OAK FAMILY 
dry brown leaves and day after day the poor bird sat in her 
nest at the end of a leafless bough, in full sight of every jay 
and crow in the neighborhood. In fact, they gathered about 
and assured her of their deep interest in her enterprise. 
The robins stood out bravely for 
awhile but one day we found the 
nest deserted and the eggs gone. 
The acorn is much smaller than 
that of the Red Oak and varies 
in shape. In color it is reddish 
brown which is often striped with 
a darker brown, It*sits in a deep 
cup which embraces nearly one- 
half the nut. The kernel is yellow 
and very bitter. 
The Black Oak hybridizes, sports, 
Black Oak, Quercus velutina. 
Acorns 14’ to 1° long. 
and generally conducts itself so as to make it the despair of 
the amateur who wishes to know his trees “on sight.” For 
unless tried by careful tests there are many trees which 
will deceive the most elect botanist. 
“ 
SPANISH OAK 
Quercus digitadla, 
A tree usually seventy to eighty feet high, with spreading branches 
which form a round topped open head. Rare in the north Atlantic 
states, abundant in the south. Tolerant of many soils, it flourishes 
in dry sandy barrens and on wet low lands. 
Bark.—Dark brown with shallow fissures, scaly, rich in tannic 
acid. Branchlets stout, covered with rusty tomentum at first, be- 
coming later reddish brown or ashy gray. 
Wood.—Light reddish brown, sapwood much lighter; strong, 
coarse-grained, checks badly in drying. Has high fuel value, some- 
times used in construction. Sp. gr., 0.6928; weight of cu. ft., 43.17 
Ibs. 
: Winter Buds.—Chestnut brown, ovoid, acute, one-eighth of an 
inch long. 
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