308 
DECIDUOUS TREES. 
form is more elm-like than the 
usual character of the tree, but 
serves to illustrate one form of 
this species. It becomes a tree of 
the largest size, little inferior, in 
rich cool soils, to the white oak. 
Though named swamp white oak, 
it is by no means a swamp tree, 
but is generally found in such rich 
moist soils as the whitewood and 
the magnolias delight in. We think 
it the best of all the first family of 
oaks for decorative planting, be- 
cause, in a proper soil, it will give the quickest return in beauty. 
It is reputed the finest of all the northern oaks for straight ship 
timber, and the most durable in the ground. 
The Burr Oak or Over-Cup White Oak. Qiier- 
cus macrocarpa . — The accompanying sketch is char- 
acteristic of the burr oak when young ; with age it 
assumes a spreading form, very similar to, but smaller, 
than the white oak ; the bark is darker colored, and 
rougher, and the branches have a corky and ragged 
look. The leaf is the largest and most beautiful 
among oak leaves, and has a form so peculiar as to 
attract attention, and is admirably adapted to use in 
architectural designs. It has been used with beauti- 
ful effect as the principal leaf in wrought-stone capi- 
tals. The acorn in its cup is also a picturesque little 
object, and has given the name of burr to the tree on 
account of the cup being rough, shaggily fringed, and almost 
enveloping the acorn like a burr. Grown in open rich ground it is 
a decidedly handsome tree in summer, but rude in its winter ap- 
pearance. The oak openings in some of the western States are 
largely composed of this variety. Nearly every home in beautiful 
Kalamazoo, Michigan, is surrounded by these trees “ to the manor 
born.” When thus found wild, the tree needs much internal prun- 
Fig. 95. 
Fig. 94 
