THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 155 



the District of Columbia, and follows tlie Alleghany 

 Mountains as far south as Alabama. It attains its 

 finest development in the mountains of North Caro- 

 lina and Tennessee. In the North it may also be 

 found on the west shore of Lake Champlain, in the 

 valley of the Genesee Eiver, N. Y., and on the 

 shores of Lake Erie ; from here it extends south- 

 ward to Tennessee. 



I do not find the chestnut oak at aU common in 

 New Hampshire. In the valley of the Pemigewasset 

 Eiver it is entirely absent ; but in the village of Bed- 

 ford, in the southern part of the State, there is a large 

 specimen near the house of Mr. S. Manning which is 

 remarkably beautiful. 



A large and famous tree is now standing at 

 Presqu'ile, near Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, under which, 

 it is said, Washington in 1783 used to mount his horse 

 when he went from his headquarters on the west bank 

 of the river to the army encampment at Fishkill. The 

 diameter of its trunk is fully seven feet, and a hun- 

 dred years ago it was famous for its age.* 



The bark of the chestnut oak is particularly rich 

 in tannin, and is much used in the tanning of leather. 

 The tree is one of the most beautiful of all the oaks. 

 Its rich, warm, green foliage marks the landscape 



* Garden and Forest, vol. i, p. 511. 



