160 THE CANADIAN IIOnTICULTUKlST. 



annual fructification as a rule have wood of a finer texture, more com- 

 pact, and therefore more durable than those that are biennial. 



We shall not attempt even a short description of all the oaks that 

 have been found in Nortli America, but shall be content with naming 

 those that are among our most useful trees, and deserving of special 

 attention from all those who desire to make plantations of trees that 

 will be valuable in coming years. 



White Oak, quercus alha. This is probably the most valuable of 

 all, and bears a striking similarity to the European White Oak, quercus 

 sedunculata. It will attain under favorable conditions to the height 

 of eighty feet, with a diameter of from six to seven feet ; but it varies 

 very much in size according to soil and climate. The leaves of this 

 species are regularly divided into oblong lobes, rounded at the 

 extremity, not pointed. When young they are reddish above and 

 white and downy beneath, and when full grown they are smooth, the 

 color light green on the upper surface and glaucous underneath. In 

 the autumn the leaves change to a bright violet. The acorns are oval, 

 large and aweet, set in rough, shallow, grayish cups, and borne either 

 singly or in pairs. This species belongs to the division of annual 

 fructification, hence the acorns will always be found upon the shoots 

 of the current season. The wood is reddish, and similar to that of the 

 European, and is used for building-frames, mill-dams, posts, frames of 

 coaches, baskets, barrels, and ship-building. Mr. Nuttall says that the 

 roots of this species make beautiful furniture, and that a cabinet and 

 table made from the forked branches, which was then in the possession 

 of Mr. C. J. Wister, in Germantown, near Philadelphia, would vie with 

 the finest known woods, being feathered in the most beautiful manner, 

 and taking a polish equal to that of the finest mahogany. 



KoGK Chestnut Oak, quercus pinus monticola. This species 

 delights in strong soils in abrupt and untillable exposures, and on that 

 account is well adapted for clothing broken hill-sides, and rocky or 

 stony soils. It is found growing on the steep, rocky banks of the 

 Hudson Kiver, and on the shores of Lake Champlain, and yet more 

 abundantly on the Alleghany Mountains in Pennsylvania. 



The tree presents a beautiful appearance, being symmetrical in form 

 and luxuriant in foliage. The leaves are five inches long and three 

 broad, oval in form and regularly toothed. When they first open they 

 are covered with a thick down, but when fully expanded are perfectly 



