312 
DECIDUOUS TREES, 
observed this tree growing in open fields, with a broad flat head, 
and a golden green tone when the sunlight was upon it that con- 
trasted beautifully with the darker evergreen foliage of that region. 
But in the neighborhood of the Hudson, and at the west, this fine 
tone is not common on the red oak, nor is the peculiarly flat top so 
often seen. It is barely possible that the tree we have seen on the 
coast of Maine is the gray oak, Q. ambigua, of Michaux, which is 
a northern oak partaking of the character of both the red and the 
scarlet oaks. But we have had no means of ascertaining the cor- 
rectness of this surmise. The most marked trait of the red oak as 
an ornamental tree is the dull crimson or purplish red color of its 
leaves in the fall ; but as it is much less brilliant than the follow- 
ing, and in no respect a finer tree, the scarlet oak will be preferred. 
The Scarlet Oak. Q. coccinea, — This differs from the pre- 
ceding but little except in its leaves, which are more deeply lobed, 
more sharply pointed, and have longer petioles. They are smooth 
and shining on both sides. Their autumn color is a bright scarlet 
or yellowish red, of uncommon intensity, and at that season it 
has no superior among trees. It is rather an elegant tree at all 
times, and one of the cleanest limbed of the oaks in winter. The 
tendency of its foliage to the extremities of the branches often 
gives the head too open and straggling an appearance, but this 
defect can be obviated with good effect on trees from twenty to 
forty feet high by cutting back the long branches a few times. It 
flourishes in any good soil, moist or dry. 
The Black Oak Group. 
The Black Oak, Quercus tinctoria^ becomes a tree of the largest 
size, but of little value in ornamental grounds. The foliage is very 
dark, and though glossy, is apt to be scattered about on the long 
limbs, forming neither rich masses nor picturesque outlines. The 
whole aspect of the tree, with or without its leaves, is sombre. The 
foliage comes out late, and falls early. It grows naturally on dry 
sandy soils. 
