308 



D E-CID U OUS TREES. 



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form is more elm-like than the 

 usual character of the tree, but 

 serves to illustrate one form of 

 this species. It becomes a tree of 

 the largest size, little inferior, in 

 rich cool soils, to the white oak. 

 Though named swamp white oak, 

 it is by no means a swamp tree, 

 but is generally found in such rich 

 moist soils as the whitewood and 

 the magnolias delight in. We think 

 it the best of all the first family of 

 oaks for decorative planting, be- 

 cause, in a proper soil, it will give the quickest return in beauty. 

 It is reputed the finest of all the northern oaks for straight ship 

 timber, and the most durable in the ground. 





Fig. 95 



The Burr Oak or Over-Cup White Oak. Quer- 

 cus macrocarpa. — The accompanying sketch is char- 

 acteristic of the burr oak when young ; with age it 

 assumes a spreading form, very similar to, but smaller, 

 than the white oak ; the bark is darker colored, and 

 rougher, and the branches have a corky and ragged 

 look. The leaf is the largest and most beautiful 

 among oak leaves, and has a form so peculiar as to 

 attract attention, and is admirably adapted to use in 

 architectural designs. It has been used with beauti- 

 ful effect as the principal leaf in wrought-stone capi- 

 tals. The acorn in its cup is also a picturesque little 

 object, and has given the name of burr to the tree on 

 account of the cup being rough, shaggily fringed, and almost 

 enveloping the acorn like a burr. Grown in open rich ground it is 

 a decidedly handsome tree in summer, but rude in its winter ap- 

 pearance. The oak openings in some of the western States are 

 largely composed of this variety. Nearly every home in beautiful 

 Kalamazoo, Michigan, is surrounded by these trees " to the manor 

 born." When thus found wild, the tree needs much internal prun- 



