33. The Pin Oak. The pin-oak leaf is much more readily confounded with the scarlet oak than that of any other tree. In fact, no two trees have leaves so nearly alike as these two; yet a glance at two typical leaves placed side by side will show considerable difference.
The pin-oak leaf is smaller than the other, and in proportion to its size the indentations are not so deep.
Fig. 86. Pin Oak
The pin-oak tree has a great many small branchlets, or stems, which give the tree the appearance of a bundle of pins, especially when the leaves are off in winter. It is a beautiful tree and is now being planted very extensively as a shade tree. It is hardy, and stands city air very well indeed. Its bark is rich in tannic acid, which is used in tanning leather.
The oak family is such a large and valuable one that we cannot afford to pass it over lightly. In the South grows the willow oak, famous for its shade and its leaves, which resemble those of the willow. A little farther north we find, along the Ohio valley, the shingle oak, so called from the fact that its wood is mostly made into shingles. It is also known as the laurel oak, because its leaves are shaped like those of the laurel, although not so glossy.
Fig. 87. Pin Oak in Winter
This is such an odd shape for an oak leaf that one would be likely to pass it by and not recognize it but for the fact that it bears acorns. This is always the test,—“By their fruits ye shall know them.”
If we meet a new tree which seems not to be an oak because its leaves are new to us, and it bears acorns, we may be sure it is an oak.