14 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE OAKS. 
cies I first observed a curious variety, which I called (3. 
mollis or Soft Leaved Swamp Oak, in the swampy 
elevated forests of the Hudson, near New York; it occurs 
likewise near Philadelphia and Boston. The leaves, I 
find, are of the same form as in Q. bicolor, but the 
under side is not white but partly ferruginous or green 
and softly pubescent, the quantity of this clothing, how- 
ever, varies, and in large leaves it becomes very thin. 
It forms a somewhat pyramidal tree, 60 or 70 feet high, 
branched nearly from the base, the branches deflected 
and intricately ramified. The leaves are narrowed at 
the base, and abruptly dilated towards the summit, the 
dentures are few and sometimes almost wanting, the 
breadth is about two-thirds of the length; the fruit stalk 
or peduncle filiform, 2 or 3 inches long, bearing about 
1 to 3 acorns on each. It may perhaps be Quercus fili- 
formis of Muhlenberg’s Catalogue, page 87. 
Mossy-Cup Oak, ( Quercus olivaformis . ) This rare 
Oak, (which Michaux found only above Albany and in 
Genessee,) or at least a variety of it with less attenu- 
ated cups, is met with in Orange county, New York, 
where it was observed by Dr, Plorton, and it also grows 
near Vernon in Sussex county, New Jersey. It has 
much the aspect of the Water White Oak, (Q. discolor,) 
but the leaves are sinuated. 
White Oak, ( Quercus alba.) According to Mr. Emer- 
son, the roots of the White Oak make very beautiful 
furniture. In England five pounds sterling have been 
given for the roots of a White Oak. The pieces have 
been taken out, and, when sawed and planed, present a 
wood of extraordinary beauty. A cabinet and table, 
made from the forked branches of this Oak, now in the 
possession of Mr. C. Wistar, in Germantown, may well 
