200 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
Tllh: WHITE OAK. 
If is soiiK'w lial of a r('llt'(*ti()ii on tin' nursc'rymen that 
1li(' Wliih' Oah. (Jik’I'chs altxi, is soaivo and v('ry little 
planh'd. Tin' nohh'sl tiau' of the noilln'rn stale's and al¬ 
most enlire'lv m'uh'ele'd hv nurserymen, largely beeause 
it is dillienll to handh'. 
This should leally he a ehallenj^e to try and lind out 
h('ll('i‘ iiK'Hiods of handlin". beeause it does not raise so 
easily as a (Carolina I’oplar or transj)lant as easily as a 
A'orw ay Maph'. 
iiK'tis may he seen standin^^ solitary in the pastures. The 
eatth' grazin^^ under them foi' generations haye eropped 
tlie hranelies as far as they eould reaeh forming a cattle 
line ^yhieh sho\ys their huge trunks off to jeerfeetion. 
Tlie beautiful yineous red or purj)le coloring is pe¬ 
culiar to this tree in the fall and is a feature \yell ^yorlhy 
of consideration, apart from the many other fine (juali- 
ties. 
The greatest dra\yhaek in handling it is its ])eeuliar 
rooting system, w hich is yery |)oor from the nurseryman's 
])oint of yie^y, as it has yery little fibre, mainly all tap 
CHARACTERISTIC HABIT OF THE AMERICAN WHITE OAK (QUERCUS ALBA) 
Eor large' grounds or ])arks, wlu're it can be grown 
as a solitary spt'eime'n. w ith plenty of I'oom to deyeloj) it 
makf's a w id(' spre'ading tree of maje'stie proportions. It 
eoiiK's yeiy close' beitanieally as well as in appe'aranee to 
the' English Oak. Queveus roher, that is such a feature of 
the e*e)unli'y e'state's anel lanelsea[)e e)f that ee)nntry, and is 
se) e'lose'ly ieh'ntilie'el in the historic battle'shij)s "the w'e)e)d- 
e'n w alls e)f old Englanel" as this w as the tree largely used 
in the'ir ee)nslruelie)n. 
The American White Oak is seen at its best in those 
old park-like estates of Virginia w here many line speei- 
re)e)t. 
Handled properly there is no reason why it should 
not transjilant as readily as many other kinds of trees 
more frecjiiently planted, but it is useless to h't them 
lemain in the nursery row s until they get 3 or i inches in 
ealiiier and then expect to handle them like soft wooded 
tr('es. Failure is the general result. 
A good size to sell and trans])lant is 6 to 8 feet or 
up to about inches in ealijier. In other words get the 
trunks nicely formed in the nursery and then plant them 
permanently. 
