OAK FAMILY 
Hartford was believed to be several hundred years old. 
‘When the first settlers were clearing their land the Indians 
begged that it might be spared. ‘It has been the guide of 
our ancestors for centuries,’ said they, ‘as to the time of 
planting our corn ; when the leaves are the size ofa mouse’s 
ears, then is the time to put the seed into the ground.’ The 
Indians’ request was granted and the tree, afterward becom- 
ing the custodian of the lost charter, became famous for all 
time. Itfellin a windstorm, August 21, 1856, and so deeply 
was it venerated that, at sunset on the day of its fall, the bells 
of the city were tolled and a band of music played funeral 
dirges over its ruins,” 
The White Oak like the Black Walnut is passing and unless 
replanted will ere long disappear. Two causes are at work 
to bring this about. First, its valuable timber which marks 
it for the axe ; and second, the sweetness of its nuts which 
causes them to be eaten by the wild creatures, while the 
bitter nuts of other oaks are allowed to germinate undis- 
turbed. 
The White Oak hybridizes freely with the Bur, the Post, and 
the Chestnut Oaks. 
POST OAK 
Quércus minor. 
A tree reaching the height of fifty or sixty feet, often a shrub. 
Grows on dry sandy soil, or gravelly uplands. Ranges from Massa- 
chusetts to southern New York and Michigan, southward to Florida, 
and is the most abundant oak of central Texas. 
Bark.—Grayish brown, deeply fissured into broad scaly ridges. 
branchlets at first covered with thick yellow brown tomentum, soon 
they become light orange or reddish brown, still downy, finally they 
are dark or gray brown. 
1Vood.—Brown, sapwood paler brown ; heavy, hard, close-grained, 
durable in contact with soil. Used for fuel, fencing, and railway 
ties. Sp. gr., 0.8367; weight of cu. ft., 52.14 lbs. 
Winter Buds.—Chestnut brown, ovate, downy, about one-eighth 
of an inch long. 
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