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SMALL C;HESNUT OAK. 
GIuercus I'rinus chincapin. Q.foliis obovaf is grosse dentatis, subtùs glaucis ; 
ciipulâ hemisphæricâ ; glande ovafâ. 
Quercus prinoides, Willd. 
In the Northern and Middle States this pretty little species is called 
Small or Dwarf Chesnut Oak, from the resemblance of its leaves to those 
of the Rock Chesnut Oak; as there is also a likeness between its foliage 
and that of the Chincapin, it is known in East Tennessee and in the upper 
part of the Carolinas by the name of Chincapin Oak. 
The Small Chesnut Oak is not generally diffused, but is rare in many 
places adapted to its constitution, and is usually found in particular districts, 
where, alone or mingled with the Bear Oak, it sometime covers tracts of 
more than 100 acres. The presence of these species is a certain proof of 
the barrenness of the soil. I have particularly observed the Small Chesnut 
Oak in the vicinity of Providence in Rhode Island, of Albany in New 
York, of Knoxville in Tennessee, and on the Alleghany Mountains in Vir- 
ginia. It grows spontaneously in the park of Mr. W. Hamilton near Phil- 
adelphia. 
This species, and another which is found in the Pine forests of the 
Southern States, rarely exceed 30 inches in height : they are the most 
diminutive of the American Oaks, and are mentioned only to complete the 
series. 
The leaves of the Small Chesnut Oak are oval-acuminate, regularly but 
not deeply denticulated, of a light green above and whitish beneath. The 
acorns are enclosed for one-third of their length in scaly sessile cups ; they 
are of middle size, somewhat elongated, similarly rounded at both ends, 
and very sweet. 
Nature seems to have sought a compensation for the diminutive size of 
this shrub in the abundance of its fruit: the stem, which is sometimes no 
bigger than a quill, is stretched at full length upon the ground by the 
weight of the thickly clustering acorns. United with the Bear Oak, which 
is of the same size and equally prolific, perhaps it might be cultivated with 
advantage for its fruit. 
PLATE XI. 
Abranch ivith leaves and frvit of the natural size. 
[See. NuttalPs Supplement, Vol. l,p. 23.] 
