OAK FAMILY 



Hartford was believed to be several hundred years old. 

 " When the first settlers were clearing their land the Indians 

 begged that it might be spared. 'It has been the guide of 

 our ancestors for centuries,' said they, ' as to the time of 

 planting our corn ; when the leaves are the size of a mouse's 

 ears, then is the time to put the seed into the ground.' The 

 Indians' request was granted and the tree, afterward becom- 

 ing the custodian of the lost charter, became famous for all 

 time. It fell in a windstorm, August 21, 1856, and so deeply 

 was it venerated that, at sunset on the day of its fall, the bells 

 of the city were tolled and a band of music played funeral 

 dirges over its ruins." 



The White Oak like the Black Walnut is passing and unless 

 replanted will ere long disappear. Two causes are at work 

 to bring this about. First, its valuable timber which marks 

 it for the axe ; and second, the sweetness of its nuts which 

 causes them to be eaten by the wild creatures, while the 

 bitter nuts of other oaks are allowed to germinate undis- 

 turbed. 



The White Oak hybridizes freely with the Bur, the Post, and 

 the Chestnut Oaks. 



POST OAK 



Que'rcus minor. 



A tree reaching the height of fifty or sixty feet, often a shrub. 

 Grows on dry sandy soil, or gravelly uplands. Ranges from Massa- 

 chusetts to southern New York and Michigan, southward to Florida, 

 and is the most abundant oak of central Texas. 



Bark. Grayish brown, deeply fissured into broad scaly ridges. 

 Branchlets at first covered with thick yellow brown tomentum, soon 

 they become light orange or reddish brown, still downy, finally they 

 are dark or gray brown. 



Wood. Brown, sapwood paler brown ; heavy, hard, close-grained, 

 durable in contact with soil. Used for fuel, fencing, and railway 

 ties. Sp. gr., 0.8367 ; weight of cu. ft., 52.14 Ibs. 



Winter Buds. Chestnut brown, ovate, downy, about one-eighth 

 of an inch long. 



332 





