THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
63 
White oaks in this vicinity are from fifty to seventy- 
five feet in height, though the tree attains a growth, of 
one hundred and fifty feet in the finest specimens I beheve. 
The branches are oftenest at right angles and are fewer 
than in other species. The bark is grey, ahnost white 
sometimes, and is incHned to be scaly. The leaves, five to 
seven inches in length, have usually about nine entire 
lobes slanting somewhat from the midrib. On different 
trees the leaves vary in size and marginal cutting, the 
smaller leaf of the two distinct kinds having the deeper 
cutting. The acorn varies in size but is usually about an 
inch long, oblong, and set in a shallow, smooth cup ; it is, 
as has been said, very good to eat. 
The swamp-white oak resembles the white oak in the 
color of the bark and appearance of the acorn without the 
cup, which in the former species is fringed. The branches 
of the tree are gnarled and do not grow with the regular- 
ity of the white, their outline making more of an oval. 
The bark of the swamp- white oak is often so scaly that 
one could mistake it for a shelbark hickory until the other 
points are noticed. The leaves vary is size from five to 
eight inches and are obovate with wavy margins. 
The red oak grows side b\^ side with the other oaks 
but is oftenest in groves made up of its own kind. The 
tree can be distinguished by its bark which is smooth with 
black patches and streaks, especially on the lower part of 
the trunk. There are two kinds of leaves, the lobes of 
which terminate in spines; the smaller form is hard to 
distinguish from the leaves of the black oak, though it is 
less gloss\^ and thicker in texture. The acorns, the largest 
of those of any oaks, are decidedly red and bitter. 
The black oak has rough bark which is usually very 
black. The lobes of the leaves, about nine in number, like 
those of the red, terminate in spines. The acorns are 
small in flat cups; they are dark colored, sometimes 
striped. 
Like the swamp-oak the limbs of the burr-oak are very 
much gnarled. The leaves are large, nine inches long, 
