THE OAKS 



75 



times at Fishkill-on-tlie-Hudsoii measiiring seven feet in 

 diameter. The acorns are sweet and are eagerly sought 

 after by tlie squirrels. 



The wood is durable in exposed places and is used for 

 cooperage, railroad ties, and fencing. 



34. The Live Oak. No list of American oaks would 

 be complete without the live oak. This is a southern 

 tree and is remarkable in many ways. Its 

 leaf has no indentations, remains green all 

 winter, and is thick and leathery. 



The wood is extremely heavy, a cubic 

 foot weighing nearly sixty pounds. It is 

 as hard as it is heavy, and although it takes 

 a high polish and has a fine grain, it soon 

 dulls the edge of a tool. 



Before the age of steel, when all ships fig. 89. Leaf of 

 were wooden, it was much used in sliip- ^^^'^ '^^^ 

 building, and the government l^ought large tracts of land 

 where live oak grew abundantly, so that the United 

 States navj' should never lack the necessary timber. 



It grows along the Atlantic coast, south from Vir- 

 ginia, and along the Gulf to Texas. 



