in sweetness and edibility. 

 They all contain food elements, and primitive peoples have used 

 them as food. The Californian white oak (Quercus lohaid) has a 

 sweet acorn which the Indians bake, shell, and then grind into a 

 coarse meal out of which bread is made. The New England Indian 

 tribes ate the acorns of white oaks of various species, as did the 

 tribes farther south. The Japanese and Chinese have species with 

 edible acorns. In Europe the acorn crop is watched with great 

 solicitude. The ancients believed that 



". . . men fed with oaken mast 

 The aged trees themselves in years surpassed." 



Quercus esculus was especially esteemed for food. The mast 

 was also depended upon for the fattening of swine. English 

 villagers still enjoy in many places the ancient "right of pannage," 

 the privilege, granted them by some early king, of turning their 

 hogs in autumn into the royal forests. 



The acorn cups of Quercus Valonia are exceptionally rich in 

 tannin, and are sifted out from the nuts and sold under the trade 

 name, Valonia, to the best tanneries in Europe. 



Oak bark is a staple tan bark the world over. The black 

 and chestnut oaks in this country and the English oak in Europe 

 are richest in tannin. Spent bark from the pits holds heat. It 

 was formerly used in private greenhouses under the soil to force 

 exotic fruits, especially pineapples, in England. It is now spread 

 on race tracks, roadways, paths and sidewalks. 



Insect Enemies. — Numerous insects and fungi prey upon 

 oaks. Great caterpillars of our most beautiful night-flying moths 

 devour the young foliage. Weevils infest the acorns, gall insects 

 distort the leaves and twigs, scale insects suck the juices from the 

 young branches. Certain of these enemies of the oaks have been 

 turned to good account by man. The scale, Kermes, is a soft- 



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