58 TREES 



the Santa Cniz Mountains. It is a tree nearly one 

 hundred feet high, with a broad, compact head, in western 

 Washington and Oregon. Dark green, lustrous leaves, 

 with paler linings, attain almost a leathery texture when 

 full grown. They are four to six inches long and coarsely 

 lobed. In autumn they sometimes turn bright scarlet. 



The wood is hard, strong, tough, and close-grained. It 

 is employed in the manufacture of wagons and furniture, 

 and in ship-building and cooperage. It is a superior fuel. 



THE BLACK OAK GROUP 



A large group of our native oaks require two seasons to 

 mature their acorns; have dark-colored bark and foliage, 

 have leaves whose lobes are sharp-angled and taper to 

 bristly points and tough acorn shells lined with a silky -hairy 

 coat. 



The Black Oak 



Q> velutinay Lam. 



The black oak of the vast region east of the Rocky 

 Mountains is the type or pattern species. Its leathery, 

 dark green leaves are divided by curving sinuses into 

 squarish lobes, each ending in one or more bristly tips. 

 The lobes are paired, and each has a strong vein from the 

 midrib. Underneath, the leaf is always scurfy, even when 

 the ripening turns its color from bronze to brown, yellow 

 or dull red. 



Under the deep-furrowed, brown surface bark is a yellow 

 layer, rich in tannin, and a dyestuff called quercitron. This 

 makes the tree valuable for its bark. The wood is coarse- 



