Marcu 31, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 

TREES IN WINTER. 
VI.—The JOakI Family. 
THE beech, the chestnut and the oak are the 
most important members of a distinctive family 
(Fagacee) which forms a large part of the tree 
flora of North America. The two species first 
named are very easily distinguished in winter on 
account of their characteristic buds, while the 
oaks as a group are easily known at this time by 
the general form of the buds, but they are more 
difficult to separate into species. Fortunately, 
however, the leaves of most of the oaks remain 
upon the trees throughout a large part of the 
winter, so that one who attempts to study the 
twigs can generally get the leaves also, and, when 
the snow is not upon the ground, even the acorns, 
to assist in the determination. 
It is often interesting to notice in winter the 
leaves of the oaks as they fall from the trees in 
the woods. Very often after a severe snowstorm, 
especially if it is followed by a violent wind, one 
can see the dry, dead oak leaves lying upon the 
snow in great abundance, here and there being 
winnowed into heaps that remind one of the 
fallen leaves of November. At such a time the 
sudden bareness of the oak trees above becomes 
especially noticeable. 
The Beech and the Chestnut. 
Few buds of trees are more easily recognized 
than those of the beech in winter. They are long, 
slender and acutely pointed, being of the shape 
shown in the accompanying drawing. No other 
tree has buds so distinctively slender as these. 


LAUREL OAK. 
The beech is famous for its beauty in winter as 
well as in summer, and is a favorite tree with 
everyone. 
The buds of the chestnut are very different 
from those of the beech, being rather small and 
sub-conical and projecting at a distinct angle 
from the stem. There are only a few large scales 
of greenish-brown or chestnut color, their edges 
tightly overlapping to protect the tiny leaves 
inside. 
The Oaks. 
In general the oaks may be recognized by the 
rounded buds, the side ones being commonly 
above the swollen part of the twig, which served 
to hold the latest season’s leaf and which is 
marked by a distinct leaf-scar, generally some- 
what crescent-shaped. On the tips of the twigs 

BUDS OF BEECH. 
there is commonly a cluster of three or more 
rounded or conical buds, of which the middle one 
is the largest. The general character of these 
oak twigs may be seen in the accompanying 
photograph. 
The White Oak. 
Most of the native oaks commonly found in 
the Northern States are readily divided into two 
great groups, in the first of which the lobes of 
the leaf are rounded and the acorns mature the 
first season, while in the second the lobes of the 
leaf are actually pointed and the acorns mature 
the second season. The white oak is a typical 
illustration of the first group, while the red oak 
or the black oak are illustrations of the second 
group. The white oak, as a species, is especially 
distinguished by the fact that the sinuses, or in- 
dentations between the lobes of the leaf, are very 
deep, generally reaching at least half way toward 
the mid-rib, This is one of our most widely 
distributed oaks and one of the best known of 
all the native trees. 
The swamp white oak may be known from the 
white oak by the fact that the lobes of the leaf 
are not so deeply cut, so that the blade has a 
broad appearance, which is very characteristic. 
This is a swamp-loving species that ranges from 
New England to Iowa, south to Kentucky and 
northern Georgia. In the South it seems to be 
replaced by the post oak, in which the lobes of 
the leaf are rounded or squarish, those near the 
tip of the leaf being much the largest and giving 
it an unusual appearance. In winter the twigs 
of the young branches show an unusual hairy ap- 
pearance and are furnished with buds which are 
very downy. The burr oak is a very widely dis- 
tributed species which belongs to the white oak 
group, being especially characterized by having 
near the middle of each side of the leaves a deep, 
rounded indentation reaching almost to the mid- 
rib. Many of the younger branches are more or 
less marked by corky ridges along their sides. 
This is the principal tree in the “oak openings” 
of some of the Northwestern States. 
The Red Oak. 
Among the more important oaks of the group 
with pointed lobes I may mention the. black or 
yellow oak, the red oak, the pin oak and the 
scarlet oak. The black or yellow oak is to be 
known at any time of the year by the orange- 
yellow color of its inner bark, a characteristic 
which is easily determined by inserting a knife 
into the inner bark of the trunk of one of the 
larger branches. Its acorns are rather small and 
their cups extend at least half way to the top 
of the nut, being deep rather than shallow. The 
red oak is known in a similar way by the pinkish- 
gray color of its inner bark as well as by its large 
acorns in broad and shallow cups. The beautiful 
scarlet oak is distinguished from the red oak by 
its much smaller acorns with hemispherical 
rather than flat cups, and from the black or yellow 
oak by the fact that its inner bark is not yellow. 
The pin oak is a Southern rather than a North- 
ern species, which is found especially in low 
lands, where it often reaches a height of more 
than a hundred feet. The secondary branches 
are slender and abundant, a fact which renders 
it easily recognized in winter after one has be- 
come familiar with its characteristic appearance. 
The Live Oaks. 
In the Southern States the live oak gives to 
this family in winter a unique interest. This 

BUDS OF OAK. 
tree is well known to all who have traveled in the 
South, its beautiful leaves retaining their green 
color and remaining upon the tree throughout 
the winter. The leaves of this tree, as well as 
of the closely related willow oak and laurel oak, 
are commonly rounded, without distinct teeth and 
with the tip very obtuse, but occasionally speci- 
