2 
WESTERN OAK. 
the Mississippi to the wide alluvial borders of the Platte, 
than the almost total absence of our most charac- 
teristic forest trees, the Oaks. When at length we 
approached the Rocky Mountains or Northern Andes, we 
looked in vain for any species of this important genus, 
and as far as the eye could trace we commonly saw 
nothing but a dark unbroken mass of gigantic Firs and 
Pines. It was not till we had nearly reached the shores 
of the Pacific, that we again beheld any of the familiar 
features of the Atlantic forest. At the confluence of 
the Columbia and the Wahlamet we pitched our tents 
and moored our vessel, which had passed Cape Horn, 
beneath the spreading shade of majestic Oaks. With 
the first appearance of extended alluvial plains, immedi- 
ately below the singular falls of the Oregon, called the 
Dalles, or Dykes, we observed, for the first time, this 
western oak loaded with its fruit. 
The strong resemblance of the leaf of this species to 
that of the Post Oak ( Quercus stellata ) is almost a libel 
upon our gigantic plant, which may well rank among 
the largest of its species. It attains the height of 90 or 
100 feet, if not more, with a diameter of 3 to 6; indeed, 
amidst a forest the most remarkable in the world 
for its extreme elevation, our Oak still bore a strict 
comparison with the rest. Its character, in nearly all 
respects, equals the famous Oak of northern Europe, 
(Q. pedunculata)-, its lofty summit and enormous branch- 
es spread out far and wide, affording the most perfect 
shade; and, as a picturesque tree, it is much the most 
striking in the western landscape. As an object of 
economy we found it of the last importance, useful tim- 
ber trees being scarce along the Oregon; indeed, no 
other Oak exists along the coast of the Pacific but the 
present till we arrive at the absolute boundary of Cali- 
fornia. How far it extends to the north, I am unable to 
