AG: 
Fic. 418. — The flowers and 
fruit of the Red Oak. Above, 
a flowering branchlet bearing a 
cluster of staminate catkins be- 
low and solitary pistillate flowers 
above (X34); atthe right, above, 
a pistillate flower, and just be- 
low, a staminate flower; at the 
bottom, a mature fruit, showing 
the matured ovary and the cu- 
pule (natural size). After Burns 
and Otis. 
ANGIOSPERMS 
spools, and paper pulp. The bark 
of the Paper Birch was employed 
by the Indians for canoes, baskets, 
cups, and for sheathing wigwams. 
Beech and Oak Family (Faga- 
ceae). — This family includes the 
Beeches, Chestnuts, and Oaks. 
The plants of this family are 
monoecious trees or shrubs with 
staminate flowers in catkins or 
clusters, and pistillate flowers soli- 
tary or slightly clustered (Fig. 478). 
The fruit is a one-seeded nut 
partly or entirely enclosed by a 
covering called cupule, which is 
formed by bracts that develop at 
the base of the ovary and grow 
up over it. 
The nuts of the Chestnut are 
common on the market and are of 
considerable value for food. Beech 
nuts contain much oil and are a 
good feed for hogs. From the 
Oaks, of which there are a large 
number of species, a large propor- 
tion of our hardwood is obtained. 
The beautiful figures which Oak 
lumber can be made to show make 
it a valuable wood for furniture, 
inside finishing of buildings, and for 
cabinet work. Beech wood is very 
hard and is used considerably for 
hardwood floors and in the manu- 
facture of furniture. Chestnut wood 
is soft but durable and is used for 
fences and buildings. The bark of 
Oak and Chestnut trees is rich in 
tannin and at one time was the 
source of tannin for tanning hides. 
From the Cork Oak the cork of commerce is obtained (Fig. 419). 
