Perhaps as a family this group of trees is more uniformly valuable than
any other found in North America.
They represent all that is the best among trees, being strong, hardy,
long-lived, and valuable as timber.
There are oaks in Europe a thousand years old, but of course we have no
records that go back so far.
It is a difficult tree to kill, because, when cut down or burned, a
large number of healthy shoots grow from the stump or roots, and make
a rapid second growth. The bark of all oaks contains tannin, and in
the past our principal supply came from these trees. The old-fashioned
method was to fell the tree, strip off the bark and leave the wood on
the ground to decay. Oak lumber is now so valuable that this waste has
been largely stopped.
_White Oak Group._--The oaks all bear simple leaves which vary greatly.
They may be divided into two groups. The white oak group all bear
leaves with rounded lobes, no bristles, and ripen their acorns the
first fall after blossoming. They rarely bear acorns before the age of
twenty years. The second group has pointed lobes, each lobe ending in
a bristle and do not ripen their acorns until the end of the second
season.
Among the first group are the white oak proper, post or iron oak,
mossy cup, chestnut oak, and swamp white oak. In the second group are
the red, pin, scarlet and black oak, black jack, shingle, willow, and
Spanish oaks.
_White Oak._--One of the most common and best known members of the
family, slow growing, sturdy, hardy, and beautiful. Acorns sweet
compared with others. Leaves six to eight inches long, turning to
beautiful shades of red in the fall, finally to a brown, and a large
proportion remaining on all winter.
This tree is little affected by temporary weather changes. In the
latitude of New York spring may have come and the maples be in full
leaf, but the white oak shows no sign. Lawns are mowed, and finally,
about June 1st, out come the oak leaves, steadily growing without
regard to late cold snaps or hot days. During the summer a prolonged
drought occurs. The leaves of the maple turn yellow and fall. Not so
the oak; it goes right on about its business of growing green leaves
and acorns, until the appointed time in the fall.
The maple leaves have all fallen and the trees are ready for winter.
The oak goes right on, as steadily as a clock, doing its work,
apparently oblivious to such insignificant things as weather changes.
This is the character of the tree throughout--steady, reliable, and
strong.
The wood is hard, durable, and valued in many trades. The best
barrels for tight cooperage are made of it. Floors and interior trim,
furniture, cabinet work, ship building, and the making of farming
implements and wagons are all more or less dependent on it. The mission
style of furniture is made almost exclusively from it; so is office
furniture. Quartered oak is a form of lumber obtained by a special
method of cutting.
In most trees when cut into lumber may be seen a series of lines
radiating from the centre, and running in almost straight lines to the
outside. They are called medullary rays, and are much more in evidence
in some woods than others. They are particularly noticeable in oak.
These rays are plates of flattened cells, and are usually much harder
than the rest of the wood.
The object of quartering oak is to bring these rays to the surface
of the board at as small an angle as possible, so that they will
spread over the surface and give an added beauty to the grain. This
is accomplished in one way by cutting the boards radially as shown in
Fig. 243 (_a_). There is much waste in this method, and other methods
less wasteful, but not as satisfactory, from the beauty standpoint, are
shown at _b_, _c_ and _d_.
[Illustration: Fig. 243. Four methods of quartering]
_Mossy Cup or Bur Oak._--So called from the form of the cup of the
acorns. It ends in a heavy fringe which nearly covers the acorn
proper--hence the name mossy cup.
The leaf somewhat resembles the white oak, having rounded lobes but a
different outline.
Wood is hard, heavy, and strong, and is used for the same purposes as
white oak. Found throughout the country east of the Rocky Mountains,
but reaches its greatest development in the Ohio Valley.
_Chestnut Oak._--Found from Maine to Alabama and west to Kentucky and
Tennessee.
Wood heavy, hard, strong, tough, close-grained and durable in contact
with the soil. Bark is strong with tannic acid. Acorn, long and oval,
sweet and a favourite with the squirrels.
Two or three varieties of this tree are recognized.
_Post or Iron Oak._--Along with the black and black jack oaks found on
bleak and sandy plains, especially in Texas, but extends as far north
as Massachusetts.
Leaves thick, leathery, and much darker in colour than the white oak.
Wood used for ties, fencing and fuel.
_Swamp White Oak._--Eastern United States. Favours wet localities and
swamps, and reaches a height of a hundred feet.
Wood about as heavy as white oak, but inclined to check in seasoning.
Used for same general purposes as white oak. Acorns sweet and white,
about an inch long.
_The Red Oak Group: Red Oak._--Tree reaches a height of a hundred and
forty feet. Found from Maine to Georgia and as far west as Kansas.
Grows more rapidly than white oak and has smoother bark. Acorns large
with a shallow cup and very bitter. Wood darker than white oak, of a
reddish brown colour, heavy, hard, and strong.
Used for furniture and interior finish. Has a tendency to check in
drying.
_Scarlet Oak._--Leaf more deeply indented than red oak. A very tall and
beautiful tree with wood slightly heavier than red oak, strong and hard.
Acorns, like all of this group, remain on the tree the first winter,
ripening the second fall. They are smaller than those of the red oak
and the cup is not as shallow. It encloses a third or more of the nut,
whose kernel is white. The name is taken from the brilliant colouring
of the fall foliage.
_Pin Oak._--Leaf form similar to scarlet oak and often mistaken for
it by the beginner, but is smaller, and other features of the tree
distinguish it. The acorns are small, about half an inch long, with a
broad flat base, light brown and striped. The branching habit of the
tree gives it the name. The great number of small slender branches,
especially in winter, is very noticeable. Sometimes called swamp
Spanish oak because of its fondness for wet places. Wood brown, hard,
strong, and heavier than red and scarlet oaks.
It is being planted largely now as a permanent shade tree and grows
rapidly during its earlier years.
_Black Oak, Yellow Oak._--Name derived from the bark, which is very
dark. Yellow is the colour of the inner bark, hence the second name.
Foliage varies, is thick, leathery and shiny, of a dark green colour.
Acorn is smaller than the red oak and often striped. Has yellow and
bitter kernel.
Wood as heavy as pin oak, forty-four pounds to the cubic foot, strong
and hard.
Used for fuel and for a yellow dye made from the inner bark.
_Black Jack or Barren Oak._--Often found in company with the black oak
on wind-swept, barren plains. Leaf very coarse and crude in both form
and texture, having three lobes and a tapering base. These two trees
frequently mix or hybridize, and, while not always things of beauty,
they grow where other trees cannot live and should be recommended for
their hardiness.
Wood even heavier than black oak, but, as the tree is small, it is used
chiefly for firewood and the making of charcoal.
_Willow Oak._--Foliage resembles the weeping willow. A southern tree,
but will grow as far north as New York. Acorns ripen at end of second
season, are small, with flat, wide base and shallow cup.
Kernel yellow and bitter.
Wood reddish brown, heavy, and strong.
Tree is popular in the South as an interesting shade tree.
_Laurel Oak._--Name derived from the leaves, which are in shape similar
to the mountain laurel, but lack its shiny lustre. A tree of the Middle
West or Ohio Valley. Acorns, small and half enclosed by the cup; ripen
second season.
Wood heavy and hard, checks in drying.
Used for shingles and rough construction.
Sometimes called shingle oak.