CHAPTER VI
BROAD-LEAVED TREES: THE OAKS
Our American trees may be divided roughly into two classes: (1) those which keep their leaves the year round, known as evergreens; (2) those whose leaves drop off in the fall, called broad-leaved, or deciduous trees, in distinction from the evergreens, whose leaves are usually needle-shaped.
Among the broad-leaved family are such trees as the oak, chestnut, hickory, maples, elms, etc.; and among the evergreens or cone-bearing trees are the pines, spruces, hemlocks, firs, and cedars.
The oak family is a very important one, the wood being hard and strong and the tree a sturdy, healthy, and well-known specimen of tree life.
White oak is perhaps the most common member of the oak family. It grows to a very large size and has a leaf of the form shown in [Fig. 79]. Observe carefully the outline of the leaf and compare it with the sketch of the next form.
The white oak, like all oaks, bears acorns, and its timber is used as a standard when comparing different kinds of wood. If we say that the strength of white pine is one half, we mean one half that of white oak, and in all timber calculations white oak is the standard, just as the yard and mile are standards of length. In work which requires strength, such as carriage making, shipbuilding, and cooperage, white oak is used very extensively.
The quartered oak used so much for furniture is obtained by cutting the logs in a special manner. The method of cutting gives a beautiful mottled effect with the silver rays spread out in irregular white splashes on a dark background.
We might separate the oak into two distinct groups: (1) those trees whose acorns ripen in one season; (2) those which require two years. The acorns of this latter group remain on the tree throughout the first winter and ripen the second summer.
To the first class belong the white oak just mentioned, the post oak, chestnut oaks, mossy-cup oak, and live oak.
