The most important, though not the largest, of the American trees of the
Oak family, and the one that is most like the English tree, is the
American White Oak. It puts forth its branches at a comparatively small
height, not in a horizontal direction, like the white pine, but
extending to great length with many a crook, and presenting the same
knotted and gnarled appearance for which the English oak is celebrated.
Individual trees of this species differ so widely in their ramification
that it would be difficult to select any one as the true type. Some are
without a central shaft, being subdivided at a small height into
numerous large branches, diverging at rather a wide angle from a common
point of junction, like the elm. Others send up their trunk nearly
straight to the very summit of the tree, giving out lateral branches
from all points almost horizontally. There is a third form that seems to
have no central shaft, because it is so greatly contorted that it can
only be traced among its subordinate branches by the most careful
inspection. The stature of the White Oak, when it has grown in an
isolated situation, is low, and it has a wider spread than any other
American tree.
The leaves of the White Oak are marked by several oblong, rounded lobes,
without deep sinuosities. They turn to a pale chalky red in the autumn,
remain on the tree all winter, and fall as the new foliage comes out in
the spring. The tree may be readily distinguished from other oaks by the
light color and scaly surface of the bark, without any deep
corrugations. In Massachusetts very few standard White Oaks have escaped
the axe of the “timberer,” on account of the great demand for the wood
of this species. Were it not for the protection afforded by men of
wealth to oaks in their own grounds, all the large standards would soon
be utterly destroyed. Democracy, though essential to republican liberty,
is fatal to all objects which are valuable for their poetic or
picturesque qualities. It has no foresight, and no sentimental reverence
for antiquity. It perceives the value of an object for present use; but
it disdains to look forward to the interest of a coming generation. In
regard to nature, what is called progress in America is only another
name for devastation. How great soever the political evil of large
estates, it is evident that in proportion to their multiplication will
be the increased protection afforded to our trees and forests, as well
as to the birds and quadrupeds that inhabit them.