78 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



THE SCARLET OAK. 



QUERCUS COCCINEA. 



|HE brilliant autumnal color assuined by the large leaves of this hand- 

 some American Oak renders it a tree of particular value for ornamental 

 planting, and a general favourite with cultivators of hardy trees and shrubs. 

 Planted here and there amongst Birches, Horse Chesnuts, and Aspens, whose 

 foilage usually dies oif of a deep golden hue, the Scarlet Oak has a most distinct 

 appearance, the large regularly loped leaves, which remind one much of those 

 of some of the rarer Maples, dyed in crimson, being so distinct from everything 

 else around. 



For planting here and there around the margins of hardwood plantations, 

 particularly such as skirt roads and drives, and from which it may be seen, few 

 trees, in my opinion, equal the Scarlet Oak, for whether during spring or autumn 

 it is at all times beautiful, the bronzy-red of the young shoots and deep scarlet 

 of the fading leaves being very conspicuous. Just now in many of the woods 

 at Holwood, the Scarlet Oak looks beautiful almost beyond description, for the 

 fully developed leaves are, both in shape and tint, larger and brighter than I can 

 remember to have seen them either in Scotland or Wales. 



Few persons are aware, or have noted how beautiful are the young shoots of 

 the Scarlet Oak ; indeed, at that period of growth, when they assume a peculiar 

 bronzy-red, they are quite as worthy of praise and notice as when steeped in 

 their autumn hues. Second growths of this Oak are also rendered very con- 

 spicuous by the rich deep shades of red and bronze for which they are so 

 remarkable. But not only for the richness of its foilage is the Scarlet Oak of 

 value to us, for the whole contour of the tree is pleasing in the extreme, it being 

 neat yet destitute of stiffness or formality, and therefore of especial use in 

 ornamental planting. 



A well-grown and well-placed specimen of this Oak is, indeed a desirable 

 object at any time, and to be seen to advantage it should be planted clear of 

 other trees, and all the better if backed up by a Pine wood or clumps of Yew 

 and Holly. The contrast afforded either in spring or autumn by the scarlet 

 of this Oak and blue and green of the Firs or Holly is peculiarly pleasing and 

 far from common in our woods and grounds. 



Some of the largest Scarlet Oaks I have seen are growing in gravelly loam 

 and in almost pure gravel, and from my own observations of a number of trees,* 

 I think that this is the soil best suited for their perfect growth and development. 

 A few days ago I was shown several young trees of the Scarlet Oak that some 

 five or six years since were planted for purely ornamental purposes in a low-lying 

 and damp meadow, but the experiment has turned out far from successful, the 

 majority of the trees looking anything but healthy. Fine, strong, and wc-grown 



