314 



FOREST TREES OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 



and .are about 1£ to 1^ inches long. The nut is pale chestnut colored, downy- 

 near and at the top end, and often indistinctly striped ; the tawny brown cup 

 has shiny scales which are thin, but often much thickened at the bases of the 

 cup. 





Fig. 145. — Quercus californica. 



Wood, fine-grained, very porous, pale but distinct red, exceedingly brittle, 

 firm, rather heavy, with large pith-rays, and having a strong odor of tannin, 

 with which both the wood and bark are heavily charged. Large trunks are 

 rarely sound and afford but little clear timber, and even this is inferior on 



