THE NATIVE TREES OE RHODE ISLAND. 
11 
THE BLACK OAK. 
The black oak is evidently the most common kind of oak in this 
• region. Upon the dry grounds around the head of Narragansett 
Bay it once formed quite continuous reaches of woods. Numerous 
groves and isolated trees of this species are still left. They form 
a characteristic and very attractive feature of the scenery of 
Rhode Island. Many single trees, in open space, are models of 
sylvan beauty. The illustration given shows one of these trees 
^photographed when in full leaf. If such trees were all suddenly 
swept off, we should soon realize how much we owe to their pres- 
ence. As timber and fuel this tree takes second or third rank, the 
wood being porous, brittle, and not very durable, except when 
kept dry. 
THE RED OAK. 
The red oak grows but sparingly in this State, being mostly 
confined to cool, moist locations. It is closely related to the 
black oak, but readily distinguished from it by its more upright 
habit, its smooth and lighter colored bark, and by its very large 
and shallow- cupped acorns. In open ground it forms a majestic, 
rounded head, with smooth, clean -looking limbs. In the forest, it 
forms a fine timber tree, shooting up to a great height, with a 
straight, slightly tapering trunk. The wood is porous and lacking 
in strength, but is in great demand for furniture of common 
grades. It is a rapidly growing tree, but is difficult to transplant, 
a fact true of most nut-bearing trees, unless they are started and 
root-pruned in a nursery. 
THE SCARLET OAK. 
The scarlet oak is sparingly scattered with the black oaks, in 
this State. It is one of the most ornamental of native oaks. It 
has much more finely-divided branchlets than any other oak com- 
mon in this region. The leaves are almost skeleton in outline, 
and are intensely brilliant in their autumn hues of scarlet. They 
