THE BEECH, CHESTNUT, AND OAKS 



ripen, so that these young acorns are found on 

 the branches of the black oak in winter. 



The leaves of the white oaks have rounded 

 lobes, and the lobes of the black oak leaves are 

 tipped with a sharp bristle point. 



The generic name, Quercus, comes from the 

 Celtic quer (fine) and cuez (a tree), or possibly 

 it may be derived from the Greek choir os, a pig, 

 because in Europe pigs formerly fed on the 

 acorns of oak trees. 



White Oak ^ ^'^'''8^ ^^^'^> 60 to 80 feet high, 

 Quercus alba ■^vith a trunk ojtefi six feet in di- 

 ameter. The bark is light gray; the twigs 

 smooth and light gray; the recent shoots light 

 reddish or grayish brown; alternate leaf-scars. 

 Small, round buds, smooth and short, about as 

 long as they are wide. Acorns in a shallow, 

 rough cup, often sweet and edible. 



The white oak seems to figure in one's earli- 

 est associations with the woods in winter. The 

 sound of the withered leaves rustling in the 

 wind is peculiarly suggestive of cold weather 

 and dreariness, and invariably strikes the key- 

 note of the woods on a bleak December day. 

 Towards the end of winter the leaves are blown 

 away or fall off, and then the beautiful ramifica- 

 tions and stalwart limbs of the trees are fully 

 revealed. I have often noticed in the country 



8S 



