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THE

NORTH AMERICAN
SYLVA.

UNITED STATES :

Sold Ly "Wells and Lilly, Court Street , Boston; H. Howe , JVew-ffaven; J. Eastbubn,

JS'ew York; T. Dobson and Son, Philadelphia; Coale and Maxwell , Baltimore;

HoFF , Charleston, S. C.
LONDON : Baldwin, Cradock and Joy, PalernosterRow ; Dulau and Co., Soho Square;

Trecttel andWcRTZ, Soho Square.
TARIS: The Author, Place Saint-]Michel , No. 8; Treuttel and TVdrtz, rue de

Bourbon, No. 17; Galignani, rue Vivienne.

THE

NORTH AMERICAN

SYLVA,

O R

A DESCRIPTION OF THE FOREST TREES

OF THE

UNITED STATES, CANADA AND NOVA SCOTIA,

Considered particularly with respect to their use in the Arts ,
and their introduction into Commerce ;

TO WHICH IS ADDED

A DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST USEFUL OF THE EUROPEAN FOREST TREES,

ILLUSTRATED BY l56 COLOURED ENGRAVINGS.

. Translated from the French of

•<- \\^

r:' A N DR E W M I C H A U X, illo I ^S^iT

Member of the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia ; Corespondent of
the Institute of France ; Member of the Agricultural Societies of Charleston , S. C. ,
Philadelphia and Miissachusetts; Honorary Member of the Historical, Literary and
Philosophical Societies of New York.

, . . arbore sulcamus maria, terrasque admovemuf,
(irhore txcedificamus tecla.

Pumi SECDKDi: Nat. Hist. , lib. xii,

VOL. l.

PARIS,

PRINTED BY C. D'HAUTEL.

lvv^'w^'wwv\/wvw'»
1819.

3 1735 060 445 602

TO

JAMES HILLHOUSE,

LATELY A SENATOR

A

OF THE

UNITED STATES,

THIS WORK IS INSCRIBED,

BY

HIS AFFECTIONATE FRIEND AND OBEDIENT SON,

AUGUSTUS L. HILLHOUSE.

N. B. The English edition of the North American Sylva was an-
nounced in six numbers. As it has been judged useful to add a few
figures and descriptions to those at first proposed , it is hoped the sub-
scribers will not be displeased that a different division has been adopted;
it was otherwise impossible to increase the number of plates, as the
lowest price had been fixed upon the work.

Believing that it would be more agreeable to the reader to have the
text of an uniform composition , the first number has been reprinted
and is delivered as a complement to the seventh.

F. A. MICHAUX.

PREFACE.

The Author of the North American Syha has made me
the most grateful return in his power , for the pains I
have bestowed upon his publication , by requesting me
to dedicate it to my father.

No literary pretensions, I am sensible, can be founded
on a labour imperfectly executed , and so humble in its
kind, that perfection itself would be without praise. I
should not have attached my name to the part which
I first translated, nor to the work thus entire, but
for the pleasure which I was assured it would afford a
revered parent, to whom my obligations exceed the
common measure of filial gratitude. In the performance
of so extended a task he will discern proofs of that
perseverance which is the basis of every valuable char-
acter ; and in the usefulness of the work , an apology
for my diversion from more appropriate pursuits.

The departures that may be observed from the sense
of the original are in compliance with notes of the au-
thor : with more leisure I could have rendered my style
less faulty. J have not escaped the us€ of impure idioms,
which I was studious to avoid. American writers should
labour assiduously to weed from their dialect all the pe-

iv PBEFACE.

cullarllies which are unauthorized by taste — not from
deference to the critics , but to the laws of criticism.
Our language, in its purity, is copious and flexible
enough to be always susceptible of accuracy and grace.

The author of this valuable work will , I hope , be in-
duced to complete it by a practical treatise on the forma-
tion and management of forests. That branch of eco-
nomy, which is admirably developed in France and Ger-
many, must soon command attention in the United
States. Though three fourths of our soil are still veiled
from the eye of day by primeval forests , the best ma-
terials for building are nearly exhausted : with all the
projected improvements in our internal navigation,
whence shall we procure supplies of timber , fifty years
hence , for the continuance of our marine ? The most
urgent motives call imperiously upon the government to
provide a seasonable remedy for the evil : from a govern-
ment like ours, which is the faithful expression of the
public will , and which has no concern but the prosper-
ity and honour of the nation, prospective wisdom is
reasonably demanded.

I have no pecuniary interest in this publication , and
may therefore express my solicitude for its success. Mr.
Michaux— actuated no doubt by a mixed motive—desir-
ous of rendering his name familiar to a people whom he
respects, and anxious to possess them of a body of in-

PREFACE. V

formation which he justly considers as of great practical
utility, has executed this edition at an expense which ill
comports with the modest fortune of a man of letters.
It would not become us to accept such a present from an
individual. While we allow Education among ourselves
to loiter in the porch of Science , and consent to receive
from strangers that knowledge of our own country
which they should receive from us — for our reputation
— let us , at least , reward their services.

Besides his personal merit , the Author of the Syha
has hereditary claims upon our gratitude.

A. L. H.

Citizen of the United States.

Paris, May 20, 1819.

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INTRODUCTION.

1 HE researches of learned botanists for more than
a century past have shown how highly the North
American Continent is favoured in its vegetable
kingdom. But their object seems to have been rather
the progress of botanical knowledge , and the em-
bellishment of European gardens, than an acquaint-
ance with the properties of the American plants
and with the uses of the forest trees. This, on the
contrary, was the end which I had particularly in
view in my travels in the United States in 1807;
and the work which I offer to the public is the fruit
of my inquiries.

Before entering into any details concerning the
plan which I have adopted, it should be remarked
that the species of large trees are much more nu-
merous in North America than in Europe : in the
United States there are more than i4o species that
exceed 3o feet in height, all which I have examined
and described ; in France there are but 3o that at-
tain this size, of which 18 enter into the composi-
tion of the forests, and 7 only are employed m
building.

I. I

2 INTRODUCTION.

To collect information , it was necessary for me
to visit different parts of the United States. Begin-
ning at the District of Maine, where the winter is as
long and as rigorous as in Sweden though lo de-
grees farther south , I travelled over all the Atlantic
States , in some of which the heat during six months
is nearly as great as in the West Indies. Besides a
journey of 1800 miles from north-east to south-west,
I made five excursions into the interior parts of the
country; the first, along the rivers Rennebeck and
Sandy, passing through Hallowel, Winslow, Nor-
ridgewock and Farmington; the second, from Bos-
ton to Lake Champlain, crossing the States of New
Hampshire and Vermont; the third, from New York
to the Lakes Ontario and Erie; the fourth, from
Philadelphia to the borders of the rivers Monongha-
hela, Alleghany and Ohio; and the fifth, from
Charleston to the sources of the Savannah and
Oconee. In travelling along the sea-coast, I visited
the principal ports to examine the timber em-
ployed in ship-building, and entered work-shops of
every description where wood is wrought. The
knowledge of which I stood in need was principally
in the possession of mechanics; accordingly, I con-
sulted the most skilful workmen, natives of the

I'NTRODUCTION. 3

country and Europeans, and by means of a series
of questions previously prepared, collected, for tlie
benefit of the United States as well as of Europe,
a mass of information which I trust will be found
in the main correct.

In proceeding southward , I noted exactly the dis-
appearance of some species of trees and the appear-
ance of others, according to the changes of climate
or of soil.

I have pointed out the trees which form an object
of commercial exchange between the Middle, North-
ern and Southern States, or are sent to the West
Indies and to Great Britain; the parts of the country
which produce them, and the ports from which they
are exported ; the different kinds of wood employed
for fuel, for enclosing fields, and in the mechanical
arts; the sorts of bark used in tanning, etc.

I have endeavoured, also, to impress on the
American farmers the advantage of preserving and
multiplying some species and of destroying others;
for, in my opinion, a bad tree should not be suf-
fered to exist where a good one might grow, and in
no country is selection more necessary than in North
America.

Jt may not be improper to observe that the Euro-

4 INTRODUCTION.

peans have great advantages over the Americans In
the management of woods. The principal forests are
In the hands of the governments, wdiich watch over
their preservation with a solicitude dictated by im-
perious necessity. Experience has amply demons-
trated that no dependance can be placed, for the
public service or the general supply, upon forests
that are private property : falling sooner or later
into the hands of persons eager to enjoy their price,
they disappear and give place to tillage. In America,
on the contrary, neither the federal government nor
the several States have reserved forests. An alarm-
ing destruction of the trees proper for building has
been the consequence — an evil which is increasing
and which will continue to increase with the in-
crease of population. The effect is already very
sensibly felt in the large cities, where the complaint
is every year becoming more serious, not only of
the excessive dearness of fuel , but of the.scarcity of
timber. Even now, inferior wood is frequently sub-
stituted for the White Oak; and the Live Oak, so
highly esteemed in ship-building, will soon become
extinct npon the islands of Georgia.

Though the English language is almost universally
spoken in the United States, yet their extent and

INTRODUCTION. 5-

their settlement at different periods have created a
singular confusion in the nomenclature of trees :
the same species has different names in different
places, or even in the same district, and the same
name is given to very different species. I have care-
fully'collected these denominations , omitting such
as are rarely employed.

I have described only those species w^hich have
been observed with attention by my father and
myself. This remark is the more necessary, as the
nurseries and gardens of Europe contain trees said
to have come from North America, which neither
he nor myself were fortunate enough to find. In
several botanical works, also, trees are mentioned
as species , which we discovered to be mere varieties.
This last observation is particularly applicable to the
Flora of North America^ by Pursh , publishetl in
London in 1814. Several Oaks, designated in it as
species , I am confident will be found , on further ex-
amination to be varieties resulting from a difference
of soil and climate. I have, however inserted ex-
tracts from such articles in that work as are not
contained in my own. Allowances I hope Will be
made for the occasional freedom of my remarks
upon botanical writers, who , from the want of per-

6 INTRODUCTION.

sonal examinallon, have given erroneous accounts
of the trees of North America , or unfavourable opi-
nions of their timi)er : my object has been to lead
to a more minute examination, and thus to an
ultimate correction of error wherever it may be
found.

At the close of the work will be placed a complete
and particular recapitulation of the various kinds
of wood used in different parts of the United States
in the mechanical arts and for fuel, with a general
index of the vulgar and scientific names.

In this first English edition important improve-
ments have been made, particularly by inserting
descriptions and drawings of several trees , such as
the Yellow Wood of Tennessee and the Ohio Buck-
eye, of which I had not seen the flowers : of these
species the seeds which I brought from the United
States in i8o3 have grown up and bloomed since
the publication of my work. I have, besides, added
descriptions and figures of the trees which princi-
pally compose the European forests and which are
the most commonly employed in building, pointing
out those which might be advantageously propagated
in the United States. The Chesnut, the Beech and
the Hornbeam are omitted, because their perfect re-

INTRODUCTION. 7

semblance in aspect, foliage and fruit to the anal-
ogous American species rendered a separate figure
unnecessary.

I flatter myself that the course I have pursued in
the execution of this task will be found more prac-
tically useful , and consequently more generally
interesting, than if I had followed a more scientific
path. I have been anxious to render my work ac-
ceptable to the great body of American agricultur-
ists, to the farmers of the Northern and the planters
of the Southern States. It will afford me sincere grat-
ification if I succeed in obtaining the approbation
of the liberal and enlightened men by whom I was
encouraged during my residence in the United States.

Public acknowledgments a^e due for the assistance
which I received from Dr. H. Muhlemberg, one of
the most learned botanists that America has pro-
duced, who deserved a distinguished place among
the most eminent in that pleasing science in Europe;
from Mr. W. Hamilton, an enlightened lover of the
arts and sciences , who took pleasure in collecting-,
at his magnificent seat (the Woodlands) near Phil-
adelphia, such vegetables of the United States and
of other countries as are useful in the arts or in med-
icine ; and from Mr. W. Bartram, known equally

8 INTRODUCTION.

for his travels and his various knowledge in natural
history, and for the amiability of his character and
the obliging readiness with which he communicates
to others the result of his researches.

To the pupils of the late professor B. S. Barton,
professor D. Hosack and Dr. Bigelow , animated like
their masters with an ardent desire for the advance-
ment of Natural History, I leave the task of com-
pleting my work, and of offering to their fellow-
citizens a treatise on this interesting subject more
worthy of their acceptance.

THE

NORTH AMERICAN

S YL FA.

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OAKS.

In the greater part of North America, as well as in
Europe, there is no tree so generally useful as the Oak.
It is every-where the most highly esteemed in the con-
struction of houses and of vessels , and is commonly
selected for implements of husbandry. It seems, also,
to have been multiplied in proportion to its utility :
without insisting upon the diversity of climates to which
it is indigenous , we may observe that the number of its
known species is already considerable and is daily in-
creasing, particularly on the Western Continent, and
that its varieties are infinite. These considerations deter-
mined my father, in 1801, after his return from the
United States , to publish a Treatise containing drawings
and descriptions of the Oaks of that country , which
was favourably received by the lovers of botany and
agriculture.

The following extract from his work exhibits a just
outline of this tree: *' The genus of the Oaks {LntroducL
I. 2

10 OAKS.

p. 4.) comprises many unknown species ; most of those
which grow in America exhibit such various forms
while young, that they can be ascertained with certainty
only when arrived at maturer years. Often an inter-
mediate variety so nearly resembles two species , that it
is difficult to determine , from the foliage, to which of
them it belongs. Some species are so variable , that it is
impossible , by the leaves , to recognize their identity in
youth and ^t a more advanced age. Others are so similar,
that specific characters must be derived from the fructi-
fication , which is itself liable to variations and excep-
tions. It is only by a comparison of stocks of different
ages that analogous species can be distinguished, and
varieties correctly referred to their species.

*' I have endeavoured to arrange the American Oaks
in a natural series , the characters of which I first sought
in the fructification : but this afforded only unimportant
distinctions, such as the position of the barren flowers,
whether pedunculated or nearly sessile, and the size
and period of the Iruit. Neither was I able to found
my distinctions on the structure of the cup : I was
obliged , therefore , to have recourse to the foliage ,
which has been made the basis of a division into two
sections, the first containing the species with beardless
leaves , and the second , those in which the sYimmit or
lobes are terminated by a bristle.

" The interval between tlie appearance of the flower
and the maturity of the fruit is different in different

OAKS. 11

species ; and this distinction I have admitted as a second-
ary character.

** All the Oaks are proved to he monoecious. We
know^ too that on the European White Oak and other
species, the female flow^ers are situated above the male
upon the shoots of the same season ; that both are axil-
lary; and that, immediately after the fecundation, the
male flowers fade and fall , while the female blossom
continues advancing through the natural stages, till,
in the course of the year, it ripens into perfect fruit.
But there are some species whose fertile flowers re-
main stationary a whole year, and begin to develope
their germ the second spring, probably because they
are not fecundated the first season ; so that eighteen
months elapse between the appearance of the flower
and the maturity of the fruit. Hence I have formed a
subdi^^sion into species of annual and species of bien-
nial fructification. The female flower which is axillary
the first season , ceases to be so of course at the falling
of the leaf. Several species are found upon the Old Con-
tinent whose fructification is biennial , such as the Cork
Oak, Quercus siiber, etc."

I have derived great assistance from my father's work,
and have adopted his arrangement , which perfectly ac-
cords with my own observations. But I have inserted
several new species , and have suppressed two that were
not well ascertained : the existence of one of them is
doubtful , and the other is evidently a duplicate.

12 OAKS.

What chiefly distinguishes my work from his , is the
more extended practical observations ; which are the
fruit of my own researches. My constant aim was to ap-
preciate the utility of each species in the mechanical
arts , and to point out those whicli are the most deserv-
ing of attention in Europe and America. If in this re-
spect I have some advantage, my father's work will al-
ways preserve its title to the attention of botanists and
amateurs of foreign plants, by other details not con-
sistent with my plan. They will fmd , for example , quo-
tations from all the authors who had previously taken
notice of the species he describes , and in the plates ,
leaves of the young plant as well as of the full-grown
tree.

I have described twenty-six American species, which
I have divided into two sections, according to the term
of fructification : the first comprising ten species that
bear fruit every year ; and the second, sixteen of which
the fructification is biennial. I have learned by multiplied
observations that, with the exception of the Live Oak,
the wood of the first section is of a finer texture , more
compact, and consequently more durable.

Linnaeus, in the third edition of his Species Plantanim,
published in 1774? described fourteen species of Oak;
of which five only are natives of the New World.
Since that period such additions have been made to
the list , that the new edition of Willdenow's Species
Plantarurn published in i8o5 , contains forty -four

OAKS. l3

American species ; of which sixteen were recognized by-
Messrs. Humboldt and Bonpland in Old Mexico, and
twenty-six by my father and myself in the United States
and the adjacent countries. Probably the American
series will be still farther augmented by discoveries in
the western part of Louisiana , and in the interior pro-
vinces of New Spain, a country 1200 miles in extent
lying between the United States and Old Mexico, which
no naturalist has explored.

In America , as we have just observed , are found
forty-four species, which are all comprised between the
20th and the 48th degrees of north latitude ; in the Old
Continent are enumerated only thirty, which are scat-
tered on both sides of the equator, beginning at the
Goth degree north.

This sketch is not without utility, and appears na-
turally in this place ; such parallels might perhaps con-
tribute more than is generally thought to the progress
of botany and agriculture, and they deserve particular
attention from naturalists travelling in foreign countries.
It would be interesting to possess comparative tables
of those plants which are found in the higher latitudes
of both Continents, and of the trees and shrubs of
the temperate climates of America with the analogous
species found in nearly the same latitude in Asia. I have
long entertained a wish, which will doubtless be shared
by all who interest themselves in the science , that
botanists would go more deeply into the geography of

l4 OAKS.

plants. The rapid progress of the young Americans who
are beginning to devote themselves with ardour to the
study of Natural History , will soon afford the requisite
information concerning their own portion of the globe.

METHODICAL DISPOSITION

OF THE OAKS

OF NORTH AMERICA,

INCLUDING THREE EUROPEAN SPECIES.

Momxcia polyandria. LiNN. Amentacce. Juss.

FIRST DIVISION.

Fructification annual.
FIRST SECTION. — Leaves lobed.

1. White Oak Quercus alba.

2. Common European Oak Quercus robur.

3. European White Oak. . Quercus robur pedunculata.

4. Mossy- cup Oak. . . . Quercus olUceformis.

5. Over-cup White Oak. . Quercus macrocarpa,

6. Post Oak. Quercus obtusiloba.

7. Over- cup Oak. . . • . Quercus lyrata.

SECOND SECTION. — Leaves toothed.

8. Swamp White Oak. . . Quercus prinus discolor.

9. Ghesnut White Oak. . Quercus pnnus palustris.
10. Rock Chesnut Oak. . • Quercus prinus monticola,
IT. Yellow Oak Quercus prinus acuminata.

12. Small Chesnut Oak. . . Quercus prinus chincapin»

SECOND DIVISION.

Fructification biennial; leaves mucronated. (except in the i3th species.)
FIRST SECTION. — Leaves obtuse or entire.

1 3. Live Oak Quercus virens.

l6 METHODICAL DISPOSITION, etC.

14. Cork Oak. . . . • . . Qucrcus suber.

1 5. Willow Oak. ..... Quercus phellos.

16. Laurel Oak Quercus imhricaria.

17. Upland Willow Oak. . Quercus cinerea.

18. Running Oak Quercus purnila.

SECOND SECTION. — Leaves lohed.

ig. Bartram Oak Quercus heterophylla.

20. Water Oak. . . . • . Quercus aquatica.

21. Black Jack Oak, . . . . Quercus ferniginea.
2.1. Bear Qak Quercus banisteii.

THIRD SECTION. — Leaves multifid or many-defied.

23. Barren Scrub Oak. . . Quercus catesbcei.

24. Spanish Oak Quercus falcata.

25. Black Oak. Quercus dnctoria.

26. Scarlet Oak Quercus cocci nea.

27. Grey Oak Quercus ambigua.

28. Pin Oak Quercus palustris.

2y. Red Oak. . . • . . • Quercus nibra.

p/.r^

Willi e Oak.

Ofurcifs all) a

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WHITE OAK.

QxJERCUS ALBA. Q. foUis subcequaliter pinnatiJicUs ; laciniis
oblongls , obtusis, pleriimque integenimis ; fructu majiis-
culo ; cupula craieraid , tuberculosa - scabraid ; glande
ovatd.

Throughout the United States and in Canada , this
tree is known by the name of TVhite Oak. The en-
virons of the small town of Trois Rwleres in Canada,
latitude 46° 20', and the lower part of the river Ken-,
nebeck in the District of Maine , are the most northern
points at which it was observed by my father and my-
self Thence we traced it along the sea-shore to a dis-
tance beyond cape Canaveral, latitude 28°, and west-
ward from the Ocean to the Country of the Illinois ,
an extent of more than 1200 miles from north-east to
south-west, and nearly as much from east to west. It
is, however, by no means equally diffused over this
vast tract ; in the District of Maine , Vermont and
Lower Canada, it is little multiplied, and its vegeta-
tion is repressed by the severity of the winter. In the
lower part of the Southern States, in the Floridas and
Lower Louisiana , it is fovmd only on the borders of
the swamps with a few other trees which hkewise
shun a dry and barren soil : this region is generally
so sandy that it is covered with a continued growth

l8^ WHITE OAK.

of Pines , as will be more particularly mentioned in
the description of the Long -leaved Pine. The White
Oak is observed also to be uncommon on lands of ex-
traordinary fertility, like those of Tennessee, Kentucky
and Gennessee, and of all the spacious valHes watered
by the western rivers. I have travelled whole days in
those States without seeing a single stock , though the
few that exist , both there and in the Southern States,
exhibit the inost luxuriant vegetation.

The White Oak abounds chiefly in the Middle States
and in Virginia, particularly in that part of Pennsylvania
and Virginia which hes between the Alleghanies and the
Ohio, a distance of about i5o miles, beginning at Browns-
ville on the Mononghahela. Near Greensburgh, Maconel-
ville, Unionville and Washington Court-house, I have
seen large forests, nine tenths of which consisted of
White Oaks whose healthful appearance evinced the fa-
vourable nature of the soil, though in general they were
not more than i5 inches in diameter. East of the moun-
tains this tree is found in every exposure, and in every
soil which is not extremely dry or subject to long in-
undations ; but the largest stocks grow in humid places.
In the western districts, where it composes entire
forests, the face of the country is undulated, and the
yellow soil , consisting partly of clay with a mixture of
calcarious stones , yields abundant crops of wheat.

By the foregoing observations it appears that the se-
verity of the climate , the fertility of the soil , its dryness

WHITE OAK. 19

or humidity, are the causes which render the White
Oak so rare over three quarters of the United States that
it is inadequate to supply the local demand, though the
country does not contain a fourth of the population
which it is capable of supporting.

Among the American Oaks this species bears the
greatest analogy to the European Oak, especially to the
variety called European White Oak , Quercus peduncu-
lata, which it resembles in foliage and in the qualities
of its wood. The American White Oak is 70 or 80 feet
high , and 6 or 7 feet in diameter ; but its proportions
vary with the soil and climate. The leaves are regularly
and obliquely divided into oblong, rounded lobes, des-
titute of points : the sections appeared to be the deepest
in the most humid soils. Soon after their unfolding they
are reddish above and white and downy beneath ;
when fully grown they are smooth and of a light green
on the upper surface, and glaucous underneath. In the
fall they change to a bright violet colour, and form an
agreeable contrast with the surrounding foliage which
has not yet suffered by the frost.

This is the only Oak on which a few of the dried leaves
persist till the circulation is renewed in the spring. By
this peculiarity and by the whiteness of the bark, from
which it derives its name , it is easily distinguished in
the winter. The acorns are of an oval form , large , very
sweet , contained in rough , shallow , greyish cups , and
borne singly or in pairs, by peduncles 8 or 10 lines in

20 WHITE OAK.

length, attached , as in all the species with annual fruc-
tification, to the shoots of the season.

The fruit of the White Oak is rarely abundant , and
frequently for several years in succession a few handfuls
of acorns could hardly be collected in a large forest
where the tree is multiplied. Some stocks produce acorns
of a deep blue colour ; but I have found only two indi-
viduals of this variety, one a flourishing tree in the gar-
den of Mr. W. Hamilton near Philadelphia, and the
other in Virginia.

The trunk is clad in a white bark, which is often va-
riegated with large black spots. On stocks less than 16
inches in diameter the epidermis is divided into squares ;
on old trees, growing in moist grounds, it is in the
form of plates laterally attached. The wood is reddish ,
and very similar to that of the European Oak, though
lighter and less compact , as may be proved by splitting
billets of each of the same size : in the American species
the vessels which occupy the intervals of the concentri-
cal circles are visibly less replete. But of all the American
Oaks which I shall describe, this is the best and the most
generally used, being strong, durable, and of large di-
mensions. It is less employed than formerly in building
only because it is scarcer and more costly.

At Philadelphia, Baltimore, and in the smaller towns
of the Middle Slates, the frame of all well built houses,
whether of brick or wood, is of White Oak. West of the
Alleghanies, where Pine boards are not easily procured,

WHITE OAK. 21

the White Oak is substituted for the floors and for the
exterior covering of the frame, notwithstanding its lia-
bility to warp and split.

It is much used in the construction of mills and dams,
particularly for such parts as are exposed to be alter-
nately wet and dry.

The wooden bridge nearly 3ooo feet long that unites
Boston and Cambridge, is supported by posts of White
Oak, from i6 to 20 feet in length , which have replaced
those of White Pine on which it originally stood.

The excellent properties of this wood cause it to be
preferred for a great variety of uses, among which are
many articles manufactured by the wheel- wright. This
trade is carried to the greatest perfection at Philadelphia,
and its wares are highly esteemed for solidity both at
home and abroad. White Oak perfectly seasoned is em-
ployed for the frame of coaches, waggons and sledges,
for the mould board of ploughs , the teeth of wooden
harrows , the felloes and spokes of wheels , particularly
the spokes of coach-wheels. In the Tvforthern, Middle
and Western States , the naves are also made of Oak
in the country; but it splits too easily to be proper for
this object. Except in the District of Maine , it is al-
ways chosen for the bow or circular back of windsor-
chairs. The wood of the young stocks is very elastic and
is susceptible of minute division, hence it is preferred
for the large baskets used in harvesting , for the hoop of
sieves , the bottom of riddles , and the handles of coach-

22 WHITE OAK.

whips which are braided and covered with leather ; at
Boston it is chosen for pail-handles , and in Maine , for
axe-helves.

In many parts of the Middle States , the White Oak
is selected for the posts of rural fence, and beyond
Laurel-Hill in Pennsylvania, where it is common, it-
forms the entire enclosure.

The bark is considered by many tanners as the best
for preparing leather for saddles and other similar ob-
jects ; it is Httle employed however , because in the
United States the bark of the trunk and large limbs only
is employed ; and on these the cellular integument is
much thinner in the White than in the Red Oak, which
is besides more abundant.

I have been told that the bark yields a purple dye :
though I have not witnessed the fact, I am disposed to
believe in its existence , as I received the information
from persons residing several hundred miles from each
other. But if the colour was not defective in perma-
nence or intensity, it would have found its way into
commerce , like the Quercitron of the Black Oak.

Of all the species that grow east of the Mississippi, the
White Oak alone furnishes staves proper for containing
wine and spirituous Hquors. The domestic consumption
for this purpose is immense, and vast quantities are
exported to the West Indies , Great Britain, and the
Islands of Madeira and Tenerifl'e. The Post Oak might
indeed be applied to ihc same use , but even in Mary-

WHITE OAK. 25

land and Virginia, where it is most common , it is not
sufticiently multiplied to supply the local demand.

The Rock Chesnut Oak and the Swamp White Oak in
the Northern and Middle States, the Chesnut White
Oak and the Over-cup Oak in the South , are compact
enough to prevent the escape of spirits and fine oils ,
yet porous enough to absorb them. If they united every
requisite quality, and were employed for this purpose,
they would be consumed in less than ten years.

It is well understood at Bordeaux that the wood of
the European White Oak is closer grained than that of
the American species , and the preference is given to our
domestic growth or to that imported from Dantzick.
The American Oak is exclusively employed in Madeira
and the West Indies only because it is cheaper and
more easily procured.

White Oak staves are exported from all the ports of
the Northern and Middle States , and from New Orleans.
Those which come from Baltimore , Norfolk and New
Orleans , are far superior to those of the Northern
States : the difference results naturally from that of the
soil and climate.

The quantity of Oak staves exported to England and
the West Indies appears, by two official documents that
I have examined, to be considerable. In 1808, the value
received by England amounted to more than 146,000
dollars, and the number of staves sent to the West
Indies exceeded 53 millions. I am unable to fix the pro-

2^ WHITE OAK.

portion of the two species of White and of Pied Oak ;
probably more of the first are sent to England , and of
the second to the Colonies. The price of both has varied
surprisingly within a hundred years : in 1720, slaves for
barrels were sold at Philadelphia at 3 dollars a thousand ;
in 1798, at 18 dollars; and in 1808, at 3o dollars. In
August 1807, before the American Embargo , they were
advertised at 55 dollars, and in April 1808, after that
municipal regulation became known , at 100 dollars.

The young White Oak, on account of its elasticity,
is very proper for hoops ; but it has less strength and
less durability than the Hickory.

Among the uses of this wood, the most important is
in ship-building. In all the dock-yards of the Northern
and Middle States, except in the District of Maine, it is
almost exclusively employed for the keel, and always
for the lower part of the frame and the sides : it is pre-
ferred for the knees when sticks of a proper form can
be found. In the smaller ports south of New York , the
upper part of the frame is also of White Oak ; but such
vessels are less esteemed than those constructed of
more durable wood.

At Boston , the trunncls , or the pins by which the
side-planks are attached to the ribs, are of this species.

To obtain correct notions on the comparative value
of the American White Oak and the European Oak, I
consvdted French , English and American ship-wrights ,
in almost all the ports of the United States : they

WHITE OAK. 23

generally agreed that the European Oak was tougher
and more durable from the superior closeness of its
grain , but that the American species was more elastic
and required a shorter time with only half the weight
to bend it. This advantage , though important in ship-
building, does not compensate for the openness of its
pores. Experience, however, every day shows that by
growing in places long inhabited its quality is improved ;
and if the American vessels are less durable than those
built in Europe , it is because the timber is not thor-
oughly seasoned.

The greater part of the immense quantity of White
Oak exported from the United States is sent to England.
It is shipped only from the Northern and Middle Slates,
in the form of boards and of square timber : what goes
to England from Quebec is brought from the shores of
Lake Champlain , for Canada probably furnishes hardly
enough for its own consumption.

By an extract from the custom-house books of St.
John, which I have already quoted, 143,000 cubic feet
of Oak wood appear to have entered by this port during
the first six months of 1807. Oddy, in his Treatise on the
Commerce of Europe , says, that in the Enghsh dock-
yards the White Oak from British America is esteemed
excellent timber. This opinion , simply considered , is
correct; but that which comes from Baltimore and
Philadelphia must still be superior.

Before I conclude this article, I must be allowed to
I. 4

26 WHITE OAK.

hasard a conjecture on the consequences of the neglect
of all means of preserving and multiplying this tree in
the United States; consequences which neither the
federal government nor the States have taken any
measures to prevent. From the increase of population ,
and from the impoverishment of the soil produced
by a gradual change in the climate, the White Oak will
probably , in less than 5o years , be the most rare in the
Middle States , where it is now the most abundant ; and
in Tennessee, Kentucky, Gennessee and farther north,
where it is the least multiplied , it will be the most com-
mon , and will replace the species which now compose
the forests, but which the soil will then be too feeble
to sustain. Thus , near the river Kennebeck , in the
midst of the primitive forests composed of the Beeches,
the Canoe Birch, the Sugar Maple and the Hemlock
Spruce^, I have observed small tracts , formerly cleared
and since abandoned, which are naturally repeopled
with the White and Grey Oaks; and in the lower part
of Virginia, poor Red Oaks, Yellow Pines and Loblolly
Pines are extensively replacing trees of a better quality.
East of the mountains, the vallies that He along the
rivers are , with a few exceptions , the only places where
the Oak could be advantageously reared ; but these fertile
lands are more profitably devoted to husbandry.

The American White Oak cannot, in my opinion, be
regarded as an useful acquisition to the forests of Europe.
Its elasticity, which renders the young stocks proper for

«d

WHITE OAK. 27

hoops, is doubtless a valuable property ; but the Chesnut
of France is superior for this purpose, because it is more
durable.

The White Oak is used in the royal dock-yards of
England probably because it has been found impossible
to procure supplies of European Oak. Perhaps it is em-
ployed only for the lower part of the frame , while the
European Oak is reserved for the upper timbers.

If the advantage in this comparison be allowed to be
on the side of the European species , the Americans
should lose no time in introducing it into their forests.
To corporations particularly, whose property is less fre-
quently ahenated, I take the liberty of addressing this
advice, which, if followed, would be productive of
great advantage to themselves and to the public. The
analogy of the climates leaves no doubt of the perfect
success of this tree in the United States , an example of
which is found in the garden of Messrs. J. and W. Bar-
tram , 3 miles from Philadelphia , where there is a large
stock which has yielded seed for several years, and
which continues to expand with vigour.

PLATE I.

A branch with leaves and acorns of the natural size.

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COMMON EUROPEAN OAK.

QuERCUS ROBUR. Q. folUs petlolatis , oblongis, glahiis ,
sinuatis; lobis rotuiidatis ; fixictibus oblongis, sessilibus.

To the particular attention bestowed upon this inter-
esting tree in modern times is owing its division into
two species^ the Common European Oak, Quercusrobur,
and the European White Oak , Quercus pedunmlata.

These two species, which are much alike and are
usually considered as the same, grow in the same coun-
tries , and frequently together. They constitute the
greater part of the European forests, from the Goth
to the 35th degree of north latitude, overspreading a
great part of the north of Asia and the northern ex-
tremity of Africa. They are most abundantly multiplied
on the shores of the Black Sea , in Germany , England ,
France and some parts of Italy, where the climate is
particularly favourable to their growth.

The Common European Oak is from 60 to 80 feet in
height^ numerously ramified, and crowned with an
ample and majestic summit. The bark upon the trunk is
thick, and upon old stocks , deeply furrowed. The leaves
are petiolaled , smooth , and of an uniform colour on
both sides, enlarged towards the summit, and very
coarsely toothed. The acorns are oval and sessile, which
is the principal difference between the two species.

n. CL.

COMMON EUROPEAN OAK. 3g

This tree prefers high places and the declivities of hills,
with a barren gravelly soil ; hence it grows more slowly,
and its wood is more compact , tougher and heavier
than that of the European White Oak. It is less used
for household stuff and other kinds of joinery, because
it is less easily wrought; but is more esteemed for build-
ing and for works that require great strength and dur-
ability.

The Common European Oak is subdivided into many
Tarieties , the most valuable of which are the European
Black Oak, Quercus robur lanuginosa, and the Qiiercus
robur glomerata. The first is only 3o or 4o feet high , with
small , thick leaves , very downy underneath ; its timber
is compact and excellent for fuel. The second never
rises to a great height ; the leaves are small , but smooth
on both sides ; the acorns are of an inferior size and
collected in clusters upon a short common peduncle.

PLATE II.

A branch of the Common European Oak with leaves and
acorns of the natural size.

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EUROPEAN WHITE OAK.

QuERCUS PEDUNCULATA. Q. foliis subsessilibus , glabrls ,
sinuatis; fructihus oblongis , pedunculatis.

The European While Oak grows of choice in rich
bottoms, where the soil is deep and moderately humid.
It reaches tl^e height of 90 or 100 feet , and has a large
well proportioned trunk, which is often undivided for
a considerable distance , and which spreads into a large
commanding summit. The bark upon the body is very
thick, and on old trees, deeply furrowed ; upon the limbs
and the young stocks it is greyish, smooth and glossy. The
leaves are of a light green on the upper surface , whitish
beneath, widened towards the summit, deeply sinuated
with blunted points , and supported by short petioles
like those of the American White Oak. They are more
or less divided according to the age of the tree and to
the moisture of the soil. A part of the dry discoloured
foliage persists through the winter and falls the ensuing
spring.

Besides the difference of the foliage , this species is
constantly distinguished from the preceding by its fruit,
which is supported singly or in pairs by slender ped-
uncles 2, 3 , or even 4 inches long. The acorns are of an
oval shape, from 9 lo 18 hues in length, according to
the age and vigour of the tree , and contained in shal-

EUROPEAN WHITE OAK. 5l

low cups : they fall about a fortnight before those of the
Common Oak.

The wood of the European White Oak is of the same
colour with that of the American species , the sap being
white and the heart reddish ; but the texture is closer
and the pores fuller, which is probably the reason of
its being less elastic , but stronger and more durable.
It is more generally esteemed than the Common Oak as
it furnishes larger timber, splits more regularly, and is
more easily wrought ; hence it is preferred for the con-
struction of houses and ships, and is extensively em-
ployed by the joiner, the cartwright and the cooper.

Throughout Europe, except in the north of Russia,
the bark of the Common Oak and the White Oak is
almost exclusively used in tanning. That which is taken
from the branches and from small stocks is preferred ,
because the epidermis is thinner, and the cellular integ-
ument, which contains the tannin, more abundant.

Oak wood is more generally used in Europe than in
the United States , where the different species of Ash ,
Birch , etc. , in some measure supply its place. The Eu-
ropean White Oak would be a valuable addition to the
American forests, and I have sent out acorns to begin
the formation of nurseries.

PLATE II.

A branch of the European fVhiie Oak with leaves and
acorns of the natural size.

MOSSY-CUP OAK.

QuERCUS olivj*:formis. Q. foUis oblongis , glabrls , subtus
glaucis , profunde incequallterque sinuato-lobatis ; fruciu
ovato ; cupula profundlus crateratd , supeme crinitd ;
glande olwceformi.

I HAVE observed this species of Oak only in the State
of New York on the banks of the Hudson above Al-
bany and in Gennessee , where it is so rare that it has
hitherto received no specific name.

Its leaves are of a light green above and whitish be-
neath : they resemble those of the White Oak in colour ,
but differ from them in form, being larger, and^^ery
deeply and irregularly laciniated , with rounded lobes so
various in shape that it is impossible to find two leaves
that are alike. The acorns are of an elongated oval form,
and are enclosed in cups of nearly the same configur-
ation , of which the scales are prominent and recurved ,
except near th^jedge , where they terminate in slender
flexible filaments : from this peculiarity I have derived
the name of Mossy-cup Oak.

This tree is 60 or 70 feet in height , with a spacious
summit and an imposing aspect. The bark is white and
laminated ; but the tree is chiefly remarkable for the
form and disposition of its secondary branches, which
are slender, flexible, and always inclined towards tlie

Mossy Cup Oak.

MOSSY-CUP OAK. 33

earth. This pecnliarity alone would render it a valuable
acquisition for parks and gardens.

As I have met w^ith this species only in uninhabited
places , I have had little opportunity of examining its
w^ood ; as far as I can judge , it is not better than that of
the White Oak, though far superior to that of the Red
Oak.

PLATE III.

Leaves of the natural size. Fig. i , An acorn with the cup.
JFig. 2 , An acorn without the cup. ♦

I.

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OVER-CUP WHITE OAK.

QuERCUS MACROCARPA. Q. foKis subtomentosis ^ piofunde
lyratimque sinuato - lobatis , obiusis ; fructu maximo ;
cupula profundius crater aid , supeine crinaid ; glande
turgide ovatd.

This interesting species is most multiplied beyond
the AUeghanies , in the fertile districts of Kentucky
and West Tennessee , and in Upper Louisiana near the
Missouri. It is called by the Americans Bur Oak and
Over-cup White Oak , and by the French of Illinois ,
Chene a gros gland.

It is a beautiful tree more than 60 feet in height,
laden with dark tufted foliage. The leaves are larger
than those of any other Oak in the United States, being
frequently i5 inches long and 8 broad : they are notched
near the summit, and deeply laciniated below. The
acorns , which are also larger than those of any other
American species, are oval and enclosed for two thirds
of their length in a thick rugged cup , bordered with
line flexible filaments. Sometimes, however, in com-
pact forests, or in very temperate seasons, the fila-
ments do not appear, and the edge of the cup is smooth
and bent inwards.

The fructification of this tree is not abundant , and
as its wood is inferior to that of the White Oak , it is
little esteemed in the United States.

Over CupMlute Oak.

Qua V y/d' /// (jcrocarva .

OVER-CUP WHITE OAK. 35

I have observed , as well as my father who first made
the remark, that the young branches are frequently
covered vdth a yellowish fungous substance , like those
of the Elm and Sweet Gum.

PLATE IV.

A leaf of half the nalural size. Fig. i , An acorn in the
cup , of the natural size..

POST OAK.

QuERCUS OBTUSILOBA. Q. foliis sinuatis , suhtus pubescen-
iibus, lobls oblusis, superioribus dilatatis, bilobis; fructu
mediocri; glande brevi^ovatd.

Quercus stellata, "Willd. Sp. PI.

In New Jersey near the sea, and in the vicinity of
Philadelphia, this species is thinly disseminated in the
forests , and has hitherto been considered as a variety of
the White Oak. In Maryland and a great part of Virginia,
w^here it abounds and w^here its properties are better
understood, it is called Box White Oak, and sometimes
Iron Oak and Post Oak. The last denomination only is
used in the Carolinas, Georgia and East Tennessee.

The steep banks of the Hudson , nearly opposite to
the city of New York, are the most northern points at
which I have observed it. Even here its existence seems
to be secured only by the influence of the sea-air, which
tempers to a certain degree the severity of the winter.
A little farther inland it is not found in the forests. In
the vicinity of South Amboy , 3o miles nearer the sea ,
where the soil is dry and sandy, it is more multiplied ,
and it becomes still more vigorous and more common in
advancing towards the south. Westward in Pennsylvania
I saw the last individual of this species a little beyond
Carlisle on the road to Pittsburgh, i5o miles from Phil-
adelphia. Near Baltimore, at the distance of 210 miles

J'.J.ReJouie

Post Oak

(?uercu^^ ohhisiioba

POST OAK. 37

from New York, it abounds in the woods, and attains
its utmost expansion. In Kentucky and Tennessee it is
rare, except on the edges of the swamps enclosed in the
forests , about which it is multiplied though not fully
developed. It probably exists in Lower Louisiana , for
we met with it in East Florida , of which the climate is
the same.

But it is no where more abundant than in Maryland
and in Virginia, between the Alleghanies and the sea.
Wherever the soil is dry, gravelly and unsubstantial , it
forms a considerable proportion of the forests, which
are composed principally of the Black, Scarlet , Spanish
and Black Jack Oaks , the Dogwood and the Yellow Pine.
These woods exhibit a squalid appearance , occasioned
not only by the sterility of the soil, but by the injury they
are constantly sustaining from the cattle which range
through them at all seasons , and which in the winter
are compelled , by the want of herbage , to subsist upon
the young sprouts and the shoots of the preceding
year. The upper part of the two Carolinas and Georgia,
particularly where the Pine and Oak forests unite, is
analogous in soil to that portion of Virginia of which
we have been speaking , and abounds in the Post Oak ;
but nearer the sea the barren wastes are covered with
the Long-leaved Pine , and the Oak is seen only in the
lowest parts of the swamps, about the plantations, and
on tracts that have been exhausted by cultivation and
abandoned.

58 POST OAK,

The leaves are borne by short petioles, and are divided
into four or five rounded lobes, of which the two nearest
the summit are the broadest ; they are coriaceous , of a
dusky green above and greyish beneath. Towards the fall
the ribs are of a rosy tint , instead of a purplish red like
those of the Scarlet Oak. The fructification seldom fails.
The acorns are small , oval , and covered , for a third of
their length, with a slightly rugged greyish cup. They
are very sweet , and form a dehcious food for squirrels
and wild turkeys ; hence the tree is sometimes called
Turkey Oak.

The height of this species rarely exceeds 4o or 5o feet,
with a diameter of i5 inches. Its summit, even when
compressed in the forests, is disproportionately large ,
owing probably to the early division of the trunk into
several Hmbs, with which the secondary branches form
more open angles than is common on other trees. The
branches also are bent into elbows at certain distances,
which gives so peculiar an appearance to the tree that it
is easily distinguished when the leaves are fallen. The
bark upon the trunk is thin and of a greyish white. The
wood is yellowish , with no tinct of red. Growing upon
a less humid soil, it is less elastic, but finer-grained,
stronger and more durable, than the White Oak : hence
it is preferred for posts, and is used with advantage by
wheel- Wrights and coopers.

In ship-building it is used principally for the knees ,
and is admitted into the lower part of the frame. It rarely

POST OAK. 59

furnishes side-planks or timber of considerable length ;
for this reason it is less esteemed than the White Oak ,
and it is, besides, less common except in Maryland and
certain parts of Virginia.

The preference given in the West Indies to the staves
from Baltimore and Norfolk is due , in a great measure ,
to their being made of the Post Oak.

This tree , though only of secondary size , should be
propagated in America and introduced into the forests
of Europe.

PLATE V.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

V\'*VWVW\'WVWVWV»'VVWVWWVWVVVV\WVWWVVWW'VVWl'

OVER-CUP OAR.

QUERCUS LYRATA. Q. foliis sitbsesslUbus , glabns , lyrato-
sinuosis , summitate dilatatd , dwancato - trllohd , lobis
acutangulis, ierminali tiicuspide ; cupula depresso- glo-
bosd , muiicato scabrafd; glande subtectd.

In the United States I have met with this interesting
species only in the lower part of the Carolinas and of
Georgia. It probably exists on the banks of the Missis-
sippi in Lower Louisiana, and I have observed it on the
St. John in East Florida , in situations analogous to those
in which it flourishes a little farther north. In Georgia
and Carolina it is not extensively multiplied, and has
been distinguished only by the inhabitants of the places
where it grows. It is called Swamp Post Oak , Over-cup
Oak, and Water White Oak. The first of these denomi-
nations indicates an analogy between its foliage and that
of the Post Oak , and the second , a remarkable pecul-
iarity of its fruit , of which the acorn is covered by the
cup. The name of Over-cup Oak is the most common in
South Carolina , and that of Swamp Post Oak on the Sa-
vannah in Georgia.

The Over-cup Oak grows in more humid situations
than any other species of this genus in the United States.
It is never seen in the long narrow marshes which in-
tersect the pine-barrens , but is found exclusively in the

p/.fi

j>jn.../o„/e ,/en

Over Clip Oak

OVER-CUP OAK. 4.1

great swamps on the borders of the rivers , which are
often overflowed at the rising of the waters , and are in-
accessible during three quarters of the year. In these
gloomy forests it is united with the Large Tupelo, White
Elm, Wahoo, Planer Tree, Carolinian Poplar , Water
Bitternut Hickory and Water Locust.

It expands to a majestic size , and the influence of a
deep and constantly humid soil is shown in the luxuriancy
of its vegetation. On the banks of the Savannah I have
seen stocks which were more than 80 feet high and from
8 to 12 feet in circumference. The leaves are 6 or 8 inches
long, smooth, narrow, lyre-shaped, deeply sinuated, and
borne by short petioles. The lobes, particularly the two
upper ones, are truncated, and from their resemblance
in this respect to those of the Post Oak , is derived the
name of Swamp Post Oak. The foliage is thick and of a
hght agreeable tint. The acorns, unlike those of the Oaks
in general which are of an elongated oval shape, are
broad, round, and depressed at the summit : they are
sometimes from 12 to 18 lines in diameter from side to
side, and from 6 to 10 lines from the base to the summit.
The cup , which is nearly closed , is thin , and its scales
are terminated by short fh^m points.

The bark upon the trunk is white, and the wood,

though inferior to that of the White Oak and the Post

Oak , is more compact than would be supposed from

the soil in which it grows ; the pores are observable

I. 6

42 OVER-CUP OAK.

only between the concentrical circles , and are more
regularly disposed than in other trees.

This species is the largest and the most highly es-
teemed among the Oaks that grow in wet grounds. Its
propagation should be attempted in the forests of Eu-
rope , where no doubt can be entertained of its success.
The acorns which I sent to France several years since ,
though sown upon uplands , have produced flourishing
plants ,' which bear the winter of Paris without injury.

PLATE VI.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

SAvainp While (^ak

SWAMP WHITE OAK.

QuERCUS PRiNUS DISCOLOR. Q. folUs oblougo ■■ obovatis ,
subtus albo-tomentosis , grosse dentatis, basi integerjimis ,
dentibus incequalibus dilatatis; fructibus longe pedun-
culatis.

Quercus bicolor. Willd.

This species is known in the United States only by
the name of Swamp "White Oak, which indicates at
once the soil which it prefers and its analogy to the
White Oak.

I first observed it near Portsmouth in New Hamp-
shire ; but it is less multiplied in this latitude than in
the Middle and Western States. It particularly attracted
my attention in New Jersey near the city of New York ,
on the Delaware in Pennsylvania, on the Susquehan-
nah in Virginia, and beyond the mountains on the
Ohio in Kentucky and on the Holston near Knoxville in
East Tennessee; I have also seen it on the shores of
lake Champlain and lake Ontario. Except the District of
Maine and the maritime parts of the Southern Section,
it is diffused throughout the United States ; in compar-
ison , however , with several other species, it is not com-
mon, being found only on the edges of swamps and
in wet places exposed to inundations , and not in the
forests at large, like the White Oak, the Black Oak, etc.
In New Jersey it is associated wdth the Pin Oak , the Red-

44 SWAMP WHITE OAK.

flowering Maple , the White Ash , the Tupelo and the
Shell'bark Hickory. On the shores of Lake Champlain ,
which occasionally offer similar situations , particularly
at a little distance from Skeensborough , it is mingled
with the White Maples, which occupy the next hne to
the Willows in retiring from the shore.

The Swamp White Oak is a beautiful tree, more than
70 feet in height , of which the vegetation is vigorous
and the foliage luxuriant. The leaves are 6 or 8 inches
long and 4 inches broad , smooth and of a dark green
above , downy and lighter coloured beneath ; they are
entire towards the base , which is cuneiform , but are
vvidened and coarsely toothed for two thirds of their
length towards the summit. The tree is distinguished ,
when young , by the form of its base and by the down
upon its leaves, which is more sensible to the touch than
on any analogous species. At a riper age the low^er side
of the leaf is of a silvery white, vs^hich is strikingly con-
trasted with the bright green of the upper surface ; hence
the specific name of discolor W3is given it by Dr.Muhlem-
berg.

The acorns are sweet , but seldom abundant ; they are
rather large, of a brown complexion , and contained in
a spreading cup edged with short slender filaments,
more downy within than those of any other Oak , and
supported by peduncles i or 2 inches in length.

The trunk is clad in a scaly greyish white bark. The
wood is strong , elastic , and heavier than that of the

SWAMP WHITE OAK. 45

White Oak. In stocks more than a foot in diameter the
grain is fine and close , and the pores are nearly obliter-
ated. It splits easily and in a straight line, and is es-
teemed next in quality to.the White Oak, though from
its rareness it is but accidentally employed in the arts.

If, as I incline to believe, the Swamp White Oak is
found by more accurate experiments to be superior to
the White Oak , it must be considered as a very valuable
tree , and its increase should be favoured at the expense
of the Red-flowering Maple , the Bitternut Hickory,
the Hornbeam , and other species which grow in the
same exposures. It seems also to deserve a place in the
forests of Europe, where , in moist grounds , it might
be blended or alternated with the Ashes , the Alders and
the Poplars.

PLATE VII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

CHESNUT WHITE OAK.

QuERCUs PRiNUS PALUSTRis. Q. folUs oblongo-omlibus ,
acuminatis acutisve , suhuniformiter dentatis ; cupula
crateratd, subsquamosd; glande ovatd.

Quercus prinus, Willd.

I

The Chesnut White Oak is first seen within ten miles
of Philadelphia ; but it is less multiplied and less amply
developed than farther south. It is most abundant in
the maritime parts of the Carolinas , Georgia and East
Florida, and is probably found on the banks of the Mis-
sissippi , which are analogous to those of many rivers
of the Southern States.

In Pennsylvania this species is confounded vnth the
Rock Chesnut Oak , which it strikingly resembles ;
farther South, where the Rock Chesnut Oak is un-
known, it is called Chesnut White Oak, Swamp Ches-
nut Oak , and generally on the Savannah White Oak.

The Chesnut White Oak is adorned with beautiful fo-
liage : the leaves are 8 or 9 inches long, 4 or 5 inches
broad, obovate, deeply toothed, of a light shining green
above and whitish beneath.

The acorns are brown , oval , larger than those of any
other species except the Over-cup White Oak , and con-
tained in shallow scaly cups. Being sweet-flavoured , and
sometimes abundant , they are sought with avidity by

J'LS.

Chcsnut White Oak.

CHESNUT WHITE OAK. 4?

wild and domestic animals, such as deer , cows, horses
and swine.

The Chesnut White Oak, like the Over-cup Oak,
grows only in the large swamps that border the rivers or
are enclosed in the forests ; but it always chooses spots
that are rarely inundated , where the soil is loose, deep,
constantly cool and luxuriantly fertile.

In the Carolinas and Georgia it is usually accompanied
by the White Elm, the Wahoo , the Big Laurel, the
Umbrella Tree , the Sweet Leaves , the Beech , the Pop-
lar, the Bitternut Hickory and the Devil Wood. In this
latitude it attains its utmost developement , which is 80
or go feet in stature with a proportional diameter. Its
straight trunk , undivided and of an uniform size to the
height of 5o feet, and its expansive tufted summit,
form one of the most beautiful and majestic trees of
the North American forests.

Its wood , which is affected by the richness of the
soil, is inferior to that of the Post Oak, the White
Oak , and even the Over - cup Oak ; and its pgres ,
though nearly obliterated , are more open. But it is
superior to many other species, and is employed for
wheel -Wrights' works and for other objects which re-
quire strength and durability. As it splits in a straight
line , and may be divided into fine shreds , it is chosen
by the negroes for baskets and brooms. Its pores are too
open to contain wine or spirituous liquors. In the form
of rails it lasts 12 or 1 5 years, or a third longer than the

48 CHESNUT WHITE OAK.

"Willow Oak. At Augusta in Georgia it is considered as
the best fuel, and is sold at 2 or 3 dollars a cord.

The Chesnut White Oak endures the winter of Paris ,
but its vegetation would be quicker in the more south-
ern departments. It is to be regretted that a tree which
seems formed to be one of the finest ornaments of our
forests , should have nothing to recommend it but its
beauty. Other properties it possesses only in a second-
ary degree , and in Europe it will probably be confined
to the pleasure-grounds of amateurs.

PLATE VIII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

Pvoc'k Cliosmil Oak

Oiic/rus J^'.'" mvnlicola

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ROCK CHESNUT OAK.

QUERCUS PRINUS MONTicoLA. Q. folii's obovatis cicutisj
grosse dentatis , dentibus subcequalihus ; fniciu majus-
culo, cupula turhinatd, scahrosd; glande oblongd.

Quercus montana, Willd.

This Oak is among the species which are not scat-
tered promiscuously in the forests , but which grow
only in particular situations and easily escape obser-
vation ; hence it is difficult to assign its limits with
precision. It probably does not extend northward far
beyond Yermont, nor eastward beyond New Hamp-
shire. I have never seen it in the District of Maine nor
in Nova Scotia, and it is not mentioned in my father's
botanical notes upon Lower Canada ; it is likewise a
stranger to the maritime parts of the Southern States.
It is most frequently met with in the Middle and in
some parts of the Northern Sections j but is rarely
mingled with other trees in the forests, and is found
only on high grounds thickly strewed with stones or
covered vnth rocks. Thus it is often seen on the steep
and rocky banks of the Hudson and on the shores
of Lake Champlain , and still more frequently on the
AUeghanies in Pennsylvania and Virginia. It forms nine
tenths of the growih on some parts of these mountains,
but the soil is so meager that it is thinly disseminated
I- 7

5o ROCK CHESNUT OAK.

and does not exceed 20 or 25 feet in height and 8 or 10
inches in diameter. I made this observation particularly
on the Djy Ridges i5 miles from Bedford.

In that part of Pennsylvania, as well as in Maryland
and Virginia , it is known by the name of Chesnut Oak ,
and by that of Rock Oak on the banks of the Hudson
and the shores of Lake Champlain to the distance of 400
miles from New York. Both are significant ; the first , of
a remarkable resemblance of the bark to that of the
Chesnut ; and the second , of the situations in which the
tree is exclusively found. For this reason , and to avoid
confounding it with the preceding and following species,
which also grow in Virginia , I have blended the two de-
nominations.

The beautiful appearance of this tree when growing
in a fertile soil , is owing equally to the symmetry of its
form and to the luxuriance of its foliage. The leaves are
5 or 6 inches long , 3 or 4 broad , oval and uniformly
denticulated , with the teeth more regular but less acute
than those of the Chesnut White Oak. When beginning
to open in the spring , they are covered with a thick
down; but, when fully expanded, they are perfectly
smooth , whitish beneath , and of a delicate texture. The
petiole is of a yellow colour , which becomes brighter
towards the fall.

The acorns are brown , of an oblong-oval shape, and
sometimes an inch in length , a third part of which is
contained in a spreading cup covered with loose scales :

ROCK CHESNUT OAK. 5l

they are sweet-tasted and are a favourite nourishment
of wild and domestic animals.

The Rock Chesnut Oak is sometimes 3 feet in dia-
meter , and more than 60 feet high ; but as its growth is
usually repressed by the poverty of the soil , it rarely
attains these dimensions,' In open elevated situations it
spreads widely, and forms a head like that of the Apple
Tree. When the trunk exceeds a foot in diameter it is
covered with a thick, hard, deeply furrowed bark. At
New York and near the Alleghanies in Pennsylvania,
this species of bark is esteemed the best for tanning.
Only that of the secondary branches and of stocks less
than 6 inches thick is employed. It is sold at New York
for 10 or 12 dollars a cord. The epidermis is strongly
impregnated with the tanning principle, which in other
species resides only in the cellular integument.

The wood is reddish like that of the White Oak , but
its pores are more open , though its specific gravity is
greater : pieces of both species being thrown into water,
the White Oak remains on the surface and the other at
the bottom. Its staves are not used to contain spirituous
liquors. At New York and on the banks of the Hudson ,
it holds the next place to the White Oak in the con-
struction of vessels. It is employed for the lower part
of the frame , and oftener for the knees and the ribs :
pieces of White Oak suited to these objects are procured
with difficulty; but the Rock Chesnut Oak, growing up
in a continual controversy with the winds, is more fre-

52 ROCK CHESNUT OAK.

quently bent into the proper shape. For fuel , it is next
in price to the Hickory. I have been told in several forges,
especially those at the foot of the North Mountain, 200
miles from Philadelphia, that it is superior in this re-
spect to every other species of its genus except the Live
Oak.

A tree like this , which grows in stony soils, in abrupt
uninhabitable exposures, and whose bark and timber are
so valuable, deserves the particular attention of American
and European foresters. They should sow the acorns in
the crevices of the rocks , and wherever the soil is
incapable of cultivation. Thousands of young plants al-
ready exist in the vicinity of Paris.

PLATE IX.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

Yellow Oak.

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YELLOW OAK.

QuERCUS PRINUS ACUMINATA. Q. foliis longk petiolatis ,
acuminaiis, suhcequaliter dentatis; fnictu mediocri ; cu-
pula subhemisphericd.

Quercus ccstanea , Willd.

The banks of the Delaware may be assumed as the
northern limit of the Yellow Oak. It scarcely exists in the
maritime parts of the Southern States , where I have
seen only a few stocks near Two Sisters' Ferry on the
Savannah in Georgia , and a single one on the Cape Fear,
a mile from Fayetteville in North CaroHna. In the Mid-
dle and Western States, though more common, it is
still rare in comparison with many other trees, and is
sometimes lost sight of by the traveller for several days
in succession. I have most particularly observed it on the
small river Conestoga near Lancaster in Pennsylvania,
on the Mononghahela a little above Pittsburgh , and in
several small tracts near the Holston and Nolachuky in
East Tennessee. In the Monography of American Oaks,
itiy father takes notice of its existence in the country of
the Illinois.

Near Lancaster this tree is called Yellow Oak , from
the complexion of its wood ; but in other parts of the
United States it is confounded vdth the Ghesnut White
Oak and Rock Ghesnut Oak , to which it bears some re-
semblance in its foliage.

54 YELLOW OAK.

The leaves are lanceolate , regularly toothed , of a light
green above and whitish beneath. The small acorns are
contained in slightly scaly cups, and are sweeter than
those of any other species in the United States.

The Yellow Oak is a fine tree, 70 or 80 feet high
and 2 feet in diameter, with branches tending rather to
close round the trunk than to diffuse themselves hori-
zontally. I invariably found it in vallies where the soil
was loose, deep and fertile. The bark upon the trunk
is whitish, very slightly furrowed, and sometimes di-
vided into plates , like that of the Swamp White Oak;
The wood is yellowish , though the tint is not bright
enough to fit it for peculiar uses. Its pores are partly ob-
literated, irregukirly disposed, and more numerous than
those of any other American Oak : this organisation
must impair its strength and render it less durable than
the Chesnut White Oak and the Rock Chesnut Oak.

As this tree is so thinly disseminated, it will not ap-
pear surprising that I should not have witnessed the ap-
plication of its vvood in the arts, or have found occa-
sions of accurately appreciating its qualities. Its agreeable
form and beautiful foliage render it proper for the em-
bellishment of picturesque gardens.

PLATE X.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

PI u.

Small Cliesiuit Oalc

SMALL CHESNUT OAK.

QOERCUS PRINUS CHiNCAPiN. Q. foliis obovatis , grosse
dentaiis, subtus glaucis ; cupula hemisphcencd ; glande
ovatd.

Quercus pnnoides, Willd.

In the Northern and Middle States this pretty little
species is called Small or Dwarf Chesnut Oak , from the
resemblance of its leaves to those of the Rock Chesnut
Oak; as there is also a likeness between its foliage and
that of the Chincapin , it is known in East Tennessee
and in the upper part of the Garohnas by the name of
Chincapin Oak.

The Small Chesnut Oak is not generally diffused, but
is rare in many places adapted to its constitution , and is
usually found in particular districts, where, alone or
mingled with the Bear Oak, it sometimes covers tracts
of more than loo acres. The presence of these species
is a certain proof of the barrenness of the soil. I have
particularly observed the Small Chesnut Oak in the vi-
cinity of Providence in Rhode Island, of Albany in
New York, of Knoxville in Tennessee, and on the Alle-
ghany Mountains in Virginia. It grows spontaneously in
the park of Mr. W. Hamihon near Philadelphia.

This species and another which is found in the Pine
forests of the Southern States rarely exceed 3o inches
in height : they are the most diminutive of the American
Oaks, and are mentioned only to complete the series.

56 SMALL CHESNUT OAK.

The leaves of the Small Chesnut Oak are oval-acumi-
nate, regularly but not deeply denticulated, of a light
green above and whitish beneath. The acorns are en-
closed for one third of their length in scaly sessile cups ;
they are of a middle size, sowewhat elongated, similarly
rounded at both ends, and very sweet.

Nature seems to have sought a compensation for the
diminutive size of this shrub in the abundance of its
fruit : the stem, which is sometimes no bigger than a
quill , is stretched at full length upon the ground by the
weight of the thickly clustering acorns. United with the
Bear Oak, which is of the same size and equally prolific,
perhaps it might be cultivated with advantage for its
fruit.

PLATE XL

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

PI. 12.

MJ/icJauH M^

I^ive Oak.

Qiiercus virens.

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LIVE OAK.

QUERCUS VIRENS. Q. folUs perennaiitibus , conaceis, ovato-
ohlongis , juniorihus dentatis, veiustioribus intcgris; cupula
turhinatd, squamuUs abbrematis ; glande oblongd.

This species, which is confined to the maritime parts
of the Southern States, the Floridas and Louisiana, is
known only by the name of Live Oak. The climate be-
comes mild enough for its growth near Norfolk in Vir-
ginia , though it is less muUiplied and less vigorous than
in a more southern latitude. From Norfolk it spreads
along the coast for a distance of 1 5 or iS hundred miles,
extending beyond the mouth of the Mississippi. The
sea-air seems essential to its existence , for it is rarely
found in the forests upon the mainland, and nevermore
than 1 5 or 20 miles from the shore.

It is the most abundant , the most fully developed ,
and of the best quality, about the bays and creeks , and
on the fertile islands which in great numbers He scat-
tered for several hundred miles along the coast. I par-
ticularly observed it on the islands of St. Simon ,
Cumberland, Sapelo, etc., between the St. John and
the St. Mary, in an excursion of four or five hundred
miles in a canoe , from Cape Canaveral in East Florida
to Savannah in Georgia. I frequently saw it upon the
beach, or half-buried in the moveable sands upon the
I. 8

58 LIVE OAK.

downs, where it had preserved its freshness and >igour,
though exposed during a long lapse of time to the fury
of the wintry tempest and to the ardour of the sum-
mer's sun.

The Live Oak is commonly 40 or 45 feet in height,
and from i to 2 feet in diameter; but it is sometimes
much larger : Mr. S. , president of the Agricultural So-
ciety of Charleston, assured me that he had felled a
trunk , hollowed by age , which was 24 feet in circum-
ference. Like most other trees , it has , when insulated,
a wide and tufted summit. Its trunk is sometimes un-
divided for 18 or 20 feet, but often ramifies at half this
height, and at a distance it has the appearance of an old
Apple Tree or Pear Tree. The leaves are oval , coria-
ceous, of a dark green above and whitish beneath : they
persist during several years , and are partially renewed
every spring. On trees reared upon plantations, or grow-
ing in cool soils, they are one half larger, and are often
denticulated : upon stocks of two or three years they are
commonly very distinctly toothed.

The acorns are of a lengthened oval form , nearly
black , and contained in shallow, greyish , pedunculated
cups. The Indians are said to have expressed an oil from
them to mingle with their food ; perhaps, also , they eat
the kernel, which , though not agreeable to the taste , is
less rough and bitter than that of many other species.
The fruit is sometimes very abundant, and it germi-
nates with such ease that if the weather is rainy at the

LIVE OAK. 69

season of its maturity, many acorns are fomid upon the
trees with the radicle unfolded.

Tlie bark upon the trunk is blackish , hard and thick.
The wood is heavy, compact, hne-grained , and of a
yellowish colour, which deepens as the tree advances in
age. The number and closeness of the concentrical circles
evince the slowness of its growth. As it is very strong,
and incomparably more durable than the best White
Oak , it is highly esteemed in ship-building, and is con-
sumed not only in the country which produces it, but
still more extensively in the Northern States. From its
great durability when perfectly seasoned it is almost ex-
clusively employed for the upper part of the frame. To
compensate its excessive weight it is joined with the Red
Cedar, which is extremely light and equally lasting.

The Live Oak does not afford large timber; but its
wide and branching summit makes amends for this dis-
advantage by furnishing a great number of knees, of
which there is never a sufhcient quantity in the dock-
yards.

The vessels built at New York and Philadelphia , with
the upper frame of Red Cedar and Live Oak, and the
lower timbers of White Oak, are as durable as those
constructed of the best materials in Europe. Brekel ,
whom I have already quoted , says that the best trunnels
are of Live Oak ; but at present it is replaced , in the
Southern States , by the Locust and the heart of the
Long-leaved Pine.

6o LIVE OAK.

In the South, particularly at Charleston and Savan-
nah , this species is used for the naves and felloes of
heavy wheels, for which it is far superior to the White
Oak : it is more proper, also, for screws and for the
cogs of mill-wheels.

The bark is excellent for tanning, but is only acci-
dentally employed.

Besides the Live Oak timber exported to England ,
great quantities are used in ship-building in the United
States, particularly at Boston, New York, Philadelphia
and Baltimore. The consumption has become threefold
within twenty years , in conseqvience of the immense
developement of American commerce. Hence the price
has doubled , and the species is rapidly diminishing.
The clearing of the islands for the culture of cotton ,
which they yield of a superior quality, has contributed
greatly to its destruction. It is already difficult to pro-
cure sticks of considerable size in the Southern States ,
and they are sought on the western coast of East Flo-
rida between the St. Mary and the St. John. From St.
Augustine to the Cape the species is rarer ; but we are
informed that it abounds on the shores of West Florida,
whither the English of the Bahama Islands resort for
supplies.

As the Live Oak, from the peculiarities of ils consti-
tution , is multiplied with difficulty, I cannot but con-
sider its disappearance throughout the United States
within fifty years as nearly certain. It will then be

LIVE OAK. 6l

found only in the form of a shrub, like the Quercus ilex
which formerly skirted the southern coast of France and
Italy. y

PLATE XII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

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CORK OAK.

QuERCUS SUBER. Q. folUs ovato-oblongis , indwisis , ser^
ratis , subLus glaucis ; cortice rimoso , fimgoso.

The Cork Oak grows naturally in the southern parts
of France, in Spain, Portugal, Italy and the States of
Barbary, wl^ich are comprised between the 44th and
35th degrees of latitude. It rarely exceeds 40 feet in
height and 3 feet in diameter. Its leaves are evergreen ,
but the greater part of them fall and are renewed in
the spring : they are ovate , thick , slightly toothed, of a
light green on the upper surface and glaucous beneath.
The acorns are rather large, oval, and half enclosed in
a conical cup : as they are of a sweetish taste , they are
eagerly devoured by swine.

The wood is hard, compact and heavy, but less dur-
able than that of the Common European Oak, parti-
cularly when exposed to humidity. The worth of the tree
resides in its bark, which begins to be taken off at the
age of 2.5 years. The first growth is of little value ; in
ten years it is renewed ; but the second product, though
less cracked than the hrst, is not thick enough for corks,
and is used only by fishermen to buoy up their nets. It
is not till the tree is 45 or 5o years old that the bark pos-
sesses all the quahties requisite for good corks, and
from that period it is collected once in eight or ten

PI i3.

Cork Oak.

twrie/ .vu/f

CORK OAK. 65

years. Its thickness is owing to the extraordinary swel-
ling of the cellular integument. It is better fitted than
any other substance for the use to which it is appro-
priated , as its elasticity exactly adapts it to the neck of
the bottle, and its impenetrable structure refuses ad-
mission to the fluid.

July and August are the seasons for gathering it. For
this purpose two opposite longitudinal incisions are
made through the whole length of the trunk , and two
others, transverse to the first, at the extremities ; the
bark is then detached by inserting a hatchet -handle
shaped like a wedge. Great care must be taken not to
wound the alburnum, as the bark is never renewed upon
the injured parts. After being scraped , the bark is heated
on its convex side, and laden with stones, to flatten it
and render it easier of transportation. In Catalonia it is
cut into pieces and boiled to improve its quality. Its ex-
cellence consists in being compact, supple and elastic
and it should be from i5 to 20 lines thick.

The cork produced in France may be reckoned at 17
or 18,000 quintals, and when the sheets are smooth and
even each quintal affords 7,000 or 7,600 corks 18 hues
long. The common price is a dollar and 70 cents a thou-
sand , of which 5o cents must be allowed for the expense
of making. It is computed that no or ii5 millions of
corks are annually consumed in France.

This tree would be an important acquisition to the
United States , and would grow wherever the Live Oak

64 CORK OAK.

subsists. The soil of the pine barrens is in general too
meager to sustain its vegetation ; the bed of vegetable
mould is in many places so thin, and the sand beneath
so homogeneous , that the roots of the Pines , instead
of shooting downward , fold themselves back , as if re-
pelled by a solid rock.

Both public and private interest requires the inhabi-
tants of the Southern coast, and especially of the neigh-
bouring islands, to rear the Cork Oak about their plan-
tations and in places that are unfit for the cultivation of
cotton. It should also be introduced into West Tennes-
see , and with the more reason as the Vine may be cul-
tivated there with success.

As the young stocks are injured by transplanting,
they should be permanently fixed the second or third
year. To favour their growth, the earth should be loos-
ened about the roots two or three times a year ; and to
render them tall and well-shaped, the lower branches
should be cut even with the trunk. Their vegetation is
in this manner strengthened and the bark improved ;
without farther attention they will continue to afford a
valuable product during two or three centuries.

This tree has great advantages over several others
which would likewise flourish in the same parts of the
United States, such as the Olive and the White Mul-
berry. To fit their produce for consumption , particu-
larly that of the Mulberry, requires complicated proces-
ses, which can be performed with advantage only in

CORK OAK. 65

populous countries. Hence the attempts made 70 or 80
years ago in Georgia to introduce the rearing of silk-
worms proved abortive; and the old White Mulberry
Trees that still remain are monuments of that ill-calcu-
lated speculation. The bark of the Cork Oak, on the con-
trary, might be transported to the Northern States , or
made into corks upon the spot by a simple operation
performed by a single person with instruments of which
the price does not exceed two or three dollars.

PLATE XIII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

WILLOW OAR.

QuERCUS PHELLos. Q. folUs Unean-lanceolatis , integerrl-
mis , glabris, apice setaceo-acuminatis , junioribus den-
talis lobatisve ; cupula scuiellatd -, glande subrotundd ,
minima,

I
This species, which is remarkable for its foliage, makes

its first appearance in the environs of Philadelphia ;
but it is more common and of a larger size in Virginia ,
the Garolinas and Georgia , where the milder temper-
ature of the winter is evidently favourable to its growth.
It is seen, however, only in the maritime parts of those
States , and is a stranger to the inland districts , where
the surface is mountainous and the climate more se-
vere. From the analogy of soil and climate it is probably
found in Lower Louisiana, but I have never observed it
beyond the Alleghanies in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Willow Oak commonly grows in cool moist
places , and , with the Tupelo , the Small Magnolia , the
B.ed-flowering Maple , the Pved Bay and the Water Oak,
it borders the swamps in the lower part of the Southern
States. In these situations it attains its greatest expan-
sion, which is 5o or 60 feet in height and from 20 to 24
inches in diameter. The trunk, even at an advanced age,
is covered with a smooth bark, remarkable for the thick-
ness of its cellular integument. The leaves are 2 or 3

J'/.j4.

Willow Oak.

Qitercus v/iel/os .

7i.'ru7r.Y.

WILLOW OAK. 67

inches long, of a light green, smooth, narrow, entire,
and similar to those of the Willow, whence is derived
the name of Willow Oak , which is used in every part
of North America where the tree is known.

Though the Willow Oak , as I have just observed , is
almost always seen in moist grounds , by an exception
for which it is difficult to account it is sometimes found
among the Live Oaks, near the sea, in the driest and
most sandy soils. At a distance it resembles the Live
Oak in its shape , and in its foliage which persists during
several years ; but on a closer examination it is easily
distinguished by the form of its leaves , which are
shorter and much narrower , and by the porous texture
of its wood.

The fruit of this species is rarely abundant ; the acorns
are of a dark brown colour, small, round, bitter , and
contained in shallow cups lightly coated with scales : kept
in a cool place they preserve the faculty of germination
for several months.

The wood is reddish and coarse-grained. It is too po-
rous to contain wdne or spirituous liquor , and its staves
are classed with those of Red Oak. The quantity , how-
ever, is small, as the tree is so little multiphed that alone
it would not supply the consumption for two years. In
some of the lower parts of Virginia, particularly in the
county of York , it is found to possess great strength and
tenacity, and to split less easily than the White Oak ;
hence , after being thoroughly seasoned, it is employed

68 WILLOW OAK.

for the felloes of wheels. These are the only uses to
which it seems adapted, and for these it is less proper
than the Post Oak and White Ash. On several planta-
tions near Augusta in Georgia the fences are made partly
of Willow Oak, which lasts only eight or nine years. As
fuel , it is sold at the lowest price.

PLATE XIV.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

7y.y^

ffJJieJouf^ rt^/'

T.anrcl Oak

Oiicrciis i/nbricana.

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LAUREL OAR.

QuERCUS IMBRICARIA. Q. folus subsessiUbus , ovali-oblon-
gis, acutis, integerrimis, nitidis; glandesubhemisphcericd.

East of the Alleghanies this species is rare , and has
received no specific name ; west of the mountains ,
where it is more muhipHed and has attracted more at-
tention, it is called Jack Oak, Black Jack Oak , and some-
times , from the form of its leaves , Laurel Oak. The last
denomination I have preserved as the most appropriate,
though perhaps it is less common than the first.

I observed this tree for the first time in Pennsylvania
near Bedford on the Juniata, upon the road from Phila-
delphia to Pittsburgh, and it does not exist in the more
Northern States. I found it abundant only beyond the
mountains, and particularly near Washington Court-
house and in some parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.
From my father's observations it appears to be more
multiplied in the country of the Illinois than in the
places I have just mentioned, and it is called by the
French Chene a lattes , Lath Oak.

In the western parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia ,
small lawns, covered only with tall grass, are frequently
seen in the forests, around which the Laurel Oak forms
entire groves : insulated stocks are also found in cool
humid situations. It is probably from its flourishing in

yO LAUREL 6aK.

open exposures that it is most abundant in the country
of the Illinois, which consists of immeasurable savannas
stretching in every direction, to which the forests bear
no sensible proportion.

The Laurel Oak is 40 or 5o feet high, and 12 or i5
inches in diameter. Its trunk, even when old, is clad in
a smooth bark, and, for three fourths of its height, is
laden with branches. It has an uncouth form when bared
in the winter , but is beautiful in the summer when clad
in its thick tufted foliage. The leaves are long, lanceolate,
entire, and of a light shining green.

The wood is hard and heavy, though its pores are
open. As the trunk is branchy and often crooked , it is
considered , wherever I have observed it, as fit only for
fuel; but my father, who first described it, says that
the French of Illinois use it for shingles. Probably in
that region it attains much greater dimensions ; but in
my opinion the want of better species only can account
for its use. Its wood is inferior to that of the Willow
Oak , which it nearly resembles.

This tree has no merit but its singular foliage , and it
deserves the attention only of amateurs desirous of
adorning their rural retreats with a variety of exotic
trees.

PLATE XV.

A branch with leaves and fndt of the natural size.

yy lb.

llplaiul Willow Oak

(III anus- cinerca .

oouec o

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UPLAND WILLOW OAK.

QUERCUS CINEREA. Q. folUs petiolatis , lanceolato-oblongis ,
acutis, integenimis , subtus cinereo-pubescentibus ; cupula
scutellatd; glande subhemisphcericd.

The- Upland Willow Oak is confined to the maritime
parts of the Southern States. It is little multiplied in
comparison with many other species, and is dispersed
in small groups in the forests of White Pine. It is found
also upon the sea-shore, and upon the islands where it
covers tracts of several acres still more barren than the
main. But the stocks which grow in these different sit-
uations are so different in appearance that they might
easily be mistaken for distinct species : in the pine-bar-
rens they are i8 or 20 feet high, and 4 or 5 inches in
diameter , with the leaves entire , 2 inches and a half
long, and whitish underneath; on the islands and on
the shore of the Continent , where the soil is extremely
dry, as near Wilmington , N. C. , they are only 3 or 4
feet in height , and the leaves are denticulated, are an
inch in length , and persist for two years. I have ascer-
tained that both varieties belong to the same species , by
examining the sprouts of the larger stocks in the pine-
barrens, of which the foliage is perfectly similar to that
of the smaller ones on the shore.

The Upland Willow Oak is one of the abject trees

y2 UPLAND WILLOW OAK.

that succeed the Pines on lands which have heen cleared
for cultivation and abandoned on account of their ster-
ility. In these places, as in the pine -barrens , it is 20 feet
in stature, and its trunk, crooked and covered v^^ith a
thick bark , begins at a third of this height to divide it-
self by numerous ramifications. In the spring it is distin-
guished at a distance by the reddish colour of its leaves
and male aments. The acorns , which are contained in
shallow cups , are round and blackish , with the base of
a bright rose colour when freshly exposed. It is rare to
meet with a tree which yields a quart of fruit.

The bark of this species , like that of the Black Oak ,
affords a beautiful yellow dye ; but the tree is so small
and so little multiplied that it is of no utility in this re-
spect , nor even for fuel.

The Qucrcus nana of Willdenow is certainly the smal-
ler variety of this species.

PLATE XVI.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.. Fig. 1 ,
A leaf of the smaller variety of the natural size.

1 villi 111 no- Oak,

o

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RUNNING OAK.

QtJERCUS PUMILA.. Q. foUis dectduis , lanceolatis , integer-
rimis, basi attenuatis , apice dilatatis; cupula scutellaid ;
glande subhemisphcericd.

Quercus sericea, "VVilld.

This species , which is rarely more than 20 inches
in height and 2 lines in diameter , is the smallest Oak
hitherto discovered in the Old or the New World. Like
the Upland Willow Oak, it is confined to the maritime
parts of the Carolinas , Georgia and the Floridas , where
it is called Running Oak. It springs with that species
in the pine -barrens, amid the numerous varieties of
Whortleberry and other plants which overspread the
ground wherever there is a little moisture in the soil
and the layer of vegetable mould is a few inches thick.

The leaves of this dwarfish shrub are of a reddish
tint in the spring, and turn green as the season ad-
vances. When fully developed they are entire , smooth ,
of an elongated oval shape, and about 2 inches in
length. The acorns are small, round, and similar to
those of the Willow and Water Oaks : they are few in
number, because the stem is burnt to the surface of
the ground almost every spring, by the fire which is
kindled in the forests to consume the dead grass ; as
this species belongs to the division whose fructification
I. 10

"74 PUNNING OAK.

is biennial , the acorns are destroyed before they arrive
at maturity.

My own observations , and those of Messrs. Bosc and
Delille , distinguished botanists who resided several years
in the Southern part of the United States, have led me
to consider the Running Oak as a distinct species and
not as a variety of the Willow Oak, as my father has
treated it in his monography of this important genus. It
is hardly necessary to remark that from its size it can
be interesting only to botanists.

PLATE XVII.

A branch with leaves and fmit of the natural size.

p/.ld\

r>arti\'iin's Oak .

BARTRAM OAK.

QuERCUS HETEROPHYLLA. Q. folus longe peiiolatis , ovato-
lanceolalis , integrls vel incequaliter dentatis ; glande sub-
globosd.

Every botanist who has \isited different regions of
the globe must have remarked certain species of vege-
tables which are so little multiplied that they seem
likely at no distant period to disappear from the earth.
To this class belongs the Bartram Oak. Several English
and American naturalists who, like my father and my-
self, have spent years in exploring the United States ,
and who have obligingly communicated to us the re-
sult of their observations , have , like us , found no
traces of this species except a single slock in a held be-
longing to Mr. Bartram, on the banks of the Schuyl-
kill , 4 miles from Philadelphia. This is a flourishing
tree, 3o feet in height and 12 inches in diameter, and
seems formed to attain a much greater developement.
Its leaves are of an elongated oval form , coarsely and
irregularly toothed , smooth above , and of a dark green
beneath. The acorns are round , of a middle size, and
contained in shallow cups lightly covered with scales.

I was at first disposed to consider this tree as a variety
of the Laurel Oak, to which it bears the greatest affin-
ity ; but the leaves of that species are never indented ,

76 BARTRAM OAK.

and not a stock of it exists within a hundred miles of
Philadelphia.

Several young plants , which I received from Mr.
Bartram himself, have been placed in our public gardens
to insure the preservation of the species.

PLATE XYIII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

I'/.ig.

Waler Oai

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WATER OAK.

QuERCUSAQUATiCA. Q. foliis ohovoli-cuneatis , hasi acutis ,
summitate subintegris, varieve irilobis, glabris; cupula
modice crater aid; glande subglobosd.

This species first attracted my attention in the forests
near Richmond in Virginia ; it becomes more common
in proceeding southward, and abounds in the lower
part of the Carolinas and Georgia, and in East Florida.
Under the name of Water Oak it is sometimes con-
founded with the Willow Oak, by which it is always
accompanied in the ponds and narrow swamps enclosed
in the pine-barrens. It is inferior in size to the Willow
Oak, and rarely exceeds 40 or 45 feet in height and 12
or 18 inches in diameter. On full-grown trees the leaves
are smooth, shining, and heart-shaped — or broad
and rounded at the summit and terminated in an acute
angle at the base. In the severe climate of Virginia they
fall with the first frost , but on the sea-shore of the
Carolinas , Georgia and Florida , they persist during two
or three years. There is no Oak in the United States of
which the foliage is so variable and so different from
that of the tree, on the young stocks and on the sprouts
from an old trunk or from the base of a limb that has
been lopped : the leaves are commonly oval and deeply
and irregularly toothed.

78 WATER OAK.

The acorns , which are contained in shallow , slightly-
scaly cups, are brown, small, and extremely bitter ; the
largest tree rarely yields more than five or six quarts.
Like those of the Willow Oak, when kept cool they pre-
serve their fecundity for several months.

The bark upon the oldest trunks is smooth and very
slightly furrowed ; it is little used in tanning , either be-
cause it is inferior to that of the Spanish Oak, or because
the tree is less abundant.

The wood is very tough , but less durable and less es-
teemed by carpenters and wheel-wrights than that of
the White Oak and Ghesnut White Oak.

As this species is destitute of interest , it will probably
become extinct like many others which are rapidly di-
minishing. In France it would flourish only in the south-
ern departments. *

PLATE XIX.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

IMaolv Jack Oak

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BLACK JACK OAK.

QuERCUS FERRUGINEA. Q. foUis coriaceis , summitate di-
lalatis , retuso-suhtrilohis , hasi retusis , subius rubiginoso-
puheirilentis ; cupula turbinatd, squamis obtusis, scarlosis;
glande brevi oi>atd.

Quercus nigra, Willd.

I observed this species for the first time in the forests
near Allenstown and Cranbury , small towns of New
Jersey , about 60 miles east of Philadelphia ; but it is
smaller and less multiplied in this place than farther
south. In New Jersey and Philadelphia it is called Barrens
Oak, and Black Jack Oak in Maryland and the more
Southern States. I have adopted the last of these names
only because it is the most generally used, and have
changed the specific epithet nigra, because the name of
-^lack Oak is appropriated in the United States to the
Quercus iinctona.

This species is commonly found upon soils composed
of red argillaceous sand mingled with gravel, and so
meager as to be totally exhausted by five or six crops ;
when they are thought worthy of cultivation. Unhappily
from Baltimore to the borders of North Carolina, an
extent of four or five hundred miles, the greater part of
Maryland and Virginia consists of this soil. The whole of
this interval , with the exception of the vallies and the
swamps wdth their surrounding acclivities, is covered

8o BLACK JACK OAK.

with forests impoverished by fire and by the cattle that
subsist in them during a great part of the year. They are
composed principally of Yellow Pine, Post Oak, Black
Jack Oak, Black Oak and Scarlet Oak. In the Carohnas
and Georgia , where the soil gradually improves in re-
tiring from the shore towards the mountains, the same
tree forms a band 1 5 or 20 miles wide, between the
pine-barrens and the forests of a more generous growth.
In Kentucky and Tennessee the Black Jack Oak is seen
only in the savannas, where it is widely diffused, and
where, preserved by the thickness of its bark and its in-
sulated position, it survives the conflagrations that almost
every year consume the grass ; the fire , driven forward
by the wind , has only time to devour its foliage. In the
pine-barrens it grows chiefly on the edges of the branch-
swamps , where the soil is a little stronger than is neces-
sary for the Pines. With the Upland Willow Oak and
the Scrub Oak it possesses itself of the pine lands that
have been cleared for cultivation and abandoned on ac-
count of their sterihty ; and in these situations it is
larger than in the forests.

The Black Jack Oak is sometimes 3o feet high and 8 or
10 inches in dameter, but commonly does not exceed
half these dimensions. Its trunk is generally crooked, and
is covered with a very hard , thick and deeply furrowed
bark, of which the epidermis is nearly black , and the
cellular integument of a dull red. The summit is spacious
even in the midst of the woods. The leaves are yellow-

BLACK JACK OAK. 8l

ish, and somewhat downy at their unfolding in the
spring ; when fnlly expanded they are of a dark green
above, rusty beneath, thick, coriaceous, and dilated
towards the summit like a pear. In the autumn they turn
reddish , and fall with the earliest frost.

The oldest trees bear only a few handfuls of acorns ,
which are large , and half covered with very scaly cups.

When the stock is more than 8 inches in diameter,
the wood is heavy and compact ; but coarse-grained and
porous before it has reached this size. As it speedily de-
cays when exposed to the weather, it is not used in the
arts. It forms excellent fuel, and is sold at Philadelphia
only one dollar a cord less than Hickory , while other
kinds of wood are a third cheaper.

This species deserves the attention of amateurs in
Europe , for the singularity of its foliage.

PLATE XX.

A branch with leai-es and ffnil of the natural size.

II

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BEAR OAK.

Qttsrcus BANISTERI. Q. foUis longe peiiolails , acutangulo'
quinque-lobis , margine integn's , subtus cinerels ; cupula
suhiurhlnaid; glande subglobosd.

This diminutive species is known in Ihe Northern and
Middle States by tlie names of Bear Oak, Black Scrub
Oak and Dwarf Pied Oak, of which the first is the most
common in New Jersey, where the shrub abounds. The
latin specific name was given it in honour of Banister,
an English writer, by whom it was first introduced to
notice.

I do not remember to have seen the Bear Oak in the
lower part of the Southern States ; it is commo~) in those
of the North , and still more so , I believe , in New
York , New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I have more par-
ticularly observed it at Fishkill, Katskill and Albany
in New York , near Paramus in New Jersey, and on that
part of the Alleghanies in Pennsylvania which is crossed
by the road to Pittsburgh. It is never found insulated or
mingled with other shrubs in the forests , but always in
tracts of several hundred acres, which it covers almost
exclusively : a few stocks of the Dwarf Chesnut Oak are
often united with it.

The ordinary height of the Bear Oak is 3 or 4 feet ;
but when accidentally insulated, and nourished by a vein

// .r/l»/o„f,- ,^:'

Bear's Oak

BEAR OAK. 83

of more fertile soil , it sometimes equals 8 or lo feet. It
usually grows in compact masses , which are traversed
with difticiilty , though no higher than the waist. As
the individuals which compose them are of an uniform
height , they form so even a surface that at a distance
the ground appears to be covered with grass instead of
shrubs.

The trunk , which is numerously ramified, is covered,
like the branches , with a polished bark. It has more
strength than would be supposed from its size , which is
rarely more than an inch in diameter. The leaves are of
a dark green on the upper surface, whitish beneath , and
regularly divided into 3 or 5 lobes. The acorns are small,
blackish, and longitudinally marked with a few reddish
lines : they are so abundant as sometimes to cover the
branches ; the lowly stature of the shrub renders it easy
for bears , deer and swine to reach them by lifting their
heads or rising on their hinder feet.

The presence of this Oak is considered as an infal-
lible index of a barren soil, and it is usually found on
dry sandy land mingled with gravel. It is too small to be
adapted to any use ; but near Goshen, on the road to
New York, I observed an attempt to turn it to advan-
tage, by planting it about the fields for the purpose of
strengthening the fences.Though this experiment seemed
to have failed , I believe the Bear Oak might be useiblly
adopted in the Northern States for hedges, which might
be formed from 20 to 24 inches thick , by sowing the

84 BEAR OAK.

acorns in three parallel furrows. They would be per-
fected in a short time, would be agreeable to the eye ,
and probably would be sufticient to prevent the passage
of horses and cows. Hedges of the European Thorn
would doubtless be preferable ; but they require a good
soil and more labour than can at present be afforded in
America : those that exist in the neighbourhood of Phil-
adelphia are left in a condition which would give a very
unfavourable opinion of the farmer on whose lands
they were seen in the North of France.

As the Bear Oak grows on the most sterile soils, and
resists the most intense cold and the most impetuous
winds , perhaps it might serve to shelter the infancy of
other more valuable trees in such exposures. The want
of some such protection' is the greatest obstacle to the
success of plantations on the downs, as I was told near
the Hague upon the coast of Holland.

Proprietors of large estates, who are addicted to the
chase, might find this species and the Dwarf Chesnut
Oak convenient for copses; they would afford nourish-
ment to the game during several months in the year ,
and would allow the sportsman a fair aim at the birds as
they rose upon the wing.

PLATE XXI.

A branch mill leaves and fruit of the natural size.

J'(.2'.

Jiarreiis ScruL Oal^.

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BARRENS SCRUB OAK.

QuERCUS CATESB.'Ei. Q. foliis hrevissime petiolatis, sub-
palmato-lohatis , lobis interdum subfalcatis ; cupula ma-
jusculd, squamis marginalibus introjlexis ; glande bre^i
ovatd.

According to my own observations this species is
confined to the lower part of the Carolinas and Georgia.
I first saw it a few miles south of Pialeigh , N. C. , latitude
35° 4^'. It grow3 in soils too meager to sustain any other
vegetation , such as the vicinity of Wilmington , N. C. ,
where the light moveable sand is wholly destitute of ve-
getable mould. It is the only species multiplied in the
pine-barrens, and from this circumstance it seems to have
derived its name.

In traversing these forests I nowhere saw the Scrub
Oak more uniformly disseminated than between Fayet-
teville and Wilmington , an interval of 60 miles , where
it forms nearly one tenth of the woods : the Pines
themselves, throughout the barrens, are scattered at
the distance of 1 5 or 10 feet.

The foliage of this tree is open , and its leaves are
large, smooth, thick and coriaceous towards the close
of summer, deeply and irregularly laciniated , and sup-
ported by short petioles. With the first frost they change
to a dull red, and fall the ensuing month. The acorns

86 BARRENS SCRUB OAK.

are pretty la I'ge, of a blackish colour, and partly covered
with a tine grey dast , which is easily rubbed off bet ween
the fingers : they are contained in thick cups swollen
towards the edge, with the upper scales bent inwards.
The oldest trees alone are productive , and their fruit
never exceeds a few handfuls.

In the winter it is difhcult to distinguish the Scrub
Oak from the Black Jack Oak, whkh it nearly resembles.
Like that, it is crooked, ramihed at the height of 2 or
3 feet, and covered with a thick, blackish, deeply fur-
rowed bark : it is, besides, perfectly similar in the co-
lour, texture and weight of its wood. At Wilmington the
Scrub Oak is the best fuel , and is sold separately ; but
notwithstanding its abundance in this district it is insuf-
ficient for the supply of the inhabitants : its size alone
would exclude it from use in the arts.

The general character of this tree forbids the hopes
of advantage that might be conceived from its flourish-
ing upon the most sterile soils.

PLATE XXIL

A branch with leaves andfndt of the natural size.

Spanish Oalv.

SPANISH OAK.

QuERCUS FALCATA. Q. foliis longe petiolatis , subpalmato-
lohaiis , suhtus eximie tomentosis , lobi's falcatis ; cupula
crateriformi ; glande subglobosd.

Quercus elongata, Willd.

This species , like the Black Jack Oak, begins to show
itself in New Jersey, near Allentown , about 60 miles
from Philadelphia. But even at this distance it is smaller
than in the immediate vicinity of the city, where it ac-
quires its perfect developement , and where its leaves
exhibit their appropriate form. Farther south it is con-
stantly found among the most common trees in the
forests. I have observed that it is less multiplied near
the mountains, and in the country beyond them. In
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, it is known only by
the name of Spanish Oak, and in the Garolinas and
Georgia by that of Red Oak. In an old English work
which I found in the library of Charleston , it is said to
have been called Spanish Oak by the first settlers , from
the resemblance of its leaves to those of the Quercus
velani which grows in Spain. Whether this etymology is
just or not, I am unable to siay ; but it is unknown to
the inhabitants who have adopted the name. The deno-
mination of Red Oak, which is used only in the more
Southern States, was probably given it on account of
the great analog}^ between its wood and that of the spe-

88 SPANISH OAK.

cles thus called in the Northern and Middle States,
where the Spanish Oak is much less common than in
the South.

This tree is more than 80 feet in height , and 4 or 5
feet in diameter. Its leaves are very different on different
individuals ; thus in New Jersey, where the tree is only
3o feet high and 4 or 5 inches thick, they are three-
lobed, except a few on the summit, and not falcated
as on the large stocks in the Southern States. On young
plants , and on the lower branches of the most vigorous
stocks growing in moist and shaded situations , they are
also trilobed ; and on the upper hmbs they are more
acutely laciniated , with the sections more arching than
those represented in the figure. This remarkable differ-
ence led my father to describe as a distinct species,
vmder the name of Quercus triloba, the individuals whose
foliage had not acquired its perfect form. Sometimes ,
on the sprouts of trees that have been felled , the leaves
are deeply denticulated at right angles to the main rib.
One of their constant characters is a thick down upon
the lower side of the leaf and upon the young shoots to
which they are attached.

The acorns are small, round, of a brown colour, and
contained in slightly scaly shallow cups supported by
peduncles one or two lines in length. They resemble
those of the Bear Oak , and , hke them , preserve for a
long time the faculty of germination.

The bark upon the trunk is blackish and deeply fur-

SPANISH OAK. 89

rowed, with a cellular iotegument of middling thickness.
The wood is reddish and coarse-grained , with empty-
pores, and all the characteristic properties of the species
known in commerce by the general name of Ked Oak :
hence its staves are fit only to contain melasses , salted
provisions and dry goods. I have been told that in the
West Indies the Pied Oak staves from the Southern
States, where this species abounds, are the most es-
teemed , from which it seems probable that its wood is
better than that of the Red , Scarlet and Black Oaks that
furnish almost all the Red Oak staves from the Northern
and Middle States : this superiority, however, is not
sufficiently marked to occasion a difference in the price.

From its want of durability the Spanish Oak is less
esteemed than the White Oak , the Post Oak, and other
species of annual fructification. It is rarely employed in
building , and is used by cart-wrights only at Baltimore,
where it is preferred to the White Oak for the felloes
of large wheels.

The principal merit of the Spanish Oak , which gives
it a superiority over most other species of the United
States , resides in its bark. This is preferred for tanning
coarse leather, which it renders whiter and more sup-
ple ; it is consequently sold at Philadelphia and Wilming-
ton a fourth dearer than that of the other Oaks : the
leather is said to be improved by the addition of a small
quantity of the bark of the Hemlock Spruce.

The Spanish Oak is adapted to the climate of the

go SPANISH OAK,

centre of France, if we may judge from its multiplication
in the nurseries and in the gardens of amateurs. The
stocks that have sprung from the acorns which I sent
home during my residence in America bear as yet only
three-lobed leaves , but they will become falcated at a
maturer age.

From the inferiority of its wood , this species would
not, in my opinion, deserve a place in our forests,
though i^s bark should prove equal to that of the Europ-
ean Oak. But in the Southern States, when some species
of trees are to be multiplied in preference to others, the
Spanish Oak alone should be spared among the Red
Oaks , as , besides its superiority in other respects , it has
the advantage of flourishing on lands of a middling qual-
ity, such as compose a large part of that Section of the
United States.

PLATE XXIIl.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

IMaok Oak

BLACK OAK.

QuERCUS TINCTORIA. Q. foliis profimde sinuosis , subius
puherulentis ; cupula iurbinatd, squamosa; glande brevi
ovatd.

Except the District of Maine , the northern part of
New Hampshire, Vermont and Tennessee, this species
is found throughout the United States on both sides of
the Alleghanies , and it is every where called Black Oak.
It is more abundant in the Middle States , and in the
upper part of the Carolinas and Georgia , than on the
southern coast.

The Black Oak flourishes in a poorer soil than the
White Oak. In Maryland and certain districts of Virginia,
where the soil is lean , gravelly and uneven, it is con-
stantly united in the forests with the Scarlet, Spanish
and Post Oaks , and the Mockernut Hickory, with which
the Yellow Pine is also frequently mingled.

This Oak is one of the loftiest trees of North America,
being 80 or 90 feet high and /^ ot S feet in diameter.
The leaves are large, deeply laciniated, and divided
into four or five lobes : they resemble those of the
Scarlet Oak, but have less deep and open sinuses , are
less shining , of a duller green , and in the spring and
during a part of the summer have their surface rough-
ened with small glands which are sensible to the eye

92 BLACK OAK.

and to the touch. The same appearance is oli^erved
on the young shoots. I have remarked that the leaves of
the young stocks change in the autumn to a dull red ,
and those of the old trees to yellow, beginning with
the petiole.

The trunk is covered with a deeply furrowed bark of
middling thickness , and always of a black or very deep
brov^i colour, whence probably is derived the name of
the tree. North-east of Pennsylvania the complexion of
the bark is the only character by which it can be distin-
guished from the Red, Scarlet and Grey Oaks, when
the leaves are fallen. Farther south this character is not
sufficient to distinguish it from the Spanish Oak, whose
bark is of the same colour, and recourse must be had
to the buds, which, on the Black Oak, are longer, more
acuminate , and more scaly. All doubt may be removed
by chewing a bit of the cellular integument of each :
that of the Black Oak is very bitter and gives a yellow
tinge to the saliva, which is not the case with the other.

The wood is reddish and coarse-grained , with empty
pores : it is, however, more esteemed for strength and
durability than that of any other species of biennial fruc-
tihcation. At Philadelphia it is employed , for want of
white oak, in building; and the farmers of the North-
ern States, by a miscalculating economy, substitute it
in the place of the White Oak for fences.

As this species is abundant in the Northern and
Middle States, it furnishes a large proportion of the

BLACK OAK. gB

Red Oak staves exported to the Colonies or employed at
home to contain flower , salted provisions and melasses.

The bark is extensively used in tanning , as it is easily
procured and is rich in tannin. The only inconvenience
which attends it is imparting a yellow colour to the
leather , which must be discharged by a particular pro-
cess , to prevent its staining the stockings : it is a great
error to assert that this colour augments its value

From the celbilar integument of the Black Oak is ob-
tained the quercitron, of which great use is made in
dying wool, silk and paper-hangings. According to
several authors who have written on this subject , and
among others Dr. Bancroft, to whom we are indebted
for this discovery, one part of quercitron yields as
much colouring matter as eight or ten parts of woad.
The decoction is of a brownish yellow, which is ren-
dered deeper by alkali , and lighter by acids. A solution
of alum causes a small portion of the colouring matter
to fall in a deep yellow precipitate; solutions of tin af-
ford a more abundant precipitate of a bright hue.

To dye wool , it is sufficient to boil the quercitron with
an equal weight of alum : in dipping the stuff, the deep-
est shade is given first , and afterwards the straw-colour :
to animate the tint the stuff may be passed , in coming
out of the dye , through water whitened with a little
washed chalk. A brighter colour is obtained by means
of a solution of tin. Quercitron maybe substituted for
woad, in giving all the shades of yellow to silk : the pro-

g4 BLACKOAK.

portion is one part by weight to twelve parts of silk. In
the advertisements of Philadelphia for February 1808,
this substance is rated at 40 dollars a ton, and from that
city chiefly it is exported to Europe.

Though the wood of the Black Oak is of a better qua-
lity than that of the Scarlet, Spanish, Red, Pin, Grey,
Willow and Water Oaks , which are all comprehended
under thei name of Red Oak, it is much inferior to that
of the European Oak. But its stature, the rapidity of its
growth in the coldest climates and the most indifferent
soils , and , above all , the value of its bark in dying , re-
commend it powerfully to the notice of European fo-
resters.

PLATE XXIV.

A leaf of the natural size.

Note. The small branch with the acorns belongs to the
Scarlet Oak.

Scarlet Oak.
Ouercns cvrci/ifa

('r,i/>rif/ X-u!fi

VVVVMVVVVV«VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVNAAIVVVVVVNAAlVVVVVVVVVVVV«VVVVVVVVVV\VVVVVVVVVVVV»(V«^IVVtVVVVVV^^

SCARLET OAK.

<2uERCUS COCCINEA. Q. folUs loiige petiolatis, oblongis ,
profunde sinuatis , glabris ; lohis deniatis , acutis; cupula
insigniter squamosa; glande brevi ovatd.

The Scarlet Oak is first seen in the vicinity of Boston ,
but it is less multiplied than in New Jersey, Pennsylva-
nia, Virginia, and the upper part of the Carolinas and
Georgia , where it forms a part of the forests that are
still standing : it is much less common in the lower parts
of these States , which , as I have already observed , pro-
duce nothing but Pines. I have not seen it in the district
of Maine, the States of New Hampshire and Vermont,
nor beyond Utica in Gennessee. In the Northern States
it is confounded with the Red Oak, and in those of the
South , with the Spanish Oak. The name of Scarlet Oak
was given it by my father, and, though not in use among
the inhabitants , it will probably be adopted, as the tree
is evidently a distinct species.

This is a vegetable of more than 80 feet in height and
of 3 or 4 feet in diameter. The leaves , which are sup-
ported by long petioles, are of a beautiful green, shining
on both sides, and laciniated in a remarkable manner ,
having usually four deep sinuses very broad at the bot-
tom. They begin to change with the first cold, and,
after several successive frosts, turn to a bright red , in-

96 SCARLET OAK.

Stead of a dull hue like those of the Red Oak. At this
season the singular colour of the foliage forms a striking
contrast with that of the surrounding trees, and is
itself a sufficient inducement to cuhivate the tree for
ornament.

The acorns are large, somewhat elongated, similarly
rounded at both ends , and half covered with scaly
cups. As this fruit varies in size with the quality of the
soil , it is difficult to distinguish it from that of the Black
Oak ; the only constant difference is in the kernel ,
which is yellowish in the Black Oak, and white in the
species we are considering.

The wood of the Scarlet Oak is reddish and coarse-
grained, with open pores. As it decays much more rap-
idly than the White Oak, it is employed by the builder
and wheel-wright only from necessity or economy. It is
poor fuel, and is used principally for staves : in the
Middle States , a large part of the Red Oak staves are
furnished by this species.

The bark , though very thick and generally employed
in tanning, is in no respect preferable to that of the
Grey and Red Oaks.

That this tree will flourish in France , is shown by
an example at Rambouillet , where it makes part of a
beautiful plantation 45 feet in height , formed , in 1786,
of species sent home by my father soon after his arrival
in the United States. It is to be regretted that so fine a
tree, which is so well adapted to our soil, should afford

SCARLET OAK. 97

such indifTerent wood that we cannot recommend its
introduction into the forests of Europe, nor its preser-
vation in those of the United States.

PLATE XXV.

A leaf of the natural size.

Note. The acorns in this plate belong to the Black OaJc.

i5

GREY OAK.

QuERCUS BOREALIS. Q. foliis slnuatis y glahris, sinuhus
siihacutis; cupula subscutellatd ; glande turgide ovatd.

The Grey Oak appears, by my father's notes, to be
found farther north than any other species in America ;
in returning from Hudson's Bay he saw it on the St.
Lawrence between Quebec and Malabaie, in latitude
47050'. Under that parallel, and near Halifax in Nova
Scotia , where I first observed it , it is not more than l^o
feet high ; and, though the bloom is annual, the winter
is so rigorous and so long that the fruit is said to be ma-
tured only once in three or four years. Three degrees far-
ther south in Maine and New Hampshire , and on the
shores of Lake Champlain in Vermont , it is more mul-
tiplied, and is 5o or 60 feet in height and 18 inches in
diameter. It is called by the inhabitants Grey Oak, but
it has been confounded by botanists with the Red Oak,
to which it bears a close analogy in its foliage , as it does
to the Scarlet Oak in its fruit : on this resemblance I
have founded the latin specific name ambigua.

The leaves are large, smooth , and deeply sinuated at
right angles to the main rib. The acorns are of the mid-
die size, rounded at the end, and contained in scaly
cups.

The wood is similar to that of the other species in-

'h

P/.26.

Gray Oak.

GREY OAK. 99

eluded under the common name of Red Oak. Its coarse
and open texture renders it unfit for any use except to
contain dry wares ; but in districts where Oak wood is
rare, recourse is had, for other purposes, to several
species of inferior quality, which are still preferred to
the Birch , the Beech, and the Pine. Thus the Grey Oak
is employed for the knees of vessels and for cartwrights'
work; it is even preferred to the Red Oak, as being
stronger and more durable.

This tree is without interest, as the regions in which
it grows possess other species in every respect prefer-
able , such as the White Oak , the Swamp White Oak ,
and the Rock Ghesnut Oak.

PLATE XXVI.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

PIN OAK.

QuERCUS PALUSTRis. Q. Jolus profuiide sinuatis , glabris ,
sinubus lads; fniciu parvo; cupula scutellatd, Icen; glande
subglobosd.

This species , like the preceding , grows in Massachu-
setts , but is less common than in the vicinity of New
York , in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. I saw
it abundant beyond the mountains near Pittsburgh in
Ohio, and in East Tennesse, and my father found it
multiplied in the country of the Illinois : I feel assured
that it does not exist in Maine , Vermont and the South-
ern States. It is called Pin Oak in the lower part of New
York and in New Jersey, and Swamp Spanish Oak in
Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. The last of these
denominations is sufficiently appropriate ; but I have
preferred the second, because it is less liable to mis-
take, and is indicative of a characteristic arrangement
of the branches.

The Pin Oak is a tall tree , which grows constantly in
moist places, and of preference about the swamps en-
closed in the forests. In these situations it is frequently
more than 80 feet high and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. Its
secondary branches are more slender and numerous
than is common on so large a tree , and are intermingled
so as to give it at a distance the appearance of being

Pni Oak.

PIN OAK. lOl

Stuffed. This singular disposition renders it distinguish-
able at first sight in the winter , and is perhaps the cause
of its being called Pin Oak.

The leaves are smooth , of a pleasing green , sup-
ported by long petioles , deeply laciniated and very
similar to those of the Scarlet Oak , from which they
differ principally in their proportions. The acorns are
small, round, and contained in flat shallow cups,
of which the scales are closely applied one upon
another.

The bark upon the oldest trunk is scarcely cracked ,
and consists almost wholly of a very thick cellular integ-
ument. The wood is coarse-grained, with the pores
open and larger than those of the Scarlet and Red
Oaks : though stronger and more tenacious than those
species , it is little esteemed for durability. It is used for
the axle-trees of mill-wheels when White Oak of suf-
ficient dimensions cannot be procured ; it is also some-
times, though rarely , made into staves, as the species
is little multiplied compared with the Scarlet, Red and
Black Oaks.

The Pin Oak, in its youth, assumes an agreeable
pyramidal shape, and its light elegant foliage contributes
greatly to its beauty. It deserves a conspicuous place
in parks and gardens. It should never be deprived of its
interior branches. The most beautiful stock of this spe-
cies with which I am acquainted in Europe , is in a gar-
den near Antwerp ; it was about 20 feet high in 1804,

102 PIN OAK.

and its brilliant and vigorous vegetation proved how
well it was suited in the soil and climate,

PLATE XXVII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

PUS

P.'.A-^„.-fe./c/.

Red Oak,

RED OAR.

QuERCUS RUBRA. Q. folUs longe petiolatis , glabris , obtuse
sinuatis; cupula scutellatd, sublcevi ; glande subovatd.

Next to the Grey Oak this species is found in the
highest latitude of all the American Oaks, and is one of
the most common species in the Northern States and
in Canada. Farther south , particularly in the lower
part of New York, in New Jersey, the upper Districts
of Pennsylvania, and along the whole range of the
Alleghanies, it is nearly as abundant as the Scarlet and
Black Oaks ; but it is much less common in Maryland,
lower Virginia , and the maritime parts of the Caro-
hnas and Georgia. This remark confirms an observa-
tion which I have often made, that its perfect develope-
ment requires a cool chmate and a fertile soil. It is uni-
versally known by the name of Red Oak , except near
Lancaster in Pennsylvania, where it is sometimes con-
founded with the Spanish Oak.

The Pied Oak is a tall, wide -spreading tree, fre-
quently more than 80 feet high, and 3 or 4 feet in dia-
meter. Its leaves are smooth and shining on both sides
large, deeply laciniated, and rounded at the base : they
are larger and have deeper and narrower sections on the
young stock than on the middle or the summit of the
full-grown tree : these last resemble the leaves of the
Spanish Oak, which, however, are always downy be-

Io4 RED OAK.

neath, while those of the Red Oak are perfectly smooth.
In the autumn they change to a dull red, and turn yel-
low before they fall.

The acorns are very large and abundant, rounded at
the summit , compressed at the base , and contained in
flat cups covered with narrow compact scales. They are
voraciously devoured by wild animals , and by the cows,
horses and swine which are allowed to range in the
woods after the herbage has perished.

The wood is reddish and coarse-grained, and the
pores are often large enough for the passage of a hair : it
is strong but not durable , and is the last among the Oaks
to be employed in building. Its principal use is for staves,
which , at home, are used to contain salted provisions ,
flour, and other dry wares that are exported to the is-
lands, and, in the Colonies, to receive melasses and sugar.

The bark consists of a very thin epidermis and a very
thick cellular integument. It is extensively used in tan-
ning, but is less esteemed than that of the Spanish,
Black and Ptock Chesnut Oaks.

The Red Oak was one of the earhest American trees
introduced into Europe. Large stocks are found on the
estate of Duhamel, which yield seed abundantly, and
even multiply naturally ; but the quahty of its wood is so
inferior, that I cannot recommend its propagation in
our forests.

PLATE XXVIIL

A branch mill leaves and fnul of the natural size.

ADDITIONS TO THE OARS.

In the botanical work of F. Pursh, Flora Americce
Septentrionalis , published in England in 1814, the fol-
lowing species of Oak are added to those which I have
described.

QuERCUS MARITIMA. Q. folUs perennantibus , coriaceis ,
integerrimis , glahris , hasi attenuatis, apice mucronaiis ;
cupula scuiellatd; glande suhrotundd.

A shrub from 3 to 8 feet high , found on the sea-coast
in Virginia and Carohna : I consider it as a variety of the
Willow Oak, Quercus phellos.

QuERCUS MYRTIFOLIA. Q. folus perennantihus , coriaceis,
oblongis J integerrimis y glabris , uiiinque acutis ^ supra ni-
tidis y margine revolutis.

This species, of which Mr. Pursh appears to have
seen neither the blossoms nor the acorns, escaped my
researches ; perhaps it is the variety of the \Vater Oak
which I found among the Live Oaks and which pre-
serves its leaves for three or four years.

Quercus hemisph.«:rica. Q. foliis perennantihus, ob-^
longo-lanceolatis, trilobis sinuatisque, lobis mucronatis ,
utrinque glabris. Willd.

Mr. Pursh has inserted this species from Willdenow,
and he believes it to be a variety of the Water Oak ,
Quercus aquatica.

I. '4

106 ADDITIONS.

QUERCUS NANA. Q. foliis cuneifoimis , glabris , apice tn-
lobis, basi subsinuatis ^ lobis , divaricatis, mucronatis , inter-
medio majore; cupula scutellatd.

According to Mr. Parsh, this species is a low-growing
shrub , distinct from the Water Oak , Quercus aquadca.

QuERCUS DISCOLOR. Q. folUs oUongis , pinnaiifido-si'
nuatis, subtus pubescentibus , lobis oblongisj dentatis , seta-*
ceo-mucronaiis ; cupula turbinatd.

This species of Mr. Pursh I consider as a variety of
the Quercus tinctoria.

OAKS found in New Spain by Messrs. Humboldt and
Bonpland, and described in their Nova Genera et Spe-
cies Plantarum. Paris, 1816.

Quercus confertifolia. Q. ramulis abbrenatis ; foliis
hrevissime petiolatis , confertis , lanceolatis , acuminatis,
mucrojiato-aristatis, integerrimis , coriaceis ; margine sub-
rejlexis , subtus pubescentibus ; fructibus subgeminis , sessi-
libus.

This tree is 10 or 12 feet in height : it is evergreen ,
grows in the temperate and mountainous regions of
New Spain , between Guanaxuato and Santa Rosa , and
fructifies in September.

Quercus crassipes. Q. ramulis tuberculosis ; foliis bre-
t?iter petiolatis, lanceolato - oblongis , mucronatis ^ basi ro-
tundatis, integerrimis ^ coriaceis, subtus cinereo-tomentosis ;
fructibus pedunculatis , subgeminis ^ pedunculis incrassatis ;
cupulis subturbinatis.

ADDITIONS. 107

This tree is about 20 feet high ; it is found on the low
mountains of New Spain , near Santa Rosa , and fructi-
fies in September and October.

QuERCtJS MEXICANA. Q. ramuUs foliisque, subtus stella-
tim pubescentibus , supra nitidis , lineari-oblongis , acutis ,
submucronatis , subcordatis, undulato-subsinuatis , subcoria-
ceis; fmctibus solitariis, breviter pedunculatis ; cupulis cya-
ihiformibus.

This species rises from i5 to 20 feet ; it is very abun-
dant between Acapulco and the city of Mexico , near
Moxonera, Quaxiniquilapa and Chilpancingo , and is
also found near Moran , Regla , Guanaxuato and Santa
Rosa : it fructifies in September.

QuERCUS LANCEOLATA. Q. ramuUs iuberculatis ; foliis
oblongo-lanceolatis , utmique acutis , undulato-repandis ,
coriaceis, supra nitidis , subtus stellatim pubescentibus ; fnic-
tibus subtemis , bremsime pedunculatis ; cupulis cyathi/or-
mibus.

This tree equals , and sometimes exceeds , 20 feet in
height : it abounds in the temperate regions of Mexico
between Moran and Santa Rosa , where it forms im-
mense forests : it fructifies in September.

QuERCUS TRIDENS. Q. ramis Icembus; foliis oblongisy
basi rotundatis, apice cuspidato-tridentatis , membranaceis ,
supra pubescentibus y subtus tenuiter cinereo - lomentosis ;
fmctibus terms out quinis, bredter pedunculatis.

This tree rises from 10 to 20 feet; it grows in the
mountains near Moran in Mexico, and fructifies in May. •

lo8 ADDITIONS.

QuERCUS LAURINA. Q. ramulis glabrls; foliis oblongis,
acuminatis, basi subrotundatis ; apicem versus subdentatis ,
conaceis, glabrls, nitidis; fructibus solitariis out ternis , ses^
silibus ; cupulis cyathijormibus.

This is a large tree, which resembles the Laurel,
and attains the height of 40 feet : it is found in the
temperate parts of New Spain , in the environs of Pa-
choca , Totonilco and Grande : it flowers in May.

QuERCUS REPANDA. Q. fructicosa procumbens ; ramulis
Joliisque subtus albido-tomeiitosis , subsessilibus , oblongis ,
obtusiuscuUs , basi incequalibus , sinuato-repandis , coriaceis;
fructibus subsolitanis , ses silibus.

This is a shrub about 1 feet in height : it grows in
moist shady situations , between Real del Monte and
Moran, and flowers in May.

QuERCUS DEPRESSA. Q. fructicosa , procumbens; ramulis
pubescentihus ; Joliis sempervirentibus , oblongis , acutis, basi
^^otundatis , argute et remote dentatis , rigidis , glabris , niti-
dis; fructibus geminis out ternis , breviter pedunculatis.

This species is an evergreen shrub , numerously rami-
fied , and only 1 or 2 feet in height : it abounds in the
same situations with the preceding , and flowers in May
and June.

QuERCUS CHRYSOPHYLLA. Q. ramulis sulcatis , pubescen-
iibus ; foliis oblongis, basi rotundatis , apicem versus cuspi-
dato- dentatis ymembranaceis , supra nitidis, subtus tenuis-
sime aureO' tomentosis ; fructibus ternis aut quinis, pedun-
culatis.

ADDITIONS. 109

This tree , which has a thin foliage, rises to the heiglit
of 3o or 40 feet, and is from 18 to 24 inches in diameter:
it grows in the temperate and stony parts of New Spain
between Moran, Pachuca and Regla, and flowers in May.

QuERCUS XALAPENSis. Q. ramis tuberculatis ', foliis longe
petiolatis, ovato-oblongis, acuminatis , remote cuspidato-
dentatis , suhcorlaceis , glabris ; fructibus soUtariis out gemi-'
nis, breviter pedunculatis ; cupulis cyaihijormibus*

This is a very lofty tree about 2 feet in diameter : it is
very common in the forests near Xalapa , on the eastern
side of the mountains ; it fructifies in January.

QuERCUS ACUTiFOLiA. Q. folUs ovoto-lanceolatis , acu-
minatis, incequaliter subcordatis , subtus pulverulento-tom.en-
tosis , feniigineis , sinuato - dentatis ; dentibus elongatis , cus-
pidatis ; fructibus geminis out quatemis , hredssime pedun-
culaiis.

A very lofty tree , about a feet in diameter , which
grows on the west side of the mountains between Venta
di Acaguisolta and la Majonera : it fructifies in May.

QuERCUS STiPULARis. Q. ramulis fcmigineo-tomentosis ;
foliis obovatO'oblongis , subcordatis, argute et grosse denta-
tis; crasse coriaceis, supra nitidis, subtus jladdo-tomento-
sis ; stipulis persistentibus y fi'uctibus soUtariis aut geminis ,
sessilibus.

This tree rises to the height of about 5o feet, and has
a thick foliage : it is found on the mountains of Mexico
near Actopan , and fructifies in May.

QuERCUS SYDEROXYLA. Q. ramuUs pubescentibus ; foliis

no ADDITIONS.

ohovato - oblongis , hasi rotundatis, apicem versus argute
serratis, cordaiis, remote et obtuse dentatis, memhranacels ,
subtus tomentosis ; fructlbus longe pedunculatis , subspicatis;
cupulis hemisphcencis.

A very lofty tree from i to 2 feet in diameter : it grows
in the temperate regions of New Spain near Villalpando
and Santa Rosa, and fructifies in September.

QuERCUS PULCHELLA. Q. ramis tuberculatis ; foliis obo-
vato- oblongis] subcordatis , argute dentatis , coiiaceis , supra
nitidis , subtus tenuissime incano-tomentosis ; fnictibus ge-
minis, bredter pedunculatis ; cupulis depresso-sphcericis.

This tree is from i5 to 20 feet in height and grows in
the mountainous regions of New Spain between Gua-
naxualo and Santa Rosa ; it fructifies in September.

QuERCUS RETICULATA. Q. ramuUs subpubescentibus • /b-
liis subsessilibus , obovatis, cordatis , remote dentatis , coria^
ceis, rugusis y subtus tenuissime tomentosis ; fructibus gemi-
nis _, longe pedunculatis ; cupulis cyatliiformibus.

A tall tree which grows in the mountainous regions of
New Spain between Santa Rosa and Guanaxuato , and
fructifies in September.

QuERCUS CRASSIFOLIA. Q. ramulis sulcatis, foliisque sub-
tus Jlavescenti'tomentosis , breviter petiolatis , obovatis , cor-
datis J remote dentatis , crasse coriaceis ; Jixictibus subtemis ,
pedunculatis ; cupulis subsphcericis.

This tree is from 3o to 40 feet high, and has a very thick
fohage ; it is found in the stony and mountainous regions
of New Spain near Chilpancingo, and fructilies in April.

ADDITIONS. Ill

QuERCUS SPICATA. Q. ramuUs tomentosis ; Joliis ellipti-
CIS, simiaio-dentatis , coriaceis , supra nitidis , subtus tenuis^
sime canescenti-tomentosis ; Jiixctihus subgeminis , brevissime
pedunculatis i cupulis cyathiformibus.

This species is from 3o to /\o feet in height , and is
found in shady situations near el Oyamel , el Jacal , and
Cerro de las Nabajas ; it fructifies in May.

QuERCUS PANDURATA. Q. ramuUs Icenbus ^ hirlis -^ folUs
obovato-oblongis , subpanduratis , subcordatis , sinuato-den-
tatis , coriaceis , subtus pubescentibus ; fructibus subquinis ,
pedimculatis ; cupulis cyathiformibus.

This species is about i5 feet high : it is found on the
sides of ihe mountains in the kingdom of Mechoacan ,
between Ario and Patzcuaro : it fructifies in September.
QuERCUS AMBIGUA. Q. ramulis glabris, obopato-obloji"
gis, obtusis , basi rotundatis , subrepandis , membranaceis ,
subtus ienuissime pubescentibus ; fructibus quinis out septe-
nis , pedunculatis , pedunculis geminis , elongatis.

This tree is about 20 feet high , and is found in the
temperate regions of Mexico near Moran , Cerro Ven-
toso and Omilton : it flowers in May.

QuERCUS GLAUCESCENS. Q. ramuUs angulatis; foliis brC"
ffissime petiolatis , obovato-oblongis , obtusiusculis , basi cu^
neatis, dentato-sinuatis , membranaceis, glabiis, glaucesceU'
tibus • fructibus quirds out septenis , pedunculatis.

A tall tree , very common in the warm parts of New
. Spain , between la Venta de la Majorena and Acagui-
sotla : it blooms in April.

112 — 136 ADDITIONS.

QuEECUS OBTUSATA. Q. ramuUs tuberculatis , tenuiter
pubescentibus ; foliis oblongis, oblusls , basi incequalibus ,
repandis, corlaceis, subtus pulverulento-pubescentlbus , fruc-
tibus subquinisj pedunculatis ; cupulis campanulato-globosis.

This species is very tall , with a remarkably straight
trunk : it is found in the elevated and dry parts of Neyy
Spain near Ario , and flowers in September,

WALNUTS.

WVVV\\fVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV\VVVVVVVVV\'VVVVVVVV^

WALNUTS.

In the variety of trees which compose the vast
forests of North America east of the Mississippi , the
Walnut ranks after the oak , among the genera whose
species are most muUiplied. In this particular, the soil of
the United States is more favoured than that of Europe ,
to no part of which is any species of this tree in-
digenous. I have distinguished in the United States
ten species of "Walnut, and others will probably be dis-
covered in Louisiana : travellers who visit these regions
to explore their natural history, should direct their at-
tention to this class of vegetables, so interesting from the
useful applications of their wood in the arts. There is
room to hope , also , that species may be discovered ,
susceptible , like the Pacanenut Hickory , of speedy me-
lioration , by the aid of grafting and of attentive cultiva-
tion. Some vs eight is given this consideration , by an
observation which I have heard often repeated by my
father , that the fruit of the Common European Walnut ,
in its natural state , is harder than that of the American
I. i8

1 38 ■ WALNUTS.

species just mentioned , and inferior to it in size and
quality. To the members of agricultural societies in the
United States it belongs, to extend their observations
and experiments on this subject, after the example of
our ancestors, to whom we are indebted for a rich va-
riety of fruits, equally salutary and beautiful.

The Walnuts of North America appear lo present
characters so distinct as to require their di\ision into
two sections. These characters consist principally in the
form of the barren aments or catkins , and in the great-
er or less rapidity of vegetation in the trees. The first
section is composed of Walnuts with single aments ,
( PI. 29 and 3o ) and includes two species : the Black
Walnut and the Butternut ; to which is added the Eu-
ropean Walnut. The second section consists of such
as have compound aments, ( PL 36 ) and comprises
eight species : the Pacanenut Hickory, Bitternut Hickory,
Water Bitternut Hickory, Mockernut Hickory, Shell-
bark Hickory, Thick Shellbark Hickory, Pignut Hickory,
and Nutmeg Hickory. The three first species of the
second section bear some relation to those of the first,
in their buds , which are not covered with scales. For
this reason , I have placed them immediately next, be-
ginning with the Pacanenut Hickory, which by its nu-

WALNUTS. l39

meroiis leaflets , most nearly resembles the Black
Walnut and the Butternut , whose buds are also un-
covered.

Throughout the United States , the common name of
Hickory is given to the species of the second section.
This common appellation is due to certain properties
of their w^ood , which, howerer modified , are possessed
by them all, in a greater degree than by any other
tree of Europe or America. These species exhibit also
a striking analogy in their form , and in their leaves ,
though they differ in the number and size of their leaf-
lets. To these sources of confusion, must be added
another in the fruit , which is often so various in its ap-
pearance , that it is easy to mistake the species to which
it belongs. It is not then , on the most remarkable
differences alone , that our distinctions must be found-
ed ; recourse must also be had to an examination of
the shoots of the preceding year , of the buds , and of
the aments. It was only by constant observation in the
forests of the country, pursued through the course of
a summer , that I became able readily to distinguish
between mere varieties and species. M. Delille of the
Institute of Egypt , who was at that time in the United
States , took an active part in my researches , and re-

l4o WALNUTS.

sorted with me daily to the woods. Our investigations,
I flatter myself, have had the result, which may always
be hoped for, from unwearied perseverance.

From the considerations alleged, and principally
from the striking resemblance of their wood, I have
thought proper in describing the species of Hickory,
to speak but summarily of their respective properties ,
and to treat of this part of the subject collectively and
comparatively, more at large , in a separate article which
will complete their history.

METHODICAL DISPOSITION

OF THE WALNUTS

OF NORTH AMERICA.

Rloncecia Polyandria , LiNN. Terelenihaccoi , Juss.
I. »' SECTION.
Simple aments. ( PI. 29 and 3o. )
VEGETATION RAPID.

1 . Common European Walnut. Juglans regia.

2. Black Walnut Juglans nigra.

3. Butternut. ... ..... Juglans caihartica.

S."-^ SECTION.

Compound aments , each peduncle hearing threc^
i PI. '66, fig. d.)

VEGETATION SLOW.

4. Pacanenut Hickory .... Juglans olivcefonnis.

5. Bitternut Hickory. „ . . . Juglans amara.

6. Water Bitternut Hickory. . Juglans axjuaiica.

7. Mockernut Hickory. . . . Juglans tomentosa.

^42 METHODICAL DISPOSITION, etc.

8. Shellbark Hickory Juglans squamosa.

9. Thick shellbark Hickory. . . Juglans lacimosa.
10. Pignut Hickory Juglans porcina.

n. Nutmeg Hickory Juglans myrlsticcejormis.

m:

Common European Walnut

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

JuGLANS REGIA. i. foUolis subseptem's , ovalibus , glabris, sub-
serratis , subcequalibus : fructibus subovalibiis.

The Walnut which lor several centuries has been cul-
tivated in Europe is a native of Asia. According to an an-
cient but uncertain tradition , its fruit was brought from
Persia with the Peach and the Apricot. My father, who
in the years 1782, 83, and 84, visited this part of the
East to examine its natural productions, first ascertain-
ed wdth exactness , the origin of this tree : he found
it in the natural State, in the Province of Ghilan , which
hes on the Caspian Sea , between the 35° and the 4o° of
latitude.

The period of its introduction into Europe , a point
on which ancient authors leave us in obscurity, is pro-
ved to be remote , by several rites in use among the
Romans : such , for instance , as the distribution of nuts
in the Cerealia. In the village festival of the Rosiere, ins-
tituted by St. Medard, at Salency, Department of the
Oise , 1200 years ago , it is directed , that an offering
be presented to the young maid who is crowned , com-
posed of nuts and other fruits of the Country : which
proves the tree to have been already naturalised in that
part of France.

The Walnut is common throughout the center of Eu-

1 44 COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

rope, but it flourishes most in the western and southern
Deparments of France , in Spain and in Italy, which
approach nearest to the latitude in which it grows
in the natural state. In France , it is only in the West
and South , that the vegetation of theWalnut is per-
fectly secure from frost, that its wood is of a superior
quality , and that its fruit is regularly yielded in suffi-
cient abuT^dance to become an article of commerce.

The European Walnut is one of the tallest and most
beautiful among fruit trees , and one of the most re-
markable for the amplitude of its summit, and the
thickness of its shade. On the trunk of old trees , which
frequently are several feet in diameter , the bark is
thick and deeply furrowed ; on the upper branches ,
it is grey and smooth , a good deal resembling that of
the Butternut. The leaves are borne by long petioles, and
are composed of 2 , 3 , and sometimes 4 pair of leaf-
lets , surmounted by an odd one. The leaflets are oval
and smooth ; when bruised , they exhale a strong aro-
matic odour. In the extreme heat of summer , the
emanations from theWalnut are so powerful as to pro-
duce unpleasant effects upon some persons, if they
slumber in its shade.

The flowers of the Common European Walnut , like
those of the Black Walnut and Butternut, appear be-
fore the unfolding of the leaves; the barren ones in
single, pendulous , imbricated aments ; the fertile ones
on separate branches , at the end of the young shoots,

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT. l45

and commonly in pairs. The fruit is green and oval,
and in the natural state contains a small hard nut. In
the most esteemed cultivated species , the fruit is oval
and strongly odoriferous, about an inch and two thirds
long, and from an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half
in diameter. The nut occupies two thirds of its volume.

Towards autumn , the husk softens , and decaying
from about the nut , allows it to fall. The shell is slightly
channeled, and so thin as to be easily crushed by the
fingers. The kernel is of a very agreeable taste : it is
large , covered with a fine pellicle , and separated by a
thin partition which may readily be detached both
from the shell and from the kernel. The nuts are better
tasted and easier of digestion , soon after their matu-
rity , than later in the season, when the oily princi-
ple becomes perfectly formed ; they are then oppressive
if immoderately eaten.

A dessert of an excellent relish is made by extrac-
ting the kernels a fortnight before they are ripe , and
seasoning them with the juice of green grapes and
salt. They should be thrown into water as soon as they
are taken from the shell, and allowed to remain till
the moment when they are seasoned to be set upon
the table. They are sold in Paris by the name of Cer-
neaux ^ and a greater quantity of walnuts is consumed
in this way by people in easy circumstances, than after
they are perfectly ripe : the use of them is then almost
exclusively confined to the lower classes.

J- »9

1 46 COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

The Common Walnut is more multiplied in the
Departments of France which lie between the 4^° and
the 48^* of latitude , than in any other part of Europe.
In these Departments , it is planted in the midst of
cultivated fields , like the apple tree for cider , in those
of the north and of the center : the fruit , the oil , and
the wood , may be considered as forming one of their
principal branches of commerce.

In extracting the oil of Walnuts, certain delicate atten-
tions are necessary to insure its fmeness. When the fruit
is gathered , and the nuts are separated from the husks ,
Ihey should be kept dry, and occasionally moved till
they are used. The properest time for the operation is
at the close of winter, as in this interval, the change
by which the mucilage of the fruit is converted
into oil has become completely effected , and by
longer delay the kernel grows rancid , and the oil
is of a vitiated quality. The nut is cracked by stri-
king it on the end with a small mallet , and pains
are taken not to bruise the kernel. The slight lig-
neous partition is detached , and such kernels as are
partially spoiled , are selected and thrown aside. The
sound kernels , thus cleared from every particle of the
shell, should be sent immediately to the mill, as they
soon become rancid by exposure to the air. They are
crushed by a vertical stone , which turns in a circular
trough, and is moved by a horse or by a current
of water. The paste is next enclosed in bags of strong

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT. l/^j

linen and submitted to the press. The oil which flows
under this first pressure without the application of lieat ,
is of the best quality. It is very clear, and is proper
for food ; but it sensibly retains the taste of the nut ,
which in general is not agreeable to persons unac-
customed to it , so that the consumption is limited to
the Departments where it is made. To be kept sweet
for the table , it should be drawn off several times du-
ring the first months , carefully corked, and kept in
the cellar , as it is more easily affected than any other
oil by the action of air and heat.

After the first expression , the paste is emptied from
the sacks , moistened with warm water , and modera-
tely heated in coppers. It is then replaced in the sacks
and returned to the press. The oil of the second dis-
charge, is highly coloured, and very speedily becomes
rancid ; it is therefore employed only in the prepa-
ration of colours. The cakes which remain after the
expression is finished, are proper for fattening fowls.

Although nut oil , as an article of diet , is in general
use in the Departments where the tree abounds, it
serves a still more important purpose in the prepa-
ration of fine colours. It is preferred on account of
the complete and rapid manner in which it dries »
and of the facility of obtaining it perfectly limpid ;
which is done by diffusing it upon water in large shallow
vases.

In copper-plate printing, walnut oil is considered, in

l48 COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

Paris, indispensably necessary fora fine impression, in
black or in colours. But there are peculiar modes of
preparing it for the several colours with which it is to
be mixed. Thus ior white, blue , light green , and the in-
termediate shades , it is reduced by boiling to two thirds
of its bulk, but for dark green and black, to one fifth ,
which leaves it a thick, semifluid substance. To faci-
litate the process, one tenth part of Hnseed oil is added
to it ; it IS then placed in an iron or copper vessel ,
over an active , clear fire. When it begins to boil ra-
pidly, the vessel is uncovered, and the oil takes fire by
contact with the flame , and burns till it is reduced to
the proper consistency : sometimes it is not allowed to
kindle , but when the ebullition commences , crusts of
bread are thrown into it, which remain till the neces-
sary evaporation is effected , and are then taken out ,
charged with mucilagenous particles. The principal
advantage of this oil , in the preparation of white
lead for painting the interior of houses , as well as of
the colours employed in copper-plate printing, is the
longer and more perfect preservation of the tints. The
back of prints done with it do not turn yellow like
others.

A fine stomachic liquor is made with the fruit of the
"Walnut gathered a month before its maturity. Twelve
green nuts in the husk are bruised and thrown into
a pint of good brandy ; alter they have steeped three
weeks, the brandy is filtered througli brown paper,

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT. 1 49

and a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar is added. This
cordial improves by age.

Diers obtain by boiling the husks , when they begin
to decay , and the bark of the roots , a substantial dark
brown , with which they die woolens. Cabinet-makers
also make use of it , in staining other species of wood
in imitation of Walnut.

Among the American Walnuts which are found east
of the Mississippi, the Black Walnut bears the greatest
resemblance to the European Walnut , in its general
appearance , in its flowers and fruit , and in the qualities
of its wood : in foliage they are strikingly different. The
wood of the European Walnut is inferior in strength
and weight, and I believe, far more liable to injury
from worms.

Twenty or thirty years ago , before Mahogany was
imported in such abundance into Europe , Walnut wood
was employed almost exclusively, in Cabinet-making.
In the country , it is still in general use , and the fur^
niture made of it is far from being inelegant, especially,
pieces obtained from such old trees as bear small and
thick shelled nuts. It is preferred for the stocks of
muskets; and in Paris and Brussels, no other wood
is used for the pannels of carriages. The old trees fur-
nisch excellent screws for large presses. Great quanti-
ties of wooden shoes are manufactured of Walnut ,
which are more highly esteemed than others.

The wood of the European Walnul is largely exported

x5o COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

from the south of France to the North , and to Holland
and Germany : formerly , it was carried to England.

Like other fruit trees , whose perfection is among
the « noblest conquests of industrious man » , the
Walnut has been greatly improved , by long and ca-
reful cultivation. There are 7 or 8 cultivated varieties ,
whose superiority is principally apparent in the augmen-
ted size of the fruit, and in the diminished thickness
of the shell. Of these the most esteemed, after that
which I have described, are the St. Jean and the Jauge
Walnuts. The St. John Walnut, is a variety obtained
within a few years. It yields fruit as large and as abun-
dant as the common Walnut , and for that part of
Europe which lies beyond the 4^° of latitude , it pos-
sesses an advantage , in opening its vegetation three
weeks later, and in being thus secure from the inju-
ries of frost. The Jauge Walnut is chiefly remarkable
for the size of its fruit , which is twice as large as the
variety represented in the plate. It is unproductive, and
the kernel does not fill the shell. The Jauge nut is
made into cases by jewellers , and furnished with trinkets
for the amusement of children.

The wood of the Black Walnut is already superior
to that of the European Walnut , and it will acquire a
still finer grain , when it is raised on lands that have
been long under cultivation. It is solely for the excel-
lency of its fruit , and the decided superiority of its
oil in the preparation of colours , that the European

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT. l5l

Walnut should be warmly recommended to the attention
of Americans. It would thrive better than elsewhere
in places where the Black Walnut naturally abounds.

In some parts of Pensylvania and Maryland , the
BlackWalnuts have been preserved in clearing the lands :
great advantage would be found in grafting them \vith
the European Walnut. The limbs should be cut i5
inches from the trunk, and from the stumps will spring
vigorous shoots ,. which the second year may the graft-
ed by inoculation. Fifty or sixty buds should be set
upon each tree, as is practised near Lyons ; where it is
found , that by inserting the Walnut of St. John on the
common Walnut, the fruit is rendered finer, and the
crop more certain. Black Walnuts thus grafted begin
to bear the 5.'^ year. On estates where no Black W^al-
nuts exist , the deficiency may be supplied by planting
the nuts, and grafting the young stocks when they come
to tile height of 8 or lo feet.

It should be observed , that in the Walnut , more
than any other tree , it is necessary on account of the
loose texture of the wood and the large volume of the
pith, to protect the amputated limbs from the weather.
A covering of clay should be so nicely adapted to the
exposed surface, as entirely to exclude the rain , other-
wise decay will commence , and spread itself into the
body of the tree.

In those parts of France , Belgium and Germany,
where the Walnut is not cultivated for commerce , the

1 52 COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

trees have generally sprung from the seed , which is
the cause of the inferiority of their fruit. For it is obser-
vedthat, with a few accidental exceptions, the finest fruits
and flowers degenerate in reproduction. This inconve-
nience would be experienced in the United States, and
as there do not perhaps exist in that Country, south of
the Hudson river, ten European Walnut trees, I should
recommend the obtaining from Bordeaux of young graft-
ed trees , which will soon furnish the means to such pro-
prietors as wish to enrich their estates with this useful

and magnificent tree.

PLATE XXIX.

Fig. I , A leaf of half the natural size. Fig. 2 , Barren
flowers. Fig. 5 , Fertile flowers. Fig. 4 , A. nut in its husk of
the natural size. Fig. 5, A nut without its husk. Fig. 6, A nut
depris^ed of half the shell to show the kernel.

Black Walnut

A:r„;„ J-,,,//,!

BLACK WALNUT.

JUGLANS NIGRA. J. foUoUs qiiindenis , suhcordatis , siipcrne
angustaiis , seiratis : fractu glohoso , punctato , scabrius'
culo ; nuce comtgatd.

This tree is known in all parts of the United States
where it grows , and to the french of Upper and Lower
Louisiana , by no other name than Black Walnut. East
of the Alleghany Mountains , the most Northern point
at which it appears , is about Goshen in the Sate of New-
Jersey, in the latitude of 4o.''5o'. West of the Moun-
tains , it exists abundantly two degrees farther north , in
that portion of Genesee , which is comprised between the
77" and 79" of longitude. This observation, as I shall
have occasion to remark , is applicable to several other
vegetables , the northern limit of whose appearance
varies with the climate, and this becomes milder in
advancing towards the West. The Black Walnut is mul-
tiplied in the forests about Philadelphia, and vdth the
exception of the lower parts of the Southern States ,
where the soil is too sandy, or too wet as in the Swamps ,
itis met with to the banks of the Mississippi, throughout
an extent of 2000 miles. East of the Alleghany mountains
in Virginia, and in the upper parts of the Carolinas and
of Georgia , it is chiefly confined to vallies where the
soil is deep and fertile , and which are watered by

l54 3BLACK WALNUT.

Creeks and Rivers : in the Western Country, in Genesee
and in the States of Ohio and Kentucky, where the soil
in general is very rich , it grov^^s in the forests , wath
the Coffee-tree , Honey Locust, Red Mulberry , Locust ^
Shellbark Hickory, Black Sugar Maple , Hack Berry ,
and Red Elm ; all of them trees that prove the good-
ness of the soil in which they are found.

It is in these Countries that the Black Walnut dis-
plays its fuU proportions. On the banks of the Ohio
and on the Islands of this beautiful river , I have
often seen trees of 3 or 4 f^et in diameter and 60 or
70 feet in height. It is not rare to fmd them of the
thickness of 6 or 7 feet. Its powerful vegetation clearly
points out this , as one of the largest trees of Ame-
rica. When it stands insulated, its branches, exten-
ding themselves horizontally to a great distance, spread
into a spacious head , which gives it a very majestic
appearance.

The leaves of the Black Walnut when bruised emit
a strong aromatic odour. They are about 18 inches in
length, pinnate, and composed in general of 6, 7, or
8 pair of leaflets surmounted by an odd one. The leaf-
lets are opposite and fixed on short petioles ; they are
acuminate , serrate , and somewhat downy. The barren
flowers are disposed in pendulous and cylindrical aments,
of which the peduncles are simple , unlike those of
the Hickories. (PI. 3o. fig. i.) The fruit is round, odo-
riferous , of rather an uneyen surface , and always ap-

BLACK WALNUT. 1 55

pears at the extremity of the branches : on young, and
vigorous trees , it is sometimes 7 or 8 inches in circum-
ference. The husk is thick, and is not as in the Hickories
divided into sections ; but when ripe it softens and gra-
dually decays. The nut is hard , somewhat compressed
at the sides , and sulcated. The kernel , which is divi-
ded by firm ligneous partitions , is of a sweet and
agreeable taste , thoug inferior to that of the European
Walnut. These nuts are sold in the markets of New-York ,
Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and served upon the ta-
bles. The size of the fruit varies considerably, and de-
pends upon the vigour of the tree , and upon the nature
of the soil and of the climate. On the banks of the
Ohio , and in Kentucky, the fruit with tke husk is 7 or
8 inhes in compass with the nut proportionally large :
in Genesee on the contrary, where the cold is intense ,
and in fields exhausted by cultivation , where these trees
have been preserved since the first clearing of the land,
it is not of more than half this bigness. Some varia-
tions are observed in the form of the fruit j and in the
moulding of the shell; but these I consider as merely,
accidental differences. Indeed there is no genus of trees
in America, in which the fruit of a given species exhib-
its such various forms, as in the Walnut ; and doubtless
this circumstance has mislead observers , who , being
acquainted only with the small number of trees existing
in European gardens , have described them as distinct
species.

J 56 BLACK WALNUT.

The bark of the Black Walnut is thick, blackish, and
on old trees deeply furrowed. When the timber is
freshly cut , the sap is white and the heart of a yiolet
colour, which after a short exposure to the air assumes
an intenser shade, and becomes nearly black : hence
probably is derived the name of Black Walnut. There
are several qualities for which its wood is principally
esteemed ; it remains sound during a long time , even
when exposed to the influences of heat and moisture ;
but this observation is applicable only to the heart, the
sap speedily decays : it is very strong and very tenacious :
when thoroughly seasoned it is not liable to warp and
split ; and its grain is sufficiently fine and compact to
admit of a beautiful polish. It possesses in addition to
these advantages , that of being secure from worms.
On account of these excellencies, it is preferred and
successfully employed in many kinds of work. East of
the AUeghanies , its timber is not extensively used in
building houses, but in some parts of Kentucky and Ohio,
it is split into shingles i8 inches long and from 4 to 6
inches wdde , which serve to cover them : sometimes
also this timber enters into the composition of the frame.
But it is chiefly in cabinet making , that the Black Walnut
is employed wherever it abounds. By selecting pieces from
the upper part of the trunk, immediately below the
first ramification , furniture is sometimes made , which
from the accidental curlings of the grain is highly beau-
tiful ; but as its colour soon changes to a dusky hue, the

BLACK WALNUT. l5j

TVild Cherry wood is frequently preferred for this use.
The Black Walnut is also employed for the stocks of
military muskets ; it is stronger and tougher than the
Jled flowering Maple, which, from its superior lightness
and elegance , is chosen for fowling pieces. In Virginia
posts are very commonly made of Black Walnut , and
as it lasts undecayed in the ground from 20 to 25 years ,
it appears every way fit for this purpose. I have been
assured that it makes excellent naves for wheels, which
farther proves its strength and durability. At Philadel-
phia, coffms are universally made of it.

The timber of this tree 's also excellently adapted to
certain uses in Naval Architecture. It should never be
wrought till it is perfectly seasoned, after which it
is asserted to be more durable, though more brittle,
than the White Oak. Breckel in his history of North
Carolina , affirms that it is not liable , like the Oak ,
to be attacked by sea-worms in warm latitudes. This
advantage if it is real , is highly important , and de-
serves to be ascertained by farther observation. In
the marine lumber yards of Philadelphia , I have
often seen it used for knees and floor timber ; but in the
vessels built at Wheeling and Marietta , small towns on
the Ohio , it constitutes a principal part of the frame.
On the river Wabash, canoes are made of it>^hich are
greatly esteemed for strength and durability. Some of
them fashioned from the trunk of a single tree , are more
than 4o feet long , snd 2 or 3 feet vAde,

l58 BLACK WALNUT.

The Black Walnut is exported in small quantities to
England in planks of 2 inches in thickness. These planks
are sold at Philadelphia , at four cents a foot.

The husk of the fruit yields a colour similar to that
which is obtained from the European Walnut. It is used
in the country for dying woolen stuffs.

This tree has been long since introduced , in England?
and France , into the gardens of the lovers of foreign
culture. It succeeds perfectly and yields fruit abundantly.
Though differing widely from the European species , it
bears a nearer resemblance to it than any other Ameri-
can Walnut. By comparing the two species as to their
utility in the arts and in commerce , it will appear , that
the wood of the Black Walnut is more compact , heavier
and much stronger ; that it is susceptible of a finer po-
lish , and that it is not injured by worms ; qualities
which , as has been seen , render it fit not only for the
same uses with ours , but also for the larger works of
architecture. These considerations sufficiently evince
that it is a valuable tree , and that it is with great reason ,
that many proprietors in America have spared it , in
clearing their new lands. On high roads , I am of
opinion that it might be chosen to succeed the Elm ;
for experience has proved , that to insure success in the
continued cviltivation of trees or herbaceous plants on
the same soil, the practice must be varied with species
of different genera.
Nuts of the European Walnut and of the Black Walnut

"BLACK WALNUT. l5g

have been planted at the same time in the same soil ;
those of the Black Walnut are observed to shoot more
vigorously , and to grow in a given time to a greater
height. By grafting the European upon the American
species , at the height of 8 or lo feet, their advantages ,
■with respect to the quality both of wood and of fruit ,
might be united.

PLATE XXX.

u4 leaf of half its natural size. Fig. i , A nut with its huh.
Fig. 2 , A nut without its husk. Fig. 5 , A barren anient.

L^.-

*VVVVVVVVVVVVV»VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV\VVVVVVVV\VVVVV\V*\\VVi\:VVVV»VVVVV\VV\V\V\VVVVVV\V»VVVVV\V*VVV>V\V\WVVVV%

BUTTERNUT.

JuGLANS CATHARTICA. i . foUoUs subquindenis , lanceolatis ^
basi rotundato-obtusls , subtiis tomentosis , leviter serratis :
fructu oblongo, ovato , apice nmoso , viscido Jonge pedun-
culato , mice oblongd, acuminata, insigniter insculpte-
scabrosa.

This species of Walnut is known in North Ame-
rica , under different denominations. In Massachusetts,
New Hampshire , and Vermont , it bears the name of
Oil nut ; in Pennsylvania and Maryland , and on the
banks of the Ohio , it is generally known by that of
White Walnut ; in Connecticut , New York , New Jersey,
Virginia, and in the mountainous districts of the upper
parts of the Carolinas , it is called Butternut. The last
of these names I have retained, because it is not wholly
unknown in those parts of the United States where
the others are in general use, and because the wood
is employed in the neighbourhood of New York , for a
greater variety of uses than elsewhere. I think also
that the latin specific name Cathartica , which was
long since given it by Doctor Cutler of Massachusetts ,
should be definitively substituted for that of Cinerea ,
by which it has hitherto been distinguished among
Botanists. This last appellation, derived from the colour
of the secondary branches, whose bark is smooth and
greyish , suggests only an unimportant characteristic ,

PI.JI

Butter Nut .

J lit/ la ns ralha^'tiM .

BUTTERNUT. ' " i6l

while the first expresses one of the most interesting
properties of the tree.

^ The Butternut is found in Upper and Lower Canada,
in the District of Maine, on the shores of Lake Erie,
in the States of Kentucky and Tennessee and on the banks
of the Missouri; but I have never met with it in the lower
parts of the Carolinas , of Georgia , and of East Florida ,
where the nature of the soil and the intemperate heat
of the summer, are imfavorable to its vegetation. In cold
regions , on the contrary, its growth is luxuriant ; for in
the State of Vermont , where the winter is so rigorous
that sledges are used during four months in the year ,
this tree attains a circumference of 8 or lo feet. I have
nowhere seen it more abundant, than in the bottoms
which border the Ohio between Wheeling and Ma-
rietta : but the thickness of these forests , which are
hardly penetrated by the sun , appears to prevent its
utmost expansion. I have seen here no trees as large
as some in New Jersey , on the steep and elevated banks
of the Hudson , nearly opposite to the city of New York.
The woods in this place are thin , and the soil cold , un-
productive , and interspersed with large rocks , in the
interstices of which the biggest Butternuts have their
root. I have measured some of them, which at 5 feet
from the ground , were lo or 12 feet in circumference ,
and which were 5o feet in height , with roots extending
even with the surface of the ground , in a serpentine
direction , and with little variation in size , to the dis-
I. 21

*>

1 62 BUTTERNUT.

tance of 4o feet. The trunk ramifies at a small height, and
the branches seeking a direction more horizontal than
those of other trees , and spreading widely, form a large
and tufted head , which gives the tree a remarkable
appearance.

The buds of the Butternut , like those of the Black
Walnut , are uncovered. In the spring its vegetation is
forward , and its leaves unfold a fortnight earlier than
those of the Hickories. Each leaf is composed of 7 or 8
pair of sessile leaflets , and terminated by a petiolated
odd one. The leaflets are from 2 to 3 inches in length ,
lanceolate , serrate , and slightly downy. The barren
flowers stand on large cyhndrical aments , which are
single , 4 01' 5 inches long , and attached to the shoots
of the preceding year ; the fertile flowers on the con-
trary, Gome out on the shoots of the same spring, and
are situated at their extremity. The ovarium is crowned
by two rose coloured stigmata. The fruit is commonly
single, and suspended by a thin , pliable peduncle, about
3 inches in length ; its form is oblong-oval without any
appearance ofseam.lt is often 2 inches and ahalf in length,
and 5 inches in circumference, and is covered with a
viscid adhesive substance , composed of small transpa-
rent vesicles , which are easily discerned with the aid of
a glass. The nuts are hard , oblong , rounded at the
base , and terminated at the summit, in an acute point-,
the surface is very rough , and deeply and irregularly
fmTowed. They are ripe, in the neighbourhood of New

BUTTERNUT. I 63

York, about the iS^^ of September , a fortnight earlier
than the other species of Wahiut. Some years they are
so abundant , that one person may gather sevei-al bush-
els of them in a. day. The kernel is thick and oily, and
soon becomes rancid ; hence , doubtless, are derived the
names of Butternut and Oilnut. These nuts are rarely
seen in the markets of New York and Philadelphia. The
Indians who inhabited these regions, pounded and boi-
led them , and separating the oily substance which swam
upon the surface , mixed it with their food. When
the fruit has attained about half its growth , it is some-
times used for making pickles , being first plunged into
boiling water, and thoroughly >viped , to clean it of its
down , and afterwards preserved in vinegar.

The Black Walnut and Butternut , when young , re-
semble each other in their foliage , and in the rapidity
of their growth ; but when arrived at maturity , their
forms are so different , as to be distinguishable at fir^t
sight. Remarkable peculiarities are also found , on exa-
mining their wood, especially when seasoned ; the Black
Walnut is heavy , strong , and of a dark brown colour ;
while the Butternut is light , of little strength, and of a
reddish hue : but they possess in common, the great
advantage of lasting long, and of being secure from the
annoyance of worms. From its want of solidity and from
the difficulty of procuring pieces of considerable length ,
Butternut timber is never used in the cities , in the cons-
truction of houses , though it is sometimes employed

l64 BUTTERNUT.

for this purpose in the country. In some Districts of
New Jersey , it is often taken for the sleepers which are
placed immediately on the ground , in the framing of
houses and barns. As it long resists the effects of heat
and moisture , it is esteemed for the posts and rails of
rural fence, and for troughs for the use of cattle. For
corn shovels and wooden dishes , it is preferred to
the Red, flowering Maple , because it is lighter and less
liable to split ; consequently articles made of it, are sold
at a higher price. Near New- York, I have observed it
to be made use of for canoes formed of one or two
logs , and for the futtocks destined to give them solidity;
but in boats of considerable size some stronger wood
is selected for this purpose. At Pittsburgh on the Ohio,
the Butternut is sometimes sawn into planks , for the
construction of small skiffs , which, on account of their
lightness , are in request for descending the river. At
Windsor in Vermont, it is used for the pannels of coach-
es and chaises ; the workmen fmd it excellently adapt-
ted to this object, not only from its lightness, but
because it is not liable to split , and receives paint in
a superior manner : indeed I have remarked that its
pores are more open than those of the Poplar and
Basswood.

The medicinal properties of Butternut bark , have
long since been proved , by several eminent Physicians
of the United States, and among others, by Doctor
Cutler. An extract in water , or even a decoction sweet-

BUTTERNUT. I 65

ened with honey, is acknowledged to be one of the best
cathartics afforded by materia medica; its purgative
operation is always sure , and unattended , in the most
dehcate constitutions, with pain or irritation. Experience
has shewn that it produces the best effects in many
cases of dysentery. It is commonly given in the form
of pills, and to aduhs, in doses from half a dram to
a dram. It is not however in general use , except
in the country , where many of the farmers wives
provide a small store of it in the spring, for the wants
of their families and of their neighbours. They obtain
it by boiling the bark entire in water , till the liquid is
reduced by evaporation , to a thick , viscid substance ,
which is almost black. This is a faulty process ; the
exterior bark , or the dead part which covers the
cellular integument, should first be taken off, for by
continued boiling, it becomes charged with four fifths of
the hquid , already enriched with extractive matter. I
have also seen this bark successfully employed as a re-
vulsive , in inflammatory ophthalmias and in the tooth-
ache : a piece of it soaked in warm water is applied in
these cases to the back of the neck. In the country it is
sometimes employed for dying wool of a dark brown
colour ; but the bark of the Black Walnut is preferable
for this purpose.

On a live tree , the cellular integument, when first ex-
posed, is of a pure white , in a moment, it changes to a
beautiful lemon colour , and soon after to a deep brown.

1 66 BUTTERNUT,

If the trunk of the Butternut is pierced in the month
which precedes the unfolding of the leaves , a pretty co-
pious discharge ensues of a slightly sugary sap , from
which, by evaporation , sugar is obtained of a quality in-
ferior to that of the Sugar Maple,

Although the Butternut, as has been seen, possesses
useful properties , I do not think it sufficiently valuable ,
either in the arts , or for fuel , to recommend its intro-
duction into the forests of the old continent : it should
find place only in our pleasure grounds.

PLATE XXXI.

A leaf of half its natural size. Fig. i , A nut with its husk.
Fig. 2 , A nut without its husk.

PI. :h.

P ac aneuii tHickoiy.

Jii^lans oliva'-formis.

PACANENUT HICKORY.

JuGLANS oliV-«:formis. J. foliolis plurimis , subpetiolatis ^
falcatis , serratis ; fructu oblongo , pjominulo-quadran-
gulo ; nuce olivceformi , levi.

This species , which is found in upper Louisiana, is
called by the French of Illinois and New Orleans, Paca-
niei^ and its fruit Pacanes. This name has been adopted
by" the inhabitants of the United States , who call it Pa-
canenut. On the borders of the rivers Missouri, Illinois ,
St.-Francis , and Arkansas , it is most abundantly multi-
plied ; it is also common on the river Wabash ; on the
Ohio , it is found for 200 miles from its junction >vilh
the Mississippi : higher than this , it becomes more rare ,
and is not seen beyond Louisville. My father , in traver-
sing this country , learned from the French inhabit-
ants , who ascend the Mississippi in quest of furs , that
it is not found on that river , beyond the mouth of
the Great Mackakity , which discharges itself in the la-
titude of 42^ 5 1'.

This tree grows most naturally , in cold and wet
grounds. There is a swamp of 800 acres , situated on the
right bank of the Ohio , oppositite to the river Cumber-
land , which is said to be entirely covered with it , and
which is called by the French , la pacaniere.

The Pacanenut is a beautifal tree, with a straight and

I 68 PACANENITT HICKORY.

well shaped trunk ; in the forests it reaches the height oi
60 or 70 feet. Its wood is coarse grained, and like the
other Hickories , heavy and compact : it possesses also
great strength and durability ; but in these respects, it
is inferior to some species which remain to be described.
Its buds , like those of the Black Walnut , and Butternut
are uncovered. The leaves are from 12 to 18 inches in
length , and are supported by petioles some what angu-
lar, and shghtly downy in the spring. Each leaf is com-
posed of 6 or 7 pair of sessile leaflets, and terminated
by a petiolated odd one , which is commonly smal-
ler than the pair immediately preceding. The leaflets,
on flourishing trees , are from 2 to 3 inches long , ovate ,
serrate , and remarkable for the circular form of the
upper edge , while the lower one is less rounded. It is
also to be noticed , that the main rib is placed a little be-
low the middle of the leaflet.

The nuts, which are usually abundant, are contained
in a husk from i to 2 lines thick , and have four
slightly prominent angles, corresponding to their internal
divisions.Tliey vary in length from an inch to an inch and a
half, are pointed at the extremities, of a cylindrical form,
and of a yellowish colour marked , at the periodof per-
fect maturity , with blackish or purple lines. The shell is
smooth and thin , though too hard to be broken by the
fingers : the kernel is lull , and not being divided by
ligneous partitions , is easily extracted. These nuts ,
which are of a very agreeable taste , form an object of

PACANENITT HIC.KOEY. 1 69

petty commerce , between Upper and Lower Louisiana.
From New Orleans . they are exported to the West In-
dies, and to the ports of the United States. They are not
only better than any other species of North American
walnuts , but they appear to me to be more delicately
flavoured than those of Europe. And besides , varieties
of the Paean enut are found, whose fruit is far superior to
that of the European Walnut unimproved by culture. I
am opinion then, that this tree merits the attention both
of Americans and Europeans , and that by assiduous cul-
tivation , it may be brought to a high degree of perfec-
tion. These advantages , it is true , are balanced in part
by the slowness of its growth ; there are trees in France
which have been planted more than thirty years , and
which do not yield fruit.

If the practise should be successfully adopted , of
grafting the Pacanenut on the Black Walnut , or on the
Common Walnut, its vegetation would be incomparably
more rapid , and no motive would discourage its propa-
gation in Europe.

PLATE XXXIL

A leaf of half its natural size. Fig. n, A nut with its husk.
Fig. 2 , A nut without its husk.

ArV«.VVVVVVW^\'VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV\^VVVV\'VVVVW/VV»IVVVVW*VVVVV*»A^/VA^IVVVVV\V\\VVVVVV\^^V\^

BITTERNUT HICKORY.

JuGLANS AMARA. J. arhor maxima , foUolis 7 — 9"'% glabris ,
conspicue serratis , impan breviter petiolaio : fnictu sub-
rotunclo-ovoicleo , superne suturis prominulh ; mice levi ,
subglobosd, mucronatd : putam,ine fjaglli , niicleo amaro.

This species is generally known in New Jersey by
the name of Bitternut Hickory ; in Pennsylvania , and
particvilarly in the county of Lancaster , it is called
White Hickory and sometimes Swamp Hickory j farther
south , it is confounded with the Pignut [Hickory j the
French of Illinois , like the inhabitants of New Jersey ,
give it the name of Bitternut, which, as it indicates one of
the peculiar properties of the fruit, I have chosen to retain.

The Bitternut Hickory , I believe , is nowhere found
much beyond the boundaries of Vermont , in the lati-
tude of 45°. It is not seen in the Province of Maine ,
where the borders of the rivers offer situations, anal-
ogous to those in which it abounds , a few degrees far-
ther south. In Bergen woods , six miles from New-
York , and in the bottoms which stretch along the
Ohio , it grows to a very lofty stature ; I have mea-
sured trees which were 10 or 12 feet in circumference,
and 70 or 80 feet high. It attains these dimensions ,
only in spots where the soil is excellent , constantly
iool , and often inundated by creeks and rivers. It is
probably because it thrives most in such situations ,

//j;

BiUcr Nut Hickory

BlTTERNtTT HICKORY. I7I

that it is sometimes called Swamp Hickory. Oi all the
Hickories the vegetation of this species is the latest ; I
have uniformly observed, that its leaves unfold a fortnight
after the others. On flourishing trees at an age to bear
fruit , they are 12 or 1 5 inches in length and nearly as
much in breadth ; the size , as in other vegetables , va-
ries according to the nature of the soil , and the situa-
tion of the leaf upon a lower or upon an upper branch.
Each leaf is composed of 3 or 4 P^i^ of leaflets ,
and terminated by an odd one, which is larger
than the preceding pair. The leaflets are about 6 in-
ches in length , and an inch in breadth , sessile , oval-
acuminate , deeply toothed, smooth, and of a pretty
dark green. When the tree has shed its leaves , it may
still be distinguished by its yellow and naked buds.

In Pennsylvania and New Jersey , the Bitternut Hic-
kory blossoms about the 25*^ of May. The peduncles of
the barren flowers are in pairs , each supporting three
flexible and pendulous aments : they are attached at
the basis of the shoots of the same season , while the
fertile aments, which are not conspicuous, are placed'
at the extremity.

The fruit is ripe about the beginning of October ; if
is so plentiful that several bushels are sometimes ga-
thered from a single tree. The husk is thin , fleshy, and
surmounted on its upper half by four appendages in
the form of wings. It never becomes ligneous , like
those of the other Hickories, liut softens and decays. The

jr2 BITTEBNUT HICKORY.

form of the nut in this species is more constant and
more regular than in the others. It is broader than it is
long , being 6 or 7 lines one way and 10 lines the other.
The shell is white , smooth , and thin enough to be
broken by the fingers. The kernel is remarkable for the
deep inequalities produced on every side by its fol-
dings. It is so harsh and bitter, that squirrels and other
wild animals will not feed on it , while any other nut
is to be found.

In some parts of Pennsylvania where this tree is
multiplied , an oil is extracted from the nuts , which
is used for the lamp and for other inferior purposes.
But from these experiments , in which individuals have
succeeded , it is not to be concluded that a sufficient
product of this sort can be obtained to form a branch
of industry ; neither this , nor any other species of
Walnut , is abundant enough in the United States.

In the texture of its bark, and in the colour of its
heart and sap , the Bitternut Hickory resembles the
other Hickories , and its wood possesses , though in
an inferior degree , the weight , strength , tenacity ,
and elasticity , which so plainly distinguish them. At
Lancaster , it is used for fuel , but it is not conside-
red superior to the White Oak , nor sold at a higher
price.

The Bitternut Hickory exists and bears fruit in seve-
ral gardens in France ; but as it is of no value for its
nuts , and flourishes only in very fertile soils ; as its

BITTERNUT HICKORY. 1^3

wood , also, is proved in America to be inferior to that
of the following species , I think it should not be propa-
gated in the forests of Europe.

PLATE XXXIII.

A leaf of its natural size. Fig. i , A nut with its husk.
Fig. 1 , A nut without its husk.

WATER BITTERNUT HICKORY.

JuGLANS AQUATICA. i. foUoUs 9— 1 1"", lanceolato-acumi-
natis , subserratis , sessilUbus, imparl breviter petiolato :
fnictibus pedunculatis , nuce subdepressd , parvd , riibigi-
nosd, tenerd.

No specific name has hitherto been given to this spe-
cies , which is confined to the Southern States ; it is con-
founded with the Pignut Hickory , though differing from
it in many respects. The name which I propose, appears
sufficiently appropriate , for I have always found this
tree in swamps, and in the ditches which surround
the rice fields , where it is accompanied by the Red
flow^ering Maple , Tupelo , Cypress , and Carolina Po-
plar. The Water Bitternut Hickory grows to the height
of 4o or 5o feet, and in its general appearance , resem-
bles the other Hickories. Its leaves are 8 or 9 inches long,
and of a beautiftil green. They are composed of 4 or S
pair of sessile leaflets surmounted by a petiolated odd
one. The leaflets are serrate , 4 or ^ inches long , 8 or 9
lines broad , and very similar to the leaves of the
Peach tree.

The husk is thin , and the nuts are small , angular ,
a little depressed at the sides , somewhat rough , of a
reddish colour , and very tender. The kernel is formed
in folds hke that of the Bitternut Hickory : as may be
supposed , it is not eatable. The wood of this species ,

Water Litter Nut Hickoij

WATER BITTERNUT HICKOBY. lyS

though partaking of the common properties of the
Hickories, is in every respect inferior to the others, from
the natm^e of the grounds on which it grows.

The Water Bittern ut Hickory , which I have introdu-
ced into France , flourishes unchecked by the rigours
of our Winters ; but I do not think it deserves to fmd a
place , in the forests of Europe , nor to be spared in
clearing the new lands of America. The southern parts
of the United States possess many sorts of timber more
useful in building, to which purpose this, like the
other Hickories , is poorly adapted.

PLATE XXXiy.

A branch with leaves of the natural size. Fig. i , Nuts
with their husks. Fig. 2 , Nuts without their husks.

MOCKERNUT HICKORY.

JuGLANS TOMENTOSA. i. foUoUs ^ — 9"'*, levUer serratis ,
coiispicue villosis , imparl subpctiolato : amentis com-
positis , longissim.is , fiUfoiinibus , eximie tom.cntosis :
fructu globoso vel oblongo ; nuce quadranguld , crassd ,
dunssim,dque.

In the parts of New Jersey which lie on the river
Hudson , and in the City of New York and its yicini-
nity, this species is known hy the name of Mocker-
nut Hickory , and less commonly of White heart Hic-
kory; at Philadelphia and Baltimore, and in Virginia,
that of Common Hickory is the only one in use. The
French of Illinois call it Noyerdur , or Hard Walnut. The
first of these denominations, which is descriptiye of the
fruit , I have for that reason adopted.

This species is not , as the name which it bears it that
country would indicate , more multiplied in Pennsyl-
vania, and farther south , than the other Hickories. I
have not seen it north of Portsmouth in New Hamp-
shire, though 100 miles south in the neighbourhood
of Boston and Providence , it is common. It is most
abundant in the forests that still remain on the coast
of the middle States , and in those which cover the
Upper parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia ; but in the
last mentioned states, it becomes more rare in ap-

Pl.3o.

Mocker Nut Hiclcory

MOCKERNUT HICKORY. 1 77

preaching the sea , as the sterility of the soil, in general
dry and sandy , is unpropitious to its growth. I have
noticed , however , that this is the only Hickory which
springs in the Pine Barrens : the sprouts are humt
ever^' year , and never rise higher than 3 or 4 feet. I
have made the same observation , in traversing the Big
Barrens of Kentucky and Tennessee, where the Mocker-
nut Hickory and Black Jack Oak alone are seen. They
survive the conflagrations , which almost every spring
envelop the prairies , but their vegetation is checked by
the fire , and they do not exceed the height of 8 or lo
feet.

Like most of the Walnuts , the Mockernut Hickory
flourishes in rich soils , and chiefly on the gentle accliv-
ities which surround the swamps , where it grows ,
mingled with the Sweet Gum, Poplar, Sugar Maple,
Bitternut Hickory , and Black Walnut. In these situa-
tions it reaches its greatest size , which is commonly
about 60 feet in height, and 18 or 20 inches in diam-
eter. I remember to have seen larger Mockernut
Hickories near Lexington in Kentucky , but this extra-
ordinary growth in several species of trees, is rarely
seen on this side of the Alleghanies , and is attributable
to the extreme fertility of the soil in the Western
Country. Of all the Hickories , however , the Mocker-
nut succeeds best on lands of a middling quality ; for
it for forms a part of the waste and impoverished for-
ests , which cover the meager sandy soil of Lower

I. 23

lyS MOCKERNUT HICKORY.

Virginia ; though under these disadvantages it exhibits
but a mean and stunted appearance.

The buds of this species are large , short , of a greyish
white , and very hard ; in the winter , after the falling
of the leaf, they afford the only characteristic by which
the tree can be distinguished , when it exceeds 8 or lo
feet in height. It the beginning of May , the buds swell ,
the external scales fall off, and the inner ones soon
after burst and display the young leaf. The leaves grow
30 rapidly that I have seen them gain 20 inches in
eighteen days. They are composed of 4 pair of sessile
leaflets , and terminated by an odd one. The leaflets
are large oval - acuminate , serrate , pretty thick , and
hairy underneath , as is also the common petiole to
which they are attached. With the first frosts , the leaves
change to a beautiful yellow, and fall soon after. The
barren flowers appear on pendulous , downy, axillary
aments , 6 or 8 inches long ; the fertile flowers , which
are not very conspicuous , are of a pale rose colour , and
are situated at the extremity of the young shoots.

The fruit is ripe about the i5*^ of November. It is
odorous , sessile or rarely pedunculated , and commonly
united in pairs. In form and size , it exhibits remarka-
ble varieties : on some trees it is round , with depressed
seams , on others oblong , with angular or prominent
seams ; it is sometimes 2 inches long and 12 or i5 lines
in diameter , and sometimes of less than half this size.
It differs also in weight, as well as in configuration and

MOCKEENUT HICKORY. 1 79

volume , varying from one dram lo four. The largest
nuls might be confounded with those of the Thick
Shellbark Hickory, and ihe smallest , with those of the
Pignut Hickory : I have selected for the drawing a nut of
the most common size. The shell is very thick , some-
what channeled , and extremely hard. The kernel is
sweet but minute , and difficult to extract , on account
of the strong partitions which divide it : hence , pro-
bably , is derived the name of Mockernut , and hence
also , this fruit is rarely seen in the markets.

The trunk of the old Mockernut Hickory is covered
with a thick , hard , and ragged bark. Its wood is of
the same colour and texture, with the other Hickories ,
and characterised by the qualities which render this
class of trees so remarkable. It is particularly esteemed
ior fuel , for which use , trees of 6 or 8 inches in
diameter are preferred. At this stage of its growth ,
while the heart , the proper colour of which is reddish
is not yet developped, it frequently goes by the name
of White heart Hickory. In the country , a greenish
colour is sometimes extracted from the bark , but it is
not extensively in use.

Of all the Hickories , this speties is of the slawest
growth : a fact which I have proved by planting nuts
of the several species , and by comparing the length of
their annual shoots. I have also been led to believe ,
that it is the most liable to be attacked by worms , and
especially by the Callklium flexuosum ^ whose larva eats

l8o MOCKERNUT HICKORY.

within the body of the tree. These considerations ap-
pears suificiently weighty, to induce cultivators, in form-
ing large plantations , to prefer some of the species
which are described in the sequel.

PLATE XXXV.

A. leaf of a third of its natiwal size. Fig. i, A niit with
its husk. Fig. 2 , A nut without its husk. Fig. 3 , CaUidium
Jlexuosum.

/Y.36

Shell hark iliikorv

»**vvv^^(vv»^^(vvv\^^*vv\rvvvvvvv\^^^^vvvvvv\^^lv\*^^/vvvvvlvvvvvv\vvvvvvvvvvvv^l^^^

SHELLBARK. HICKORY.

JUGLANS SQUAMOSA. J. foUoUs quinis , majorihiis , longe
petiolatis , ovato-acuminatis , serratis , subiiis villosis ,
imparl sessili ; ameniis masculis , compositis , glabris ,
filiformibus : fiiLCta glohoso , depresso, majore ; nuce com^
pressd, alba.

The singular disposition of the bark , in this species,,
has given rise to the descriptive names of Shellbark ,
Shagbark, and Scalybark Hickory, the first of which as
being most generally in use in the middle and southern
states , I have adopted. Many descendants of the Dutch
settlers , w^ho inhabit the parts of the of New Jersey near
the city of New York, call it Kisky Thomas nut^ and
the French of Illinois , know it by the name of Nojer
/g72c?r(g, or Soft Walnut.

Beyond Portsmouth in New Hampshire , I have not
observed the Shell bark Hickory ; and even there , its
vegetation being impeded by the rigours of the climate ,
its stature is low, and its fruit small. I have not found
it in the forests of the District of Maine , nor in those
of Vermont , situated a little higher towards the North.
It abounds on the shores of Lake Erie , about Geneva
in Genesee , along the Mohawk river , in the neighbour-
hood of Goshen in New Jersey , and on the banks of
the Susquehannah and Schuylkill rivers in Pennsylva-

1 62 SHELLBABK HICKORY.

nia. In Maryland , in the lower parts of Virginia , and
in the other southern states it is less common. In South
Carolina , I have nor noticed it nearer Charleston
than the parish of Goose-Creek about 24 miles distant. It
is met with in the Western States , but not as frequen-
tly as the following species, the Thick Shellbark Hic-
kory, to which it bears a striking analogy , and with
which it is confounded by the inhabitants. East of the
AUeghanies , the Shellbark Hickory grows almost ex-
clusively about swamps and wet grounds , which are
exposed to be inundated for several weeks together : in
these situations , it is found in company with the
Swamp White Oak, Red flowering Maple , Sweet Gum,
Buttonwood and Tupelo. Of all the Hickories , this spe-
cies grows to the greatest height with proportionally
the smallest diameter, for it is sometimes seen 80 or
90 feet high , and less than 2 feet thick. The trunk is
destitute of branches, regularly shaped, and of an al-
most uniform size for three quarters of its length, thus
forming a very fine tree. The greatest peculiarity in its
appearance , and that by which it is most easily distin-
guished , is the surface of the trunk. The exterior bark
is divided into a great number of long, narrow plates ,
which bend outwards at the ends , and adhere only in
the middle. Bristhng in this manner with projecting
points , the Shellbark Hickory attracts the attention of
the most careless observer. This remarkable exfoliation
of the epidermis takes place , only in trees which

SHELLBARK HICKORY. i83

exceed lo inches in diameter, though it is much earher
indicated by seams. This characteristic, by which the
tree may be recognised in winter when stript of its
leaves , does not exist during the 7 or 8 first years of
its growth; and during this period, it may easily be
confounded with the Mockernut Hickory and Pignut
Hickory, if recourse is not had to the buds. In these
two species , and generally in all trees , the buds are
formed of scales closely applied one upon another; in
the species which we are considering , the two external
scales adhere for only half the length of the bud , and
leave the upper part uncovered. I allow myself the con-
jecture, that in this disposition of the scales , which is
peculiar to this and the following species , should be
sought the origin of the exfoliation of the bark. When
the sap begins to ascend in the spring, the outer scales
fall, and the inner ones swell and become covered
with a yellowish silky down : after a fortnight , the
buds , which are already 2 inches long , open and give
birth to the young leaves. The growth of the leaves
is so rapid , that in a month they attain their full length,
which on young and vigorous trees, is sometimes 20
inches. They consist of 2 pair of leaflets with a ses-
sil odd one. The leaflets are very large , oval -acumi-
nate , serrate , and slightly downy underneath. The
harren flowers, which in the State of New York appear
from the i5**^ to the 20 ^'^ of May, are disposed as in the
preceding species, on long, glabrous , filiform, pen-

1 84 SHELLBARK HICKORY.

clulous aments , of which three are united on a com-
mon petiole , attached at the basis of the young
shoots ; the fertile flowers , of a greenish hue and scar-
cely apparent , are situated at the extremity. The fruit
of the Shellbark Hickory is ripe about the beginning
of October. Some years it is so abundant , that se-
veral bushels may be gathered from a single tree. It
varies in size , according to the soil and the exposure
in which it is produced , but five inches and a half
may be assumed as the average of its circumference.
The shape is uniformly round, with four depressed
seams , in which the husk opens at the season of
perfect maturity , dividing itself completly into equal
sections. The entire separation of the husk, and its
thickness disproportioned to the size of the nut , form
a character peculiar to the Shellbark Hickories. The
nuts of this species are small , white , compressed at
the sides , and marked by four distinct angles , which
correspond to the divisions of the husk.

The Shellbark nut contains a fuller and sweeter ker-
nel than any American Walnut , except the Pacane-
nut. The shell , though thin, must be cracked before
being brought upon the table , as it is too hard to be
crushed in the fingers Hke the European Walnut ,
which is certainly a superior fruit. These nuts are in
such request, that they form a small article of com-
merce , registered on the list of exports of the products
of the United States. This exportation , which does

SHELLBARK HICKORY. 1 85

not exceed four of five hundred bushels annually ,
takes place from New York and from the small ports
of Connecticut , to the Southern States , to the West
India Islands , and even to Liverpool ; where the
fruit is known by the name of Hickory nuts. In the
market of New York , they are sold at two dol-
lars a bushel. They are gathered in the forests , and
from insulated trees , which , in some places , have
been spared in clearing the lands : a precaution which
I have particularly noticed to have been used near
Goshen in New Jersey, and on several estates about
3o miles beyond Albany.

The Indians who inhabit the Shores of Lake Erie
and Lake Michigan , lay up a store of these nuts for
the winter , a part of which they pound in wooden
mortars , and boiling the paste in water , collect the
oily matter which swims upon the surface , to season
their aliments.

Before speaking of the properties of the wood , I
cannot forbear mentioning a fine variety of Shellbark
nuts , produced upon a farm at Seacocus , near Snake-
hill in New Jersey. They are nearly twdce as large as
any that I have seen elsewhere , and have a white shell
with rounded prominences instead of angles. A cen-
tury of cultivation , perhaps , would not advance the
species generally to an equal degree of perfection,

1 86 SHELLBARK HICKORY.

and probably this variety might still be improved by
grafting.

The wood of the Shellbark Hickory possesses all
the characteristic properties of the Hickories , being
strong , elastic and tenacious. It has also their common
defects of soon decaying and of being eaten by worms.
As this tree stretches up to a great height with nearly
an uniform diameter , it is sometimes employed at
New York and Philadelphia for the keels of vessels ;
but it is now seldom used for this purpose , most of
|,he large trees near the sea ports being already consu-
med. Its wood is found to split most easily and to be
the most elastic ; for this reason it is used for ma-
king baskets, and also for whip-handles which are
esteemed for their suppleness; several cases of them are
annually exported to England. For the same excel-
lence , and for the superior fineness of its grain it is
selected , in the neighbourhood of New York and
Philadelphia , for the back-bows of Windsor chairs ,
which are wholly of wood. I have frequently observed
that among the Hickory wood brought to New York
for fuel , this species predominated.

Such are the uses to which the Shellbark Hickory
appears peculiarly adapted. It has before been seen
to be a tree of lofty stature and of majestic appear-^
ance : I should therefore recommend its introduction
into tli^ European forests , where it should be con-

SHELLBARK HICKORY. 1S7

signed to cool and humid places , congenial with those
in which it flourishes in America. In the North of
Europe it could not fail of succeeding, as it securely
braves the extremest cold.

PLATE XXXVI.

Fig. I , A nut with its husk. Fig. 2, A section of the husk.
Fig. 3, A nut without its husk. Fig. 5 , A barren ament di-
mded into three parts.

THICK SHELLBARR HICKORY.

JuGLANS LACINIOSA. i. folUs majoribus , 7 — g"**, opaio-
acuminatis , serratis , suhtomentosis , imparl , petiolato :
fructu majore, ovato ; nuce oblongd , crassd, mediocriter
compressd.

This species bears a striking analogy to the preceding,
and is frequently confounded with it by the inhabitants
of the Western Country : some of them distinguish it
by the name of Thick Shellbark Hickory , which should
be preserved as its appropriate denomination. East
of the Alleghanies this tree is rare, and is found only
in a few places ; it grows on the Schuylkill river 3o
or 4o miles from its junction with the Delaware , and
in the vicinity of Springfield i5 or 20 miles from Phi-
ladelphia , where its fruit is called Springfield nut. It is
also found in Glocester County , in Virginia , under
the name of Glocester Walnut. These different deno-
minations confirm my observation , that this species is
little multiplied on the eastern side of theAUeghany moun-
tains ; a fact of which I became assured in travelling
through the country. It abounds , on the other hand ,
in the bottoms which skirt the Ohio and the rivers
which empty into it , where it vmites with the Honey
Locust , Black Maple, Hackberry , Black Walnut, Wild
Cherry, White and RedElm, Box Elder, White Maple,

//./.'-

Tlnck Shell l>arlv Hickory

THICK SHELLBARK HICKORY. 1 89

and Button wood, to form the thick and gloomy forests
which cover these vallies. Like the Shellbark Hickory it
grows to the height of 80 feet , and its ample head is
supported by a straight trunk, in diameter, proportio-
ned to its elevation. The bark exhibits the same singular
arrangement with that of the Shellbark Hickory :
it is divided into strips from i to 3 feet long , which
are warped outwards at the end , and attached only in
the middle. They fall and are succeeded by others sim-
ilarly disposed. It is only observable that in this spe-
cies the plates are narrower , more numerous , and of
a hghter colour ; from which differences , I have thought
proper to give it the specific name of ladniosa. The
outer scales of the buds do not adhere entirely to the
inner ones , but retire as in the Shellbark Hickory. The
leaves also , which vary in length from 8 to 20 inches ,
observe the same process in unfolding , and are similar
in size , configuration , and texture ; but they differ in
being composed of seven leaflets, and sometimes
of nine instead of five, the invariable number of the
Shellbark Hickory. The barren aments are disposed in
the same form , though they are , perhaps , a little long-
er than in the olher species. The fertile flowers ap-
pear , not very conspicuously , at the extremity of the
shoots of the same spring. They are succeeded by a
large oval fruit, more than 1 inches long, and 4 or 5
inches in circumference. Like that of the Shellbark
Hickory, it has four depressed seams , which at its com-

igO THICK SHELLEABK HICKOBY.

plete maturity, open through their whole length for the
escape of the nut. The nut of this species is widely dif-
ferent from the other ; it is nearly twice as big , it is
longer than it is broad , and is terminated at each end in
a firm point. The shell is also thicker and of a yellow-
ish hue , while that of the Shellbark ntit is white.

From the colour of its nut , the Shellbark Hickory re-
ceived the specific name oialba, which I have changed,
as it indicates a character possessed by it in common
with another species , found in the Royal gardens of
the Petit Trianon, This species , originally from North
America , belongs to the Scalybark Hickories. The nuts
are white , and the entire fruit , though a little inferior
in size, resembles that of the proper Shellbark Hickory.
By its foliage, it is related to the Thick Shellbark Hic-
kory , each leaf being composed of 4 pair of leaflets
wdth an odd one. The specific name of ambigua, might
with propriety be given to it.

The nuts of the Thick Shellbark Hickory are brought
every autumn to the market of Philadelphia, but the quan-
tity does not exceed a few bushels , and they are generally
sold mixed vdth those of the Mockernut Hickory , which
resemble some varieties of this species.The GlocesterHick-
ory I consider only as a variety of the Thick Shellbark
Hickory, to which it bears the strongest likeness in its ap-
pearance, in its young shoots, in the number of its
leaflets , and in its barren aments. The only essential
difference is in the nuts ; those of the Glocester Walnut

THICK SHELLBARK HICKORY. 19I

are a third larger, with the shell one half thicker , and
so hard that it requires pretty heavy blows of a hammer
to crack them. In colour , they resemble the nuts of the
Mockernut Hickory , with th€ fmest varieties of which ,
they might from this circumstance be confounded.

Th€ Thick Shellbark Hickory, as has been said, is
nearly related to the Shellbark Hickory, and its wood,
which is of the same colour and texture , unites the
peculiar qualities of that species , with such as are
common to the Hickories. Its fruit , though larger , is
inferior in tast^ and this consideration should induce pro-
prietors in the Western Country, in clearing their new
lands , to spare the true Shellbark Hickory in prefer-
ence, when both species are found upon the same
soil. For the same reason , and for its favourable growth
in less fertile grounds, and even in elevated situations ,
a fact which I have observed near Brownsville on the
Alleghany river , the same preference should , I think,
be given to it in the forests of Europe.

In the description of the Scaly bark Hickories it has
been seen , that they exliibit many striking traits of re-
semblance , which may warrant the grouping of them
into a secondary section. Besides their generic and
specific characters , they possess others peculiar to
themselves , by which they are so nearly related , that
were it not for some remarkable differences , they might
be treated as a single species. The general characters
of the Hickories are , three-clefted , pliable , and pen-

192 THICK SHELLBARK HICKORY.

dulous barren aments , and certain common proper-
ties of the wood. To these are added in the Scaly Hick-
ories , a very thick husk covering the nut completely ,
^nd divided into four parts w^hen ripe ; a shaggy bark
on the trunk , indicated , in my opinion , by the
external scales of the buds not adhering to those be-
neath ; and leaves composed of very large leaflets of
an uniform shape and texture. In comparing the three
species with each other , essential differences are ob-
served. The Shellbark Hickory , for instance , and the
Juglans ambigua are constantly distinguished by the num-
ber of leaflets , which is always five in the first spe-
cies , and nine in the last. Their nuts and the entire
fruit , on the other hand , are so much 'alike , that
they might be mistaken for the product of the same
tree ; the fruit of both is round with depressed seams ,
and the nuts are similarly moulded and equally
white. If, on a more attentive examination , the Gloces-
ter Hickory is determined to be a distinct species from
the Thick Shellbark Hickory , it wifl be observed that
they resemble each other in their leaves, composed
of sei^en and sometimes of nine leaflets , and in the
luxuriant force of their vegetation ; but that they differ
in their fruit , which in the Thick Shellbark Hickory
is oblong with a compressed nut , like that of the
Shellbark Hickory, of twice the size , and of a
yellowish colour , and in the Glocester Hickory
spherical and very large , with a big , greyish white

THICK SHELLBARK HICKORY. 1 98

nut, nearly round, whose shell is two lines thick and
extremely hard. In fine , it is to be remarked , that the
species and the variety of the Scalybark Hickory which
have been described , grow , or at least, are most abun-
dantly multiplied in regions far remote from each
other.

PLATE XXXVIL

A leaf of one third of its natural size. Fig. i , A section
of the husk. Fig. 2 , Nuts.

■¥^

25

VVVV^AIVVV¥VV«AIX.VVVVVVVVVWVVV»VVVVV*VVVVVVVVVV*VVVVVVVV\^'VVVVVVVVVWV\VVVVV^^

PIGNUT HICKORY.

JuGLANS PORCINA. J. folioUs 5 — 7"'*, ovato -acuminatls ,
seiratis , glabris : amcntis mascuUs compositis , jUifoiTni"
bus , glabris ; fnictu pyiiformi vel globoso ; mice minimd ,
levi , durlssimd.

This species is generally knowii in the United States
by the name of Pignut and Hognut Hickory, some-
times also by that of Broom Hickory. The first of
these names is most commonly in use ; the others are
known only in some districts of Pennsylvania and
particularly in the County of Lancaster. Portsmouth
in New Hampshire may be considered as limiting
towards the north, the climate of this tree. A little
farther south it is abundant , and in the Atlantic parts
of the middle States , it helps , with the Mockernut
Hickory, White Oak, Swamp white Oak, Sweet Gum,
and Dogwood , to form the mass of the forests. In
the Southern States , especially near the coast , it is less
common in the woods , being found only on the bor-
ders of swamps and in places which are wet without
being absolutely marshy , or exposed to be long inun-
dated. This tree is met with in the Western Country ,
but less frequently, I believe, than the Thick Shell-
bark and Mockernut Hickories. I have observed
that the last mentioned species grows wherever the

/"/.SS

Pig ]Nut Hickory

PIGNUT HICKORY. 105

Pignut is found , but that the Pignut does not always
accompagny the Mockernut , which is satisfied with
a less substantial soil. This remark I have made more
particularly in the lower parts of Virginia , of the two
Carolinas , and of Georgia. If appears then , that , with
the exception of States of Vermont and New Hamps-
hire , of the District of Maine, of the Genesee Coun-
try, and of the cold and mountainous tracts along
the whole range of the Alleghany mountains , this tree
is more or less abundant in the forests , throughout
the United States.

The Pignut Hickory is one of the^ largest trees of
the United States. It grows to the height of 70 or 80
feet, with a diameter of 3 or 4 feet. In the winter
when stript of its leaves , it is easily known by the
shoots of the preceding summer , which are brown ,
less than half as large as those of the Mockernut and
Shellbark Hickories , and terminated by small oval buds.
At this season , it is easy also to distinguish the Bit-
ternut Hickory, by its naked and yellow buds. The
buds of this species , as in the other Hickories with
scaly buds , are more than an inch in length , a few days
before their unfolding. The inner scales are the largest
and of a reddish colour. The do not fall till the leaves are
6 or 6 inches long. The leaves are compound , and vary in
size and in the number of leaflets , according to the mois-
ture and fertility of the soil. In rich grounds , they are 18
inches long; and the complete number of leaflets is 3 pair

ig6 PIGNUT HICKORY.

with an odd one. The leaflets are 4 or 5 inches long ,
acuminate, serrate, nearly sessile, and glabrous or
smooth on both sides. On vigorous trees , which grow
in shady exposures , the petiole is of a violet colour.

The barren aments are smooth, filiform, flexible,
and pendulous : they are 2 inches long , and in their
arrangement , resemble those of the other Hickories.
The fertile flowers are greenish, not very conspicuous,
and situated at the extremity of the shoot : the fruit
succeeds them in pairs as often as single. The husk is
thin and of a beautiful green :when ripe, it opens through
half its length , for the passage of the nut. The nut is
small , smooth , and very hard on account of Ihe thick-
ness of the shell. Its kernel is sweet but meager and
difficult to extract , from the firmness of the partitions.
These nuts are never carried to market , but serve for
food to swine , racoons , and the numerous species of
squirrels which people the forests.

In the Pignut Hickory , the form and size of the nuts,
vary more than in the other species. Some are oval ,
and when coveredwith their husks, resemble youngfigs ;
others are broader than they are long , and others are
perfectly round. Among these various forms , some nuts
are as large as the thumb , and others not bigger than
the little finger. Although the same tree yields fruit of
the same form every year , I cannot , after an attentive
examination of the young shoots and of the aments,
consider these differences in any other light than as va-

PIGNUT HICKOBY. 1 97

rieties. The two most remarkable of them are described
in the new edition of the Species plantarum by Willde-
now , as distinct species. That with oblong fruit is called
Juglans glabra ^ and that with round fruit and a husk
somewhat rough , Juglans obcordafa. Doctor Muhlen-
berg admits this distinction , but with all the deference
which I owe to his botanical knowledge , I cannot adopt
his opinion.

The wood of the Pignut Hickory resembles that of the
other species , in the colour of its sap and of its heart : it
possesses also their excellencies and their defects. I have
conversed with wheel-wrights in the country, who
afiirmedthat it is the strongest and the most tenacious
of the Hickories, and who , for that reason , preferred
it to any other for axle-trees and ax-handles. These con-
siderations lead me to recommend its introduction into
the forests of Europe , where its success would be certain.

PLATE XXXVIII.

A branch with its leaves of one third of the natural
size. Fig. i , A nut with its husk (oblong variety ). Fig. 1 , A
nut without its husk. Fig. 3 , A nut with its husk ( round ra-
jiety). Fig. 4, A nut without its husk.

NUTMEG HICKORY.

JuGLANS MYRISTIC-^FOEMIS. Z. folUs qidnis , folioUs ovaio-
acuminatis , serratis , gle-hns : fmctu ovato , scabriusculo ;
nuce rninirnd , durlssimd.

No specific denomination has hitherto been given to
this species by the inhabitants the Middle States , to
which it is peculiar : that of Nutmeg Hickory which I
have formed appears sufficiently appropriate , from the
resemblance of its nut to a nutmeg.

I have not myself found this tree in the forets ,
and hence I conclude that it is not common. It is
true I had not, at the period of my residence in that
part of the United States , conceived the design of the
present work, and did not devote myself entirely
to the researches , which have since given birth to it.
I am acquainted wath the Nutmeg Hickory only by a
branch and a handfull of nuts, given me at Charleston
in the fall of 1802 by the gardener of M'. H. Izard,
which he had gathered , in a swamp on his master's
plantation of the Elms , in the Parish of Goose creek.
From this specimen alone I have included the tree
among the Hickories.

The leaves , which are composed of four leaflets with
an odd one , are symetrically arranged. I remarked
also , that the shoots of the preceding year were flexible
and tough.

Bwm Jcu^'

Nutinoo^ Hickory Niil

NUTMEG HICKORY. 199

The nuls are very small , smooth , and of a brown
colour marked with lines of white ; the husk is thin
and somewhat rough on the surface. The shell is so
thick that it constitutes two thirds of the volume of
the nut , which , consequently , is extremely hard ,
and has a minute kernel. This fruit is still interior to
the Pignut. *

I suspect that the Nutmeg Hickory is more common
in Lower Louisiana * : it belongs to inquirers who en-
gage in researches analogous to those which I have pur-
sued in the Atlantic and Western States , to study this
tree more fully than I have been able to do, and to com-
plete the imperfect description which I have given of it.

PLATE XXXIX.

A branch and nuts with their husks. Fig. i , A nut with-
out its husk.

* In the interesting work of M'. W. Darby on Louisiana , published
at Philadelphia in 1817, the Nutmeg Hickory is said to abound on
the waters of Red river in the Mississipi Territory. F. A. M,

^«V\WWVWWWVVWWW\« )

RECAPITULATION

OF THE PROPERTIES AND USES

OF HICKORY WOOD.

In the summary introduction to the History of the
Walnuts of North America , it was remarked , that
those of the second section , or the Hickories , exhi-
bit great variations in the size and shape of their
fruit , in the number of leaflets which compose their
leaves , and in their general appearance , from the ef-
fect of soils of different degrees of moisture. Hence
result, in many cases , mutual resemblances so stri-
king , that a person not familiar with this class of
trees , might easily confound distinct species , or describe
as different species what are mere varieties. On taking
of the epidermis or dead part , the same organisation
is observed in the bark of all the Hickories. In other
trees the fibre and the cellular substance are con-
founded ; here , on the contrary , they are separate ,
and the fibre is regularly disposed in the form of lo-
zenges , which are smaller in young trees , than in
such as are more fully grown. An arrangement so pe-
culiar and remarkable has a beautiful effect , and great
advantage might be taken of it in cabinet-making , if this
bark was not , like other species, liable to warp. It affords
nevertheless an interesting object in vegetable physiol-

RECAPITULATION. 20I

ogy.So close an analogy exists in the wood of these trees,
that when stript of the bark , no difference is discerni-
ble in the grain , which is coarse and open in all , nor
in the colour of the heart , which is uniformly reddish.
To these conspicuous properties are added others wor-
thy of remark, which, as has been observed , though
modified in the several species , are possessed by them
all in a higher degree , than by any other tree of the same
latitude in Europe or America. These are great weight ,
strength , and tenacity , a speedy decay when exposed
to heat and moisture , and peculiar liability to injury
from worms. According to thi?se prominent excellen-
cies and defects , the uses of their wood are pretty well
determined , and to these uses th^y are indiscriminately
applied.

Hickory timber is employed in no part of the United
States in the building of houses , because , as has been
before observed, it is too heavy, and soon becomes worm
eaten. But if its defects forbid its employment in
architecture , its good qualities , on the other hand ,
render it proper for many secondary uses , which could
not be as well subserved by any other wood.Throughout
the Middle States , it is selected for the axle-trees of
carriages , for the handles of axes and other carpenter's
tools, and for large screws, particularly those of book-
binder's presses. The cogs of mill-wheels are made of
Hickory heart thoroughly seasoned ; but it is proper only
for such wheels as are not exposed to moisture ; and for

I. - 2.6

202 RECAPITULATION.

this reason some other wood is, by many mill-wrights, pre-
ferred. The rods which form the back of Windsor chairs,
coach-whip-handles, musket-stocks, rake-teeth, flails for
threshing grain , the bows of yokes , or the elliptical
pieces which pass under the necks of the cattle; all these
are objects customarily made of Hickory. At Balti-
more it is used for the hoops of sieves , and is more es-
teemed than the White Oak, which is equally elastic , but
more apt to peel off in small shreds into the substance
sifted. In the country near Augusta in Georgia , I have
remarked that the common chairs are of Hickory wood.
In New Jersey it is employed for shoeing sledges , that is,
for covering the runners or parts which slide upon the
snow; but to be proper for this vise it must have been
cut long enough to have become perfectly dry.

Of the numerous trees of North America east of the
Alleghany mountains , none except the Hickory is per-
fectly adapted to the making of hoops for casks and
boxes. For this purpose vast cjuantities of it are consum-
ed at home , and exported to the West India Islands.
The hoops are made ofyoung Hickories from 6 to 12 feet
high , without choice as to the species. The largest hoop-
poles sold at Philadelphia and New York in February
1808 , at three dollars a hundred. Each pole is split into
two parts , and the hoop is crossed and confined by
notches , instead of being bound at the end with twigs,
like those made of Ghesnut. From the solidity of the
wood , this method appears sufficiently secure.

EECAPITULATION. 20 3

When it is considered how large a part of the pro-
ductions of the United States is packed for exportation
in barrels , an estimate may be formed of the necessary
consumption of hoops. In consequence of it, young
trees proper for this object have become scarce in all
parts of the country which have long been settled. The
evil is greater, as they do not sprout a second time
from the same root , and as their growth is slow.
The cooper can not lay up a store of Ihem for future
vise, for unless employed within a year , and often
wilhin six months after being cut , they are attacked by
two species of insect ; one of these, which eats within
the wood, and commits the greatest ravages , is represen-
ted on the plate of the Mockernut Hickory , the wood of
which species I have observed to be peculiarly liable ta
its attacks.

The defects which unfit the Hickory for use in
the building of houses, equally exclude it from the
construction of vessels. At New York and Philadelphia ,
the Shellbarka nd Pignut Hickories have been taken for
keels , and are found to last as long as those of other
wood , owing ta their being always in the water. Gf
the two species, the Pignut would be preferable as being
kss liable to spht , but it is rarely found of as large di-
mensions as the other.

In sloops and schooners the rings by which the sails
are hoisted and confined to the mast , are always of
Hickory. I have also been assured^ that for attaching thfv

2o4 RECAPITULATION.

cordage it makes excellent pegs , which are stronger than
tliose of Oak: but ihey should set loosely in the holes, as
otherwise for want of speedily seasoning , they soon
decay. For handspikes the Hickory is particulary es-
teemed on account of its strength : it is accordingly
employed in most American vessels , and is exported
for the same purpose to England , where it sells from
Soto lOO per cent higher than Ash , which is brought
also from the North of the United States. The Hicko-
ries are cut without distinction for this vise , but the
Pignut , I believe , is the best.

All the Hickories are very heavy , and in a given
volume contain a great quantity of combustible matter.
They produce an ardent heat, and leave a heavy, com-
pact, and long lived coal. In this respect, no wood of
the same latitude , in Europe or America , can be com-
pared to them : such , at least , is the opinion of all
Europeans who have resided in the United States. At
New York , Philadelphia and Baltimore , people in easy
circumstances , burn no other wood , and though it is
sold 5o per cent higher than Oak, it is found profitable
iu use. It sold at New York the 20'i» of October 1807 at
i5 dollars a cord , and Oak wood at 10 dollars. From
its superior quality, the Hickory is always sold separately.
I have noticed that at New York, the Shellbark predom-
inated in the fuel, and at Philadelphia and Baltimore,
the Mockernut. At Baltim^ore the Shellbark, easily recog-
nised by its scaly bark , is never seen.

RECAPITULATION. 2o5

The quantity of the respective species of Hickory
consumed in the cities, is regulated by a soil and
climate , more favorable to one than another , and not
by an opinion entertained of their comparative excel-
lence ; though experience shew^s the Mockernut to be
the best and the Bitternut the poorest. This difference ,
how^ever, is too slight to be generally regarded.

Of the uses to v^hich the Hickory is devoted in the
United States , tw^o ^vill principally contribute , together
with the slowness of its growth , to its entire extermi-
nation ; these are , the cutting of the saplings for hoops,
and of the trees for fuel. These considerations indepen-
dantly of many accessory causes , which hasten the de-
struction of the forests in this part of the new world ,
lead me to believe , that in lest than 5o years , they
will not furnish a tenth part of the hoops demanded in
commerce. Hence arise motives sufficiently powerful to
engage proprietors , who seek to preserve their woods,
and to augment their value , to multiply in them the
most useful trees , and especially the Hickories. The
object might be fully attained by planting walnuts ,
previously made to germinate in boxes filled with earth ,
and kept moist in the cellar : the success of this simple
method is certain. It would be advantageous also, to
plant a greater number than the soil can sustain , that
when the poles are an inch in diameter, a part of them
may be cut for hoops , while the rest are left to
grow for fuel, or for other uses to which the Hickory is
appropriate.

i2o6 RECAPITULATION.

It has been seen by what precedes , that though the
Hickory wood has essential defects , they are com-
pensated by good properties which render it valuable
in the arts , and which entitle it to the attention of
Europeans ; above all , as a combustible. Though its
growth is slow during its early years , it should form a
part of our forests. But I doubt whether this can be ef-
fected except by planting nuts in the woods, for the trees,
even when very young , with difficulty survive transplan-
tation. Before they are 3 lines in diameter and i8 inches
tall , they have a tap root 3 feet long and destitute of
fibres. Hence it has happened , that of more than a
hundred thousand young plants, produced by nuts
which I have at different times sent to France, very
few are found alive. They have perished in the re-
moval from the nursery , ar in the second transplan-
tation to the place of their ultimate destination. The
Black ^Walnut and Bittemut, on the contrary, whose
roots do not descend deeply and are plentifully garnished
Math fibres , easily recover themselves after transplan-
tation, even when 6 or 8 feet high at the time of their
removal.

In concluding this article I recommend particu-
lary for propagation in European forests the Shellbark
Hickory and the Pignut Hickory , whose wood unites
in the highest degree the valuable properties of the
group. I think also that the Pacanenut merits attention
from promoters of viseful culture, not so much for its
wood as for its fruit, which is excellent and more deli-

RECAPITULATION. 20J

cate than that of the European Walnut. It might prob-
ably be doubled in size, if the practice was successfully
adopted of grafting this species upon the Black Walnut
or upon the Common European Walnuts

it

*

MAPLES.

Of the species which compose this genus, the number
known is already considerable , and will probably be
augmented by the future researches of Botanists , espe-
cially on the continent of North America.

The Maples , in general , are lofty and beautiful trees.
One of their principal characters consists in opposite
leaves divided into several very distinct lobes. Capable of
enduring an intense degree of cold , Ihey form in the
North of the Old and of the New continent , extensive
forests , which , with those of the Beech , appear to
succeed the Spruce , the Larch, and the Pine , and to pre-
cede the Chesnut and the Oak. Such, at least, seems to be
in America between the 4^ and 4^ degrees of latitude,
the place assigned by nature to the true Sugar Maple.

The species of Maples hitherto described amount to
fourteen , of which seven belong to Europe , and seven
to North America. Among these last I have not included
the Dwarf Pied Mai^le.Acercoccineum, which is a diminu-
tive species , and concerning which I do not possess ade-
quate materials for a description. It abounds in Nova
Scotia and has always been confounded with the proper
Red Maple ; I have also observed it in the upper parts
of New Hampshire. It scarcely exceeds 12 or 18 feet in
height, and its flowers and seeds are of a more vivid
red than those of the Pied Maple. The Black sugar Maple

:2IO MAPLES.

grows to about the same height Yvdth the Sugar Maple ,
but it is plainly a distinct species. In the collection of
dried plants made by Cap '*. Lewis and Clarke during their
journey to the south sea , I saw specimens of a beautiful
Maple from the banks of Columbia river.

From this brief summary it results that the North
American species are more numerous than those of
Europe. The wood of the Maples differs so widely in
quality in different species, that it becomes difficult to
characterize it by general observations : it may be remar-
ked that it speedily ferments and decays when exposed to
the weather, that it is liable to be injured by worms, and
that hence , it is unfit for building. It possesses properties
however , which compensate in part for these defects ,
and which render it useful in the arts and in domestic
economy. For more particular information , I must refer
the reader to the descriptions of the respective species.

METHODICAL DISPOSITION

OF THE MAPLES

OF NORTH AMERICA,

INCLUDING TWO EUEOPEAN SPECIES.

Polygamia dioecia , LiNN. Accra , Juss.
I.*' SECTION.

Sessile flowers. Fructification venial.

1. "White Maple Acer eriocarpum.

2. Red flowering Maple. . . Acerruhram.

2."*^ SECTION.

Pedunculated flowers. Fructification autumnal.

3. Sugar Maple Acer saccharinum,

4- Rlack sugar Maple Acer nigrum.

5. Norway Maple Acer platanoides.

6. Sycamore Acerpseudo-platanus^

7. Moose wood Acer striatum.

8. Box elder. ........ Acer negundo.

9. Mountain Maple Acer montanum^

PI. do.

Bf.rj'a Jel .

Wliito Maple

Acer criocarvu/n

Gabriel •rculp.

WHITE MAPLE.

Acer eriocarpum. k.foUis oppositis , qidnquelobis , pro-
funde sinuatis, incequaliter dentatis , subtiis candldissi-
mis : jlonbus pentandrls ^ apeialis.

In the Atlantic parts of the United States , this species
is often confounded with the Red Maple which it nearly
resembles ; west of the Mountains , they are constantly
distinguished, and Xh^ Acer enocarpum is known by no
other name than White Maple.

The banks of Sandy river in the District of Maine , and
those of the Connecticut near Windsor in Vermont , are
the most northern points at which I have seen theWhite
Maple. But , like many other vegetables , it is pinched by
the rigorous \vinters of this latitude , and never reaches
the size which it attains a few degrees farther south.
It is found on the banks of all the rivers which flow from
the mountains to the Ocean , though it is less common
along the streams which water the southern parts
of the Carolinas and of Georgia. In no part of the
United States is it more multiplied than in the western
country,and nowhere is its vegetation more luxuriant than
on the banks of the Ohio , and of the great rivers which
empty into it. There, sometimes alone, and sometimes
mingled with the Willow, which is found along all these
waters, it contributes singularly by its magnificent fo-

21 4 WHITE MAPLE.

liage to the embellishment of the scene. The brilliant
white of the leaves beneath forms a striking contrast
with the bright green above, and the alternate reflexion
of the two surfaces in the water , heightens the beauty
of this wonderful moving mirror . and aids in forming
an enchanting picture, which, during my long excursions
in a canoe in these regions of solitude and silence, I con-
templated with unwearied admiration. Beginning at Pitts-
burgh , and even some miles above the junction of the
Alleghany and Monongahela rivers , White Maples
12 or 1 5 feet in circumference are continually met with
at short distances.

The trunk of this tree is low , and divides itself into
a greatii umber of limbs so divergent, that they form
a head more spacious than that of any other tree with
which I am acquainted. It is worthy of remark ,
that the White Maple is found on the banks of such
rivers only as have limpid waters and a gravelly bed ,
and never in swamps and other wet grounds inclosed
in forests, where th6 soil is black and miry. These
situations , on the contrary , are so well adapted to the
Red Maple , that they are frequently occupied by it
exclusively. Hence the last mentioned species is common
in the Lower parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, where
the White Maple is no longer seen j for as soon as
the rivers , in descending from the mountains towards
the Ocean , reach the low country, they begin to be bor-
dered by miry swamps covered with the Cypress , Black-
gum, Large Tupelo, etc.

WHITE MAPLE. 2l5

The White Maple blooms early in the spring : its
flowers are small and sessile with a downy ovanum. The
fruit is larger than that of any other species which grows
east of the Mississipi. It consists of two capsules joined
at the base , each of which encloses one roundish seed ,
and is terminated by a large, membraneous, falciform
wing. In Pennsylvania it is ripe about the i^^ of May and
^ month earlier on the Savannah river, in Georgia. At this
period, the leaves which have attained half their size
are very downy underneath ; a month later, when fully
grown, they are perfectly smooth. They are opposite
and supported by long petioles ; they are divided by
deep sinuses into four lobes , are toothed on the «dges ,
of a bright green on the upper surface , and of a beau-
tiful white beneath. The foliage however is scattered
and leaves an open thoroughfare to the sun beams.

The wood of this Maple is very white, and of a fine
grain ; but it is softer and lighter than that of the other
species in the United States , and from its want of
strength and durability it is little used. Wooden bowls
are sometimes made of it when Poplar cannot be pro-
cured. At Pittsburgh , and in the neighbouring towns ,
it serves in cabinet-making, instead of Holly, for in-
laying furniture of Mahogany, Cherry tree, and Walnut :
though it is less proper for this purpose , as it soon
changes colour. The hatters of Pittsburgh prefer the
charcoal of this wood to every other for heating
their boilers , as it affords a heat more uniform , and

^

2l6 WHITE MAPLE.

of longer continuance. Some of the inhabitants on
the Ohio make sugar of its sap, by the same process
which is employed with the Sugar Maple. Like the Red
Maple, it yields but half the product from a given measure
of sap ; but the unrefmed sugar is whiter and more
agreeable to the taste than that of the Sugar Maple.
The sap is in motion earlier in this species than in the
Sugar Maple, beginning to ascend about the i5'^ of
January ; so that the work of extracting the sugar is
sooner completed. The cellular integument rapidly
produces a black precipitate with sulphate of iron.

In all parts of the United States where this tree
abounds , many others are found of superior value :
its secondary consequence is evinced by the unim-
portant uses to which it is devoted.

In Europe , the White Maple is multiplied in nur-
series and gardens. Its rapid growth affords hopes of
cultivating it with profit in this quarter of the world ,
which is less rich in the diversity of its species. In for-
ming plantations , more care than has hitherto been
taken, should be paid to the choice of the ground , which
should be constantly moist, or exposed to annual inunda-
tions : in such situations its vegetation would be supri-
singly beautiful and rapid.

PLATE XL.

A branch, withleai?es of the natural size. Fig. i, Barren
flowers. Fig. 2 , Fertile flowers. Fig. 5 , A seed of the natural
size.

Red il(y\\ ermo'Mapl(

^aJne/ jra^

Acer /'///>/

V VMfVWWV VWVVVVWW\IVVVWVVWWWVWW\'VVVWVW

RED FLOWERING MAPLE.

Acer rubrum. A. foliis oppositis , trilohis , incequaliter
dentatis, subtus glaiicis : Jloribus ruhrls, aggregatis ; ger-
mine glabenimo ; umbellis sessilibus : capsules ixibrls ,
pedunculatis.

Different names are given to this tree in different
parts of the United States : east of the Alleghany moun-
tains it is called Red flowering Maple , Swamp Maple
and Soft Maple ; in the Western Country, simply Maple.
The first denomination , which is most generally in use ,
is also most appropriate, as the young shoots, the flowers,
and the fruit are red.

Toward the north, the Red flowering Maple, ap-
pears first about Malebaye , in Canada , in the latitude
of 48'*; but it soon become more common in proceeding
southward , and is found abundant to the extremities
of Florida and Lower Louisiana. Of all the trees w^hich
flourish in wet grounds occasionnally overflowed , this
species is most multiplied in the Middle and Southern
States. It occupies,in great part,the borders of the creeks,
and abounds in all the swamps which are often inun-
dated, and always miry. In these situations , it is accom-
panied by the Blackgum , Sweetgum , Shellbark Hick-
ory , Swamp White Oak , Black Ash and White Ash.
To these are added in the Carolinas and Georgia, the
Small Magnolia or Swamp Bay, the Water Oak, Lob-

2i8 RED FLOWERING MAPLE.

lolly Bay , Tupelo, and Red Bay. It is a remarkable fact,
that west of the mountain^ , between Brownsville and
Pittsburgh, the Red flowering Maple is seen growing
on elevated ground with the Oaks and the Walnuts. I
have nowhere observed it of as ample dimensions as ia
Pennsylvania andNew Jersey : in these States exist exten-
sive marshes , called Maple swamps , exclusively covered
with it, where it is found 70 feet high and 3 or 4 feet
in diameter.

The Red flowering Maple is the earliest tree whose
bloom announces the return of spring ; it is in flower
near New York from the 10 to the i5 of April. The
blossoms of a beautiful purple or deep red , unfold
more than a fornight before the leaves. They are sessile ,
aggregate, and situated at the extremity of the branches.
The fruitis suspended by longflexible peduncles and is of
the same hue with the flowers , though it varies in size
and in the intensity of its colouring , according to the
exposure and dampness of the soil. The leaves are
smaUer than those of the preceding species , but in some
respects , they resemble them. They are glaucous or
whitish underneath , and are palmated or divided into
3 or 4 acuminate lobes , irregularly toothed. The extre-
mities of this tree , which are formed by numerous
twigs united at the base , have a remarkable appearance
when garnished with flowers and seeds of a deep red ,
before vegetation has begun generally to revive.

Before the Red flowering Maple exceeds 25 or 3o

RED FLOWERING MAPLE. 219

feet in height and 7 or 8 inches in diameter, its bark
is perfectly smooth, and marked with white blotches,
by which it is easily distinguishable. Afterwards , the
trunk , hke that of the White Oak and Sweet Gum ,
becomes brown and chapped. In this tree , as in
others which grow in wet places , the sap bears a large
proportion to the heart, if indeed the name of heart can
properly be given to the irregular star which occupies
the center of large trunks , with points , from i to 3
inches in length , projecting into the sap.

The wood of the Red flowering Maple is applicable
to interesting uses. It is harder than that of the White
Maple, and of a finer and closer grain : hence it is easily
wrought in the lathe , and acquires by polishing a
glossy and silken surface. It is sufficiently solid , and for
many purposes it is preferred by workmen to other
kinds of wood. It is principally employed for the lower
part of Windsor chairs : the pieces are turned in the
country , and so considerable is the demand , that boats
laden with them arrive at New York and Philadelphia,
where an extensive manufacture is carried on , for the
consumption of the neighbouring towns, and for exporta-
tion to the Southern States and to theWest India Islands.
The whole frame of japanned chairs is of this wood,
except the back , for which Hickory is chosen on ac-
count of its superior strength and elasticity. The frame,
the nave, and the spokes of spinning wheels are made
of it : at Philadelphia it is exclusively employed for sad^

220 RED FLOWERIISG MAPLE.

die trees , and in the country it is preferred for yokes . and
also for shovels and wooden dishes , which are brought
to market , and purchased by the dealers in wooden
ware.

It sometimes happens that in very old trees, the grain
instead of followirig a perpendicular direction, is undu-
lated, and this variety bears the name of Curled Maple.
This singular arrangement , of which I am able to assign
no cause , is never witnessed in young trees , nor in the
branches of such as exhibit it in the trunk : it is also
less conspicious at the center , than near the circum-
ference. Trees offering this disposition are rare , and do
not exist in the proportion of one to a hundred. The
serpentine direction of the fibre , which renders them
difficult to split and to work , produces in the hands
of a skilful mechanic, the most beautiful effects of light
and shade. These effects are rendered more striking, if,
after smoothing the surface of the wood with a double
ironed plane , it is rubbed with a little sulphuric acid ,
and afterwards anointed with linseed oil. On examining
it attentively,the varying shades are found to be owing en-
tirely to the inflexion of the rays of light ; which is more
sensibly perceived in viewing it in different directions
by candle light.

Before Mahogany became generally fashionable in the
United States , the most beautiful furniture was of Red
flowering Maple, and bedsteads are still made of it,
which,in richness and lustre, exceed the finest Mahogany.

RED FLOWERING MAPLE. 221

At Boston some cabinet-makers saw it into thin
plates for inlaying Mahogany. But the most constant
use of the Curled Maple is for the stocks of fowling
pieces and rifles , which to elegance and lightness unite
a solidity resulting from the accidental direction of the
fibre.

The cellular integument of the Red flowering Maple
is of a dusky red. By boiling, it yields a purplish colour,
which, on the addition of sulphate ofiron, becomes dark
blue approaching to black. It is used in the country ,
with a certain portion of Alum in solution , for dying
black.

The wood of the Red flowering Maple does not burn
well , and is so little esteemed for fuel that it is rarely
brought into the cities.

The French Canadians make sugar from the sap of
this Maple , which they call Plaine , but, as in the preced-
ing species , the product of a given measure is only half
as great as is obtained from the Sugar Maple.

It should be observed that the Red flowering Maple
never attains its full dimensions except in swamps where
the bottom is composed of fertile soil. When the popu-
lation of the country becomes denser, these tracts will be
cleared and improved by some mode of culture more
profitable than the growth of woods , and especially
of this species , which is fit neither for the uses of the
wheelwright nor for any other solid work ; for it
possesses little strength, is liable to injury from worms,

222 RED FLOWERING MAPLE.

and ferments and speedily decays when exposed to the
alternations of dryness and moisture. Though at present
it is extensively used, its importance in the arts it not such
as to entitle it to preservation, and it wdll doubtless one day
become rare. When the period arrives that it is necessary
in the United States, as in Europe , to renew the forests,
or to keep on foot those which have escaped destruction ,
the American Woodman will find among the Oaks , the
"W^alnuts , andthe Ashes, many species more deserving of
his care. The Sugar Maple also will be preferred , which
grows on uplands , and possesses in a superior degree*
all the good properties of the other. From these conside-
rations the Red flowering Maple appears to have no pre-
tensions to a place in European forests.

PLATE XLI.

A branch with leaves of the natural size. Fig. i ,- Bar? en
flowers. Fig. 2 , Fertile flowers. Fig. 3 , Seeds of the natural

TI ■ J Jiaimiif: ii-7 .

Sugar Alajilc

Acer j-ct<\'/ui/i/iu//i

Gairiel j-culp.

I'VVV^^a'VVWVVVVV^A/VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV^lVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV^

SUGAR MAPLE.

Acer sacchaeinum. A. foliis quinque-partito-palmatis ,
glabris , margine integris , subtus glaucis : Jloribus pedun-
culatis , pendentibus.

This species , the most interesting of the American
Maples, is called Pvock Maple, Hard Maple, and Sugar
Maple. The first of these names is most generaly in use,
but I have preserved the last, because it indicates one
of the most valuable properties of the tree.

According to my father's researches into the topography
of American vegetables, the Sugar Maple begins a little
north of Lake St. John, in Canada, near the 48" of la-
titude , w^hich, in the rigour of its winter , corresponds
to the 68° in Europe. It is now^here more abundant
than between the 46" and 43% which comprise Canada ,
New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , the States of Vermont
and New Hampshire , and the District of Maine : in these
regions , it enters largely into the composition of the
forests with which they are still covered. Farther south,
it is common only in Genessee in the State of New
York, and in the Upper parts of Pennsylvania. It is
estimated by D' Rush , that in the northern parts of
these two States , there are ten millions of acres which
produce these trees in the proportion of 3o to an acre.-
Indeed I have noticed , in traversing these districts ,
large masses of woods formed of them almost exclusively.

224 SUGAR MAPLE.

In Genessee , however, a great part of the Maples belong
to a species which I shall describe , which has hitherto
been confounded by Botanists with the Sugar Maple.

In the lowers parts of Virginia , of theCarolinas, and of
Georgia,and likewise in the Mississipi Territory, this tree
is unknown or very rare. It is rapidly disappearing from
the forests about New York and Philadelphia , where it
is no longer drained for sugar , but is felled for fuel and
for other purposes.

Between the parallels mentioned as bounding the tracts
where this tree is most abundant , the forests do not
resemble those of a more southern latitude : they
are composed of two different descriptions of trees
divided into two great classes , which alternately occupy
the soil and which exist in nearly equal proportions.
The first class comprises the resinous trees such as Pines
and Spruces , and covers the low grounds and the bot-
toms of the vallies ; these forests are called Black wood
lands. The second class consist of leafy trees , such as
the Sugar Maple , the White and the Red Beech,
the Birches and the Ashes ; of which the Sugar Maple is
most multiplied. They grow on level grounds or on
gentle declivities , and form what are denominated
Hard wood lands. In proceeding from the 46" of latitude
northward , th€ trees of the second class are observed
to become more rare, and the resinous trees in the same
proportion more abundant : below 4^*^ ■> on the other
hand, the resinous trees are found less common, and the

SUGAR MAPLE. 223

Others loose their predominance in the forests , as they
become mingled with the numerous species of Oaks and
Walnuts.

The Sugar Maple covers a greater extent of the Ame-
rican soil than any other species of this genus. It flour-
ishes most in mountainous places , where the soil though
fertile is cold and humid. Besides the parts which I
have particularly mentioned, where the face of the
country is generally of this nature , it is found along the
whole chain of the AUeghanies to their termination in
Georgia, and on the steep and shady banks of the rivers
which rise in these mountains.

The Sugar Maple reaches the height of 70 or 80 leet
with a proportional diameter ; but it does not com-
monly exceed 5o or 60 feet with a diameter of 12 or 18
inches. Well grown , thriving trees are beautiful in
their appearance , and easily distinguishable by the
whiteness of their bark. The leaves are about 5 inches
broad , but they vary in length according to the age and
vigour of the tree. They are opposite, attached by long
petioles, palmated or unequally divided into five lo-
bes , entire at the edges , of a bright green above , and
glaucous or whitish underneath. In autumn , they turn
reddish with the first frosts. Except in the colour of the
lower surface they nearly resemble the leaves of the
Norway Maple. The flowers are small , yellowish , and
suspended by slender , drooping peduncles. The seed is
contained in two capsules united at base and termirta-
I. 29

226 SUGAR MAPLE.

ted in a membraneous wing. It is ripe near New York
in the beginning of October, though the capsules attain
their full size six weeks earlier. Externally they appear
equally perfect,butl have constantly found one of them
empty. The fruit is matured only once in two or three
years.

The wood when cut is white , but after being wrought
and exposed for some time to the light, it takes a rosy
tinge. Its grain is fme and close , and when polished, it
has a silky lustre. It is very strong and sufficiently heavy,
but wants the property of durability , for which the
Chesnut and the Oak are so highly esteemed. When ex-
posed to moisture it soon decays, and for this reason
it is neglected in civil and naval architecture. In Ver-
mont , New Hampshire , the District of Maine and far-
ther north , where the Oak is not plentiful , this timber
is substituted for it , in preference to the Beech , the
Birch , and the Elm. When perfectly seasoned , which
requires two or three years , it is used by Wheelwrights
for axle-trees and spokes , and for lining the runners of
common sleds. It is also employed as well as the Red
flowering Maple in the manufacture of W^indsor
chairs. In the country where the houses are wholly of
wood y Sugar Maple timber is admitted into the frame ;
and in the District of Maine , it is preferred to the Beech
for the keels of vessels , as it furnishes longer pieces : with
the Beech and the Yellow Pine it forms also the lower
frame , which is always in the water.

SUGAR MAPLE. 227

This wood exhibits two accidental forms in the arran-
gement of the fibre , of which cabinet-makers take ad-
vantage for making beautiful articles of furniture. The
first consists in undulations like those of theCurled Maple,
the second , which take places only in old trees that are
still sound , and which appears to arise from an inflexion
of the fibre from the circumference toward the center ,
produces spots of half a line in diameter, sometimes
contiguous, and sometimes several lines apart. The more
numerous the spots , the more beautiful and the more
esteemed is the wood : this variety is called Bird's eye
Maple. Like the Curled Maple it is used for inlaying
Mahogany. Bedsteads are made of it and portable wri-
ting desks , which are elegant and highly prized. To ob-
tain the finest effect , the log should be sawn in a direc-
tion as nearly as possible parallell to the concentrical
circles.

When cutat the proper season the Sugar Maple forms ex-
cellent fuel. It is exported from District of Maine for the
consumption of Bostan, and is equally esteemed with the
Hickory. The opinion entertained of it in this respect ,
in the North of America , accords with the interesting
experiments of M' Hartig c^n the comparative heat af-
forded by different species of European wood , from
which it results, that the Sycamore, Acer pseudo-platajtus,
is superior to every other.

The ashes of the Sugar Maple are rich m the alkaline
principle , and it may be confidently asserted , that

228 SUGAR MAPLE.

theyfurnish four fifths of the potash exported to Europe
from Boston and New York.

In the forges of Vermont and the District of Maine ,
the charcoal of this wood is preferred to any other, and
it is said to be one fifth heavier than the coal made from
the same species in th^ Middle and Southern States ; a
fact which sufficiently evinces that this Maple acquires
its characteristic properties in perfection , only in nor-
thern climates.

The woodof the Sugar Maple is easily distinguished from,
that ofthe Red flowering Maple, which it resembles in ap-
pearance, by its weight and hardness. There is , besides , a
very simple and certain test : a few drops of sulphate
of iron being poured on samples ofthe different species,
the Sugar Maple turns greenish, and the "White Maple
and Red flowering Maple change to a deep blue.

The extraction of sugar from the Maple is a valuable
resource in a country , where all classes of society daily
make use of tea and coffee.

The process by which it is obtained is very simple ,
and is every where nearly the same. Though not essen-
tially defective, it might be rendered more perfect and
more profitable, by adopting hints which have been
thrown out in American publications.

The work is commonly taken in hand in the month
of February , or in the beginning of March , while the

SUGAR MAPLE. 229

cold continues intense , and the ground is still covered
with snow. The sap begins to be in motion at this season,
two months before the general revival of vegetation. In
a central situation , lying convenient to the trees from
which the sap is drawn , a shed is constructed , called
a sugar camp , which is destined to shelter the boilers
and the persons who tend them , from the weather. An
auger 3/4 of an inch in diameter, small troughs to
receive the sap , tubes of Elder or Sumac, 8 or lo inches
long, corresponding in size to the auger,andlaid open lor
a part of their length , buckets for emptying the troughs
and conveying the sap to the camp, boilers of i5 or i8
gallons' capacity , moulds to receive the sirop when
reduced to a proper consistency for being formed into
cakes , and lastly, axes to cut and split the fuel , are the
principal ustensils employed in the operation.

The trees are perforated in an obliquely ascending
direction , i8 or 20 inches from the ground, with two
holes 4 or 5 inches apart. Care should be taken that
the augers do not enter more than half an inch within
the wood , as experience has shewn the most abundant
How of sap to take place at this depth. It is also recom-
mended to insert the tubes on the south side of the
tree ; but this useful hint is not always attended to.

The troughs , which contain 2 or 3 gallons , are made
in the Northern States, of White Pine, of White or Black
Oak, or of Maple ; on the Ohio , the Mulberry , which is
very abundant, is preferred. The Chesnut, the Black

^3o SUGAR MAPLE.

Walnut , and the Butternut should be rejected , as they
impart to the liquid the colouring matter and bitter
principle , with which they are impregnated.

A trough is placed on the ground at the foot of each
tree , and the sap is every day collected and temporarily
poured into casks, from which it is drawn out to till the
boilers. The evaporation is kept up by a brisk fire , and
the skum is carefully taken off during this part of the
process. Fresh sap is added from time to time , and the
heat is maintained till the liquid is reduced to a sirop ,
after which it is left to cool , and then strained through
a blanket or other woolen stuff, to separate the remain-
ing impurities.

Some persons recommend leaving the sirop twelve
hours , before boiling it for the last time ; others pro-
ceed wdth it immediately. In either case , the boilers are
only half filled , and by an active , steady heat , the li-
quor is rapidly reduced to the proper consistency for
being poured into the moulds. The evaporaration is
knov^Ti to have proceeded far enough , when , upon rub-
bing a drop of the sirop between the fingers , it is per-
ceived to be granular. If it is in danger of boiling over,
a bit of lard or of butter , is thrown into it , which in-
stantly calms the ebullition. The molasses being drained
off from the moulds, the sugar is na longer deliquescent ,
like the raw sugar of the West Indies.

Maple Sugar manufactured in this way , is lighter col-
oured , in proportion to the care with which it is made

SUGAR MAPLE. 23 1

and the judgment with which the evaporationis conducted.
It is superior to the hrown Sugar of the Colonies , at least,
to such as is generally used in the United States : its taste
is as pleasant , and it is as good for culinary purposes.
When refined, it equalsin heauty the finest Sugar con-
sumed in Europe. It is made use of, however, only in
the districts where it is made, and there , only in the
country : from prejudice or taste , imported sugar is
used in all the small towns , and in the inns.

The sap continues to flow for six weeks ; after which ,
it becomes less abundant , less rich in saccharine mat-
ter, and sommetimes even incapable of chrystalisation. In
this case, it is consumed in the state of molasses, which
is superior to that of the Islands. After three or four
days exposure to the sun , Maple sap is converted into
vinegar , by the acetous fermention.

In a periodical work , published at Philadelphia sever-
al years since , the following receipt is given for making
Sugar Maple beer : Upon 4 gallons of boiling water ,
pour I quart of Maple molasses ; add a little yeast or
leaven to excite the fermentation , and a spoonful of
the essence of spruce : a very pleasant and salutary drink
is thus obtained.

The process for extracting the sugar which I have
described is the most common one , and it is the same
from whatever species of Maple the sugar is made.

The amount of sugar manufactured in a year varies
from different causes. A cold and dry winter renders the

232 SUGAR MAPLE.

trees more productive than a changeable and humid
season. It is observed , that when a frosty night is fol-
lowed by a dry and brilliant day , the sap flows abun-
dantly ; and 2 or 3 gallons are sometimes yielded by a
single tree , in twenty four hours. Three persons are
found sufficient to tend 25o trees , which give 1000
pounds of sugar , or 4 pounds from each tree. But this
product is not uniform , for many farmers on the Ohio
have assured me , that they did not commonly obtain
more than 2 pounds from a tree.

Trees which grow in low and moist places afford a
greater quantity of sap than those which occupy rising
grounds , but it is less rich in the saccharine principle.
That of insulated trees, left standing in the middle of
fields or by the side of fences , is the best. It is also
remarked, that in districts which have been cleared of
other trees , and even of the less vigorous Sugar Ma-
ples, the product of the remainder is, proportionally,
most considerable.

While I resided in Pittsburgh , the foUovi'ing curious
particulars appeared in the Greensburgh Gazette : « Ha-
ving introduced » says the writer , « twenty tubes into a
Sugar Maple , I drew from it the same day , 23 gallons
and 3 quarts of sap , which gave 7 pounds and a quarter
of sugar : 33 pounds have been made this season from the
same tree ; which supposes 100 gallons of sap. » It ap-
pears here , that only a little more than 3 gallons , was
required for a pound, though four are commonly allowed.

SUGAR MAPLE. 253

1

In the foregoing experiments , 5 quarts were drawn
in one day from each tube, which is about equal to
to the quantity discharged , when two pipes are em-
ployed. Might it not hence be concluded , that the sap
escapes only from the orifices of the vessels , which
have been divided by the auger , without being divert-
ed to this issue , from the neighbouring parts ? I am
the more inclined to this opinion , as in rambling
one day , in the profound solitude of the forests , on
the banks of the Ohio, the idea suggested itself to me of
cutting into a Maple which had been bored the preceding
year. I found amid the white mass of its wood , a
green column , equal in width and in depth to the hole
beneath. The organisation appeared not to be affected ;
but this is not sufficient to warrant the conclusion,
that these vessels would be in condition to give pas-
sage to the sap , the succeeding year. It may be objected,
that trees have been drained for 3o years , without
diminution of their produce. But a tree of two or
three feet in diameter, presents an extensive surface,
and the tubes are every year shifted : besides, the
successive layers of 3o or 4o years , would restore it
nearly to the state of one that never had been per-
forated.

In the United States , Maple sugar is made in greatest

quantities , it the upper part of New Hampshire , in

Vermont, in the State of New York, particularly in

Genesee, and in the Counties of Pennsylvania which

I. So

^34 SUGAR MAPLE.

lie on the eastern and western branches of the Susque-
hannah ; west of the mountains , in the country borde-
ring on the Alleghany , Mononghahela , and Ohio rivers.
The farmers, after laying aside a sufficient store for
their own consumption , sell the residue to the shop-
keepers in the small towns of the neighbourhood , at
8 cents a pound , by whom it is retailed at 1 1 cents. A
great deal of sugar is also made, in Upper Canada, and
on the Wabash near Michillimackinac. The Indians dis-
pose of it to the commissioners of the North Western
Company established at Montreal , for the use of the
numerous agents who go out in their employ , in
quest of furs , beyond Lake Superior. In Nova Scotia and
the District of Maine, and on the highest movmtains
of Virginia and the Carolinas , where these trees are
sufficiently common , the manufacture is less conside-
rable , and probably six sevenths of the inhabitants
consume imported sugar.

It has been advanced , and doubtless correctly , that
the northern parts of New York and Pennsylvania con-
tain Maples enough to supply the whole consumption
of the United States. But the annual produce by no means
answers to this patriotic calculation. The trees grow

* The annual consumption of sugar in the United States is about
80 millions of pounds ; of which more than So millions of pounds
are imported ; more than 10 millions produced by the cane in Loui-
siana ; and, probably, as much as 10 millions made from the Sugar
Maple.

SUGAR MAPLE. 235

upon excellent lands , which by the influx of emigrants
from the older settlements, and by the surprising increase
of the population already estabhshed , are rapidly clear -
ing; so that in less, perhaps , than half a century, the
Maples will be confined to exposures too steep for cul-
tivation , and will afford no resource , except to the
proprietor on whose domain they grow. At this period
also, the wood will probably produce a greater and more
ready profit than the sugar. It has been proposed to plant
Sugar Maples in orchards or about the fields : but
would it not be more certainly advantageous to multiply
the Apple tree, which grows in soils too dry to sustain the
vegetation of the Maple ? All that has been said on this
subject , must be considered as speculative merely ,
since , in the Eastern States , where information is gene-
rally diffused , no enterprises of this nature have been
undertaken , by which the importation of sugar might
be diminished.

Wild and domestic animals are inordinately fond of
Maple juice , and break through their enclosures to sate
themselves with it.

The details into which I have entered, concerning the
Sugar Maple, furnish the means of estimating its im-
portance, with reference both to its sap, and to its
wood. 1 have indicated the regions where it grows,
and the soil in which it thrives ; and I feel authorised
in seriously recommending it for propagation in the
North of Europe. Its sap and its wood are superior to

236 SUGAR MAPLE.

those of the Norway Maple and of the Sycamore , and
in the same countries where these two species abound
in the forests , its success would be most complete ,
and its cultivation most profitable.

PLATE XLII.

A branch with leaves and seeds of the natural size.
Fig. I , A small twig with Jlowers.

a. J. J^ftfmte' 7>

1)L'U'1<; Siijtrar Ma])le

^ira- tiu/iii/ji .

BLACK SUGAR TREE.

Acer nigrum. A. foliis quinque-partito-palmatis , sinubus
apertis , margine integra , subtiis pubescentibus , atro-
vindlhus : jloiibus corymbis : capsulis turgide subglo-
bosis.

In the Western States , and in the parts of Pennsyl-
vania and Virginia , which lie between the mountains
and the Ohio , this species of Maple is designated by
the name of Sugar Tree , and frequently , by the more
characteristic denomination of Black Sugar Tree ; pro-
bably , on account of the dark colour of its leaves , in
comparison with those of the true Sugar Maple, which
sometimes grows with it. In the extensive country of
Genesee both species are indiscriminately called Rock
Maple and Sugar Maple. This confusion seems to have
arisen from the country's being settled principally by
emigrants from the Eastern States , who , finding the
Black Sugar Tree applicable to the same uses with the
other , and equally productive of sugar , have given it
the samename.The two species have also been confound-
ed by Botanists , in describing the vegetable produc-
tions of America.

Towards the north , I first observed the Black Sugar
Tree, near Windsor in Vermont , on the Connecticut
river. But from its inferior size , and its scarceness , it

238 BLACK SUGAR TREE.

may be inferred that it belongs to a more southern
climate. Accordingly , a few degrees lower , it forms a
large part of the forests of Genesee , and covers the
immense vallies , through which flow the great rivers
of the West. In these bottoms* it is one of the most com-
mon and one of the loftiest trees.

The leaves are 4 or 5 inches long , and exibit , in every
respect , nearly the same conformation as those of the
true Sugar Maple. They differ from them, principally,
in being of a deeper green and of a thicker texture, and
in having more open sinuses : they are also slightly
downy , which is most sensibly perceptible on the main
rib.

The flowers , like those of the Sugar Maple , are sus-
pended by long , flexible peduncles : the seeds , also ,
are similar , and are ripe about the same time , that is ,
about the v^ of October.

The wood is much like that of the other species , but
it is coarser-grained , and less brilliant when poHshed.
It is little used , because , wherever it abounds , other
trees are found , such as the Oak , the Walnut , the
Cherry tree , and the Mulberry, which are more esteem-
ed for building and for cabinet making. It is , howe-
ver , preferred for the frames of Windsor chairs , and
is considered after the Hickories as the best fuel. Its

* This word has become authorised by general use in the United
Slates.

BLACK SUGAR TREE. 289

most important use is for making Sugar , of which it
annually yields a vast amount , in the neighbourhood
of Pittsburgh.

When the Black Sugar Tree stands alone , it naturally
assumes a regular and agreeable shape. Its foliage , of a
darker tint and more tufted than that of the other Ma-
ples , renders it proper for forming avenues , and for
adorning parks and gardens ; in fine , for every situation
where thick shade is desired , as a shelter from the sun.

PLATE XLIII.
A branch with a leaf and seeds of the natural size.

NORWAY MAPLE.

Acer platanoides. K. foliis quinque-lobis , acuminatis ^
utrlnque glabris , lobis dentatis : corymhosis et^ectis , pedun"
cutis glahr'is.

This species of Maple is found in the same parts of
Europe with the Sycamore , but it is most multiplied
in Sweden and Norway ; whence it has received the
name of Norway Maple.

Like the Sycamore it attains a lofty height and a dia-
meter of several feet , and ranks among the largest
trees of the north of Europe. Its leaves are broad,
of a fine texture , and of a light green colour ; in
shape , they resemble those of the Black Sugar tree and
the Sugar Maple. They are not whitish underneath like
those of the Sugar Maple, and when the petiole is bro-
ken a milky fluid distils from it , which does not take
place in the American species.

The flowers of the Norway Maple are small, yellowish
and suspended by pretty long peduncles. The seeds
grow in two capsules , which are united at the base ,
compressed , and garnished with large divergent , mem-
braneous wings. They are ripe in the month of Septem-
ber.

In the winter , when the Norway IVIaple and the Syca-
more are stripped of their leaves , they may still be dis-

Fl.4^4^.

NORWAY MAPLE. 2^1

tinguished by their buds. On the Sycamore the last
year's shoots are larger than on the Norway Maple , and
the buds are of a yellowish colour , while those of the
other species are of a reddish complexion , and are uni-
ted in groups of three. On the two species of American
Sugar Maple, the shoots are still more tapering and slen-
der , and the buds are nearly black.

The wood of the Norway Maple is very white and very
fine grained : it is easily wrought , and is employed for
nearly the same purposes vnth that of the Sycamore.
Among cabinet-makers in Germany such trees are in
request as present agreeable accidental variations in the
direction of the fibre , similar to the Curled Maple and
the Bird's Eye Maple.

The rapid and beautiful vegetation of the Norway
Maple in soils inferior to such as are required by the
Sycamore , causes it to be extensively planted in Eu-
rope for the embellishment of gardens ; for which pur-
pose trees are preferred that develop their foliage early ,
and shed it late , and that afford through the intemperate
season a refreshing shade ; all which advantages are uni-
ted in the Norway Maple.

PLATE XLIV.

Fig. I , A leaf of half the natural size. A seed of the na-
tural size.

SYCAMORE TREE.

Acer pseudo-platanus. K.foUis qidnque lobis , incequa-
liter dentatis subtiis glaucesceniibus : Jlorlbus subspicatis i
pendulis.

This beautiful tree is diffused over all the center of
Europe , and abounds especially in Bohemia , Hungary ,
and Poland. It thrives most luxvmantly in moist and
fertile soils , and when expanded to its full dimensions ,
it is 60 or 70 feet in height , and 2 or 3 feet in diameter.
Its head in spacious , and its foliage thick. On old trees,
the bark of the trunk is deeply furrow^ed ; on such as
are less than 6 inches in diameter , it is perfectly smooth.
The leaves of the Sycamore are opposite with long peti-
oles, large, and distinctly divided into five unequal lobes ;
they are of a dark green above , and whitish underneath.
In the heat of midsummer , they are covered with a
very sweet , viscid substance , which is gathered with
avidity by bees. The flowers appear towards the end of
April ; they are small, greenish , and grouped into pen-
dulous clusters from 5 to 4 inches in length. The seed
is in capsules about an inch in length , united at the
base , and terminated by a membraneous wing.

"When the Sycamore is fully grown , its wood is fine
grained and susceptible of a brilliant polish. In those
parts of Europe where it is most common , it is in

SYCAMOBE TREE. 243

demand with turners for making-wooden ware. It is
used lor making violins , and when its grain is undula-
ted , for ornamenting forte-pianos. By the interesting
experiments of M'. Hartig , Grand Master of the forests
of Prussia , on the comparative value of different spe-
cies of wood as combustibles, the Sycamore was found to
afford more heat than any other wood of the North of
Europe.

For several years past, sugar has been made from the
Sycamore , in Bohemia and Hungary. Though the at-
tempt has completely succeeded , it appears certain that
the sugar is yielded in a smaller proportion than by the
Sugar Maple.

In France and England , the Sycamore is a rare tree
in the forests , but it is multiplied in pleasure grounds ,
on account of its rapid growth, the early developement
of its foliage in the spring , and the fine shade which it
affords through the summer.

It has been observed in England that the foliage of this,
tree is less injured than that of others,by the saline vapours
wafted irom the sea ; hence it is chosen for situations
exposed to these winds. The justness of the observatioa
I have never had an opportunity of examining.

The Sycamore appears to me to possess no one su-
perior property , which entitles it to preference in the
United States, over the Sugar Maple and the Black Sugar
Tree ; but individuals who wish to possess the spe-
cies may , I doubt not , obtain seeds , by addressing

244 SYCAMORE TREE.

themselves to the politeness of Col. Steevens , who
has it at his delightful seat at Hoboken near New
York.

PLATE XLIY.

Fig 2 , A leaf of half the natural size. A seed of the na-
tural size.

P(.4-o-.

AIooso Wood

7 oil/ o\U^.

MOOSE WOOD.

Acer striatum. A. foliis infeme rotundatis , supemh
acuminatO'tricuspidibus , argute serratis : racemis sim-.
pUcibus , pendeniibus.

In the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brun-
swick , in the District of Maine , and in the States
of Vermont and New Hampshire , this Maple is
known only by the name of Moose Wood : in New
Jersey and Pennsylvania it is called Striped Maple.
This last denomination, which is preferable as being
descriptive, I have thought proper to reject , be-
cause it is in use only in a part of the United States
whese the tree is rare , and is wholly unknown , in
those parts in which it abounds. The name of Moose
Wood was given it by the first settlers , from obser-
ving that the Moose, an animal now become un-
common in this region , subsisted , during the latter
part of winter and the beginning of spring upon its
young twigs.

This tree makes its first appearance near Lake St.
John , in the latitude of about 47". that is to say, a
little farther north than the preceding species. In Nova
Scotia and the District of Maine , where I have most
particularly observed it , it fills the forests. In approach-
ing the Hudson it becomes more rare, and beyond

^46 MOOSE WOOD.

this boundary , it is confined to the mountainous
tracts of the Alleghanies , on which it is found , in cold
and shaded exposures , along the whole range to its ter-
mination in Georgia.

In the District of Maine I have always found the
Moose Wood most vigourous in mixt forests , or what
are called Mixture lands ; where the woods are compo-
sed of the Sugar Maple , the Beech , the White Birch ,
the Yellow Birch , and the Hemlock Spruce. In these fo-
rests , it constitutes a great part of the under growth ;
for its ordinary height is less than lo feet , though I
have found individual trees, of more than twice this
stature.

The trunk and branches of the Moose Wood are
clad in a smooth, green bark, longitudinally marked
with black stripes, by which it is easily distinguishable ,
at all seasons of the year.

This is one of the earliest trees of North America ,
whose vegetation announces the approach of the genial
season. Its buds and leaves , when beginning to unfold ,
are rose coloured , and have a pleasing effect ; but this
hue soon changes to green. On luxuriant trees , the
leaves are of a pretty thick texture , and finely serrate.
They are 4 or 5 inches broad , rounded at the base ,
and divided into three deep and acute lobes. The
flowers are of a greenish cast , and grouped on long ,
pendulous peduncles. The fruit, which in the main re-
sembles that of the other Maples , is remarkable for a

MOOSE WOOD. 247

small cavity on one side of the capsules : it is produced
in abundance , and is ripe about the end of September.
The inferior size of the Moose Wood forbids its use
in any kind of construction ; but as it is white and
fine-grained , the cabinet-makers of Halifax , employ it
instead of the Holly, which does not grow in so north-
ern a climate , for forming the white lines , with
which they inlay Mahogany. Its principal advantage to
the inhabitants consists in furnishing them , at the
close of winter , when their forage is exhausted , a re-
source for sustaining their cattle, till the advancing
season has renewed the herbage. As soon as the buds
begin to swell; the famished horses and neat cattle are
turned loose into the woods , to browse on the young
shoots , which they consume with avidity. Poor as this
resource may appear, it is not wholly inadequate , since
the tvngs are tender , and full of saccharine juice. A
similar practice prevails, also , in the new settlements of
the West.

This species of Maple has been long cultivited in Eu-
rope in parks and extensive gardens. It is in request ,
as one of the earliest trees to feel the approach of
spring , but more particularly , on account of the plea-
sing effect of the white veins , which variegate its trunk.
In the primitive forests , where it grows beneath a can-
opy of impervious shade , these veins are black : the
cjiange of colour seems owing to its being planted in
drier soils, more open to the sun. Most of thetreei>

248 MOOSE "WOOD.

of this species , which now grow in Europe , have been
grafted on the lofty Sycamore , whose vigor is felt by
the Moose Wood , and ejpands it to four times its na-
tural dimensions.

PLATE XLV.

A branch with fruit of the natural size. Fig. i. Bark
of a tree in the forests of North America. Fig. 2 , Bark of a
tree cultivated on dry and open ground.

1^

i^k \

^^m

pEi^J^

V. \l \ K

^1-/-:^^^ ^

fP

Ke||^>

\^^k %

"^

~->,^

A

w"^

-' ^^^ - -

i

A- .., y--/.

Box Elder .

,/.lr»f

%VWVWVWWVV\'\WVV\'\WV A'VV\\VVVVVV\i\\'VVVlV\\VVV\'VtVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV\^\'VVV\'VVVVVVVVVVVV\V\ V\V X

BOX ELDER

OR

ASH LEAVED MAPLE.

Acer negundo. A. foliis pinnatis tematisve , incequaliter
serratis : Jloribus dioicis.

Ik the Country west of the Alleghanies , where this
tree is common , it is called Box Elder ; east of the
mountains it is more rare , and having been less atten-
tively observed , it has received no specific name. Some
persons , however , distinguish it by that of Ash leaved
Maple , which is a perfectly appropriate denomination :
I have chosen the other , though absolutely insignificant
of any characteristic property of the tree , because it
is sanctioned by general use. The French of Illinois call
it Erable a Giguieres.

The leaves of the Box Elder are opposite , and are
from 6 to i5 inches long, according to the vigour of
the tree , and the moisture of the soil in which it grows.
Each leaf is composed of two pair of leaflets with an
odd one. The leaflets are petiolated , oval-acuminate ,
and sharply toothed : towards fall , the common petiole
is of a deep red. The barren and fertile flowers are
borne on different trees , and are supported by slender^
pendulous peduncles , 6 or 7 inches in length.

Of all the Maples of the United States , this species

25o BOX ELDER

ventures least into northern latitudes, for in the Atlantic
States, it is first seen on the banks of the Delaware, in the
neigbourhood of Philadelphia, and even there it is rare.
In the maritime parts of the Southern States , also , it is
far from being a common tree ; which is less attributable
to the heat of the summer , than to the marshy nature of
the soil on the borders of the rivers. West of the moun-
tains , on the contrary , it is extremely multiplied , and
instead of being confined , as in the upper parts of Vir-
ginia and of the Carolinas, to the river sides , it grows in
the woods , wdth the Locust , Wild Cherry , and Coffee-
Tree. But in the bottoms which skirt the rivers , where
the soil is deep , fertile , constantly moist , and often
inundated, this tree is most abundant , and most fully
expanded. Even here , it can be considered only as a
tree of secondary size : the largest Box Elders that I
have seen were not more than 5o feet in height, and
20 inches in diameter , and trees of these dimen-
sions are found only in Tennesee and in the back parts
of Georgia , which lie far to the south. In Kentucky
they are of only half this height. Though growing in
thick forests , the Box Elder expands into a head hke
that of the Apple tree. I have remarked this form , par-
ticularly, on the banks of the Ohio , where I have
also obsei'ved that the trunk bulges into knots at une-
qual distances , and is often decayed at the heart. A fine
row of Box Elders in the botanical garden of Paris ,
along the Rue de Bujfon , affords a sufficiently just

OR ASH LEAVED MAPLE. 2^1

idea of their appearance in the forests , on the Monon-
ghahela and Ohio rivers. It may be concluded from what
has been said, that to attain its full proportions, this
tree requires a climate three or four degrees milder
than that of Philadelphia , Pittsburgh , and Paris.

The Box Elder branches at a small height. The bark of
its trunk is brown , and I have remaiHced a disagreeable
odour in the cellular integument. The proportion of the
sap to the heart is large , except in very old trees : in these
the heart is variegated with rose coloured and bluish
veins. Some cabinet-makers in the Western Country ,
employ it to ornament furniture made of Mahogan^y or
"Wild Cherry Tree. The wood is of a fine and close grain^
and is said to split with difficulty : but as it sooii decays
when exposed to the air , it is little used. It has been
erroneously asserted that sugar is made from the sap of
this species.

More than 5o years since , the Box Elder was intro-
duced into France by Admiral La Gallissoniere. Subse-
quently, it has spread into Germany and England, where
it is in great request for adorning pleasure grounds , oa
account of the rapidity of its growth , and the beauty
of its foliage , whose bright green forms an agreeable
contrast with the surrounding trees. Its young branches ,
of a lively green , contribute to the favour in which it
is held, and serve to distinguish it in the winter , whert
its leaves are fallen.

The utility of its wood, I believe it has, of late>

^52 BOX ELDER OR ASH LEAVED MAPLE.

been exaggerated ; both Europe and America possess many
trees superior in strength as well as in size. It appears
certain , however , that , growing in copses , and cut
every three or four years , it would afford a profitable
product in its sprouts, which are very numerous , and
which , during the first years , shoot ^dth astonishing
rapidity. The success of this experiment vnll be more
certain , if it is made on grounds unfailingly moist and
cool ; though the Box Elder may seem , for a few years,
to prosper in dry and meager soils, it sooner or later pines
and perishes. Of this I became convinced in conver-
sing with several proprietors, in the environs of Paris,
who , after some recent publications on this tree , had
made an unsuccessful attempt to derive profit from
their poor lands , by planting them with the Box Elder.

PLATE XLVI.
A branch with lemes and seeds of the natural size.

/'/. *•/.

Moniiimn Maple

- Jr,7- inonliijuiin .

C'obru/ ifcu^-

MOUNTAIN MAPLE.

Acer montanum. A. foliis tri-subquinquelohis , acumina-^
tis , dentatis , nigosls : racemis spiciformihus , suherectis ,
peialis Uneanbus,

This species is more abundant in Canada , Nova Sco-
tia , and along the whole range of the Alleghany Moun-
tains than in any other part of North America. It is called
Mountain Maple and Low Maple. Though the last of these
names indicates the stature of the tree , I have retained
the first, which is more generally in use , and which is
likewise appropriate , as this Maple grows of preference
on the declivities of mountains exposed to the north ,
and in cool , moist , and shady situations , on the abrupt
and rocky banks of torrents and rivers. On the Mohawk,
for instance , near the little falls , it abounds among the
enormous rocks which lie scattered along its sides.

The Mountain Maple is 6 or 8 feet in height , and it
blooms even at a smaller elevation. It most frequently
grows in the form of a shrub , with a single and straight
stock. The leaves are large , opposite and divided into
three acute and indented lobes : they are slightly hairy
at their unfolding , and when fully grown , they are
uneven and of dark green upon the upper surface. The
blossoms are smaU, of a greenish colour, and produced
in semi-erect spikes from 2 to 4 inches in length. The
seeds, which are smaller than those of any other Amer-

254 MOUNTAIN MAPLE.

lean Maple, are fixed upon slender, pendulous footstalks :
they are reddish at their maturity , and each of them
is surmounted by a membraneous wing , and has a
small cavity upon one side.

The Mountain Maple is too small to be profitably
cultivated for its v^^ood , and as its flow^ers , its roots ,
and its bark are destitute of any very sensible odour,
it promises no resources to medecine. It is found in
the gardens of the curious , rather to complete the se-
ries of species , than for any remarkable property of its
foliage or of its flowers.

This species is commonly grafted upon the Syca-
more , and like the Moose Wood , it is thus augmented
to twice its natural dimensions. This surprising devel-
opement proves how great are the advantages which
may be derived from this process and from continued
cultivation, in meliorating inferior vegetables.

PLATE XLVII.

A branch with the leaves and flowers of their natural size,
Tig. I , A hunch of seeds oftlie natural size.

PL 4^8.

J. Ji.^drvU Jel.

DoQ^wood .

Gabrie/ ^'culp ■

DOGWOOD.

Tetrandria monogynia, Likn. CaprifoHa , Jess.

<]OBNUS FLORIDA. C. folus ovalibus , acuminatis , subtiis
albicantibus : jlorihus sessiliter capitatis ; involucro ma-
ximo , foliolis apice deformi quasi obcordatis : fructibus
ovatis, rubris.

Among the eight species of Dogwood which have
been observed in North America , this alone is entitled
by its size to be classed with the forest trees. It is the
4nost interesting , too , for the value of its wood , the
properties of its bark , and the beauty of its flowers. In
the United States at large , it is known by the name of
Dogwood , and in Connecticut itis also called Box Wood*

The Dogwood is first seen in Massachusetts between
the 42" and 43° of latitude , and in proceeding south-
ward , it is met with uninterruptedly throughout the
Eastern and Western States , and the two Floridas , to
the banks of the Mississippi. Over this vast extent of
Country , it is one of the most common trees , and it
abounds particularly in New Jersey , Pennsylvania ,
Maryland , and Virginia , wherever the soil is moist ,
gravelly , and somewhat uneven ; farther south , in the
Carolinas , Georgia, and the Floridas , it is found only
on the borders of swamps , and never in the pine bar-
rens , where the soil is too dry and sandy to sustain its

256 DOGWOOD.

vegetation. In the most fertile districts of Kentucky and
West Tennessee it does not appear in the forests except
where the soil is gravelly , and of a middling quality.

The Dogwood sometimes reaches 3o or 35 feet in
height , and 9 or 10 inches in diameter; but it does not
generally exceed the height of 1 8 or 20 feet, and the diame-
ter of 4 or 5 inches. The trunk is strong , andis covered
with a blackish bark , chapped into many small portions,
which are often in the shape ofscjuares more or less
exact. The branches are proportionally less numerous
than on other trees , and are regularly disposed nearly
in the form of crosses. The young twigs are observed
to incline upwards in a semicircular direction.

The leaves are opposite , about 3 inches in length ,
oval , of a dark green above, and whitish beneath .the
upper surface is very distinctly sulcated. Towards the
close of summer they are often marked with black
spots, and at the approach of winter they change to a
dull red.

In New York and New Jersey the flowers are ftdly
blown about the 10 or i5 of May , while the leaves are
only beginning to unfold themselves. The flowers are
small , yellowish , and collected in bunches, which are
surrounded with a very large involucre composed of 4
white fioral leaves , sometimes inclining to violet. This
fme involucre constitutes all the beauty of the flowers ,
w hich are very numerous , and which , in their season ,
robe the tree in white, like a full blown Apple tree ,

DOGWOOD. 267

and render it one of the fairest ornaments of the Amer-
ican .forests.

The seeds of a vivid , glossy red , and of an oval
shape , are always united. They remain upon the trees
till the first frosts , when notwithstanding their bitter-
ness they are devoured by the Robin , Turdus migra-
^o/7M5, which about this period arrives from the northern
regions.

The wood is hard , compact heavy , and fine grain-
ed, and is suceptibleofa brilliant polish. The sap is perfect-
ly white, and the heart is of a chocolate colour.This tree is
not large enough for works which require pieces of con-
siderable volume : it is used for the handles of light tools
such as mallets , small vices , etc. In the country some
farmers select it for harrow teeth, for the hames of horses'
collars , and also for lining the runners of sledges ; but
to whatever purpose it is applied, being liable to
split , it should never be wrought till it is perfectly
seasoned. The shoots when 3 or 4 years old , are
found proper for the light hoops of small , portable
casks ; but the consumption in this way is inconsidera-
ble. In the Middle States, the cogs of mill-wheels are
made of Dogw^ood, and its divergent branches are taken
for the yokes which are put upon the necks of swine ,
to prevent their breaking into cultivated enclosures.
Such are the profitable uses of this tree ; it affords
also excellent fuel , but it is too small to be brought into
the markets of the cities.

I. 33

258 DOGWOOD.

The liber or interior bark of the Dogwood is extreme-
ly bitter , and proves an excellent remedy in inter-
mitting fevers. It has been know^n and successfully used
by the country people, as a specific in these maladies,
lor more than 5o years. Its medicinal properties were
made the subject of a thesis sustained in the College of
Physic at Philadelphia, in i8o3 , in which was presen-
ted an analysis of the bark of the Dogwood and of the
Blue Berried Dogwood, compared with the Peruvian bark:
by the experiments made on this occasion , the Dogwood
bark was shown to have a close analogy to the Peruvian
bark , and to be capable, in many cases, of supplying its
place with success. The author of this excellent piece
cites a Physician of Pennsylvania , who , during 20 years,
had constantly employed it , and who estimated 35
grains of it to be equivalent to 3o grains of the Peruvian
bark. The only inconvenience accompanying its use was
that , if taken within a year alter being stript from the
tree , it sometimes occasioned acute pains of the bowels :
but this evil was remedied by adding to it 5 grains of
Virginia Snake root, Arlstolochia sejjjentaria.

The same author gives a receipt for making an ex-
cellent ink in which this bark is substituted for gall
nuts : Put 1/2 an ounce of Dogwood bark , 2 scruples
of sulphate of iron , and 2 scruples of gum arable , into
16 ounces of rain water ; during the infusion shake it
repeatedly.

The Dogwood merits the attention of Europeans , for

DOGWOOD. 259

the value of its wood , and especially for the brilliancy of
its flowers , by which it is better adapted than almost
any other North American tree , to the embellishment
of forests , parks , and extensive gardens.

PLATE XLVIII.

u4 branch with leaves and flowers of the natural size.
Fig. I , A branch with fruit of the natural size.

GEORGIA BARK.

Pentendria monogynia. LiKN. Bubiaceae. Ivss.

PiNCKNEYA PUBENS. P. folus opposltls , ovolibus , utrinquB
acutis ; subtomentosis. ^

Obs- Floribus majiisculis, pallontibus et purpureo-linea-
ribus, fasciculato-paniculatis. Capsulis subrotundis ,
modice compressis : seminibus numerosis , alatis.

This tree , still more interesting by the properties
of its bark, than by the elegance of its flowers and of its
foliage , is indigenous to the most southern parts of
the United States : probably its grows also in the two
rioridas and in Lower Louisiana. My father found it for
the first time in 1791 on the banks of the St. Mary. He
carried seeds and young plants to Charleston', and plan-
ted them in a garden which he possessed near that city.
Though entrusted to an ungrateful soil, they succeeded
so well, that in 1807 1 found several of them 25 feet
high and 7 or 8 inches in diameter; which proves that
the vegetation of this tree does not require a very warm
climate, nor a very subsiantial soil.

With a great affinity to the Cinchona which yields
the Peruvian bark , my father discerned in the Georgia
Bark sufficient differences, to distinguish it as a new
genus. In testimony of his gratitude and respect , he
consecrated it to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney , an en-

Georgia Bark

Pincknei/a pi/le/is

Oahie/ ^i\ufv

:/ ^-.r-;-;vf.:;v,'il

GEORGIA BARK. 261

lightened patron of the arts and sciences, from whom
my father and myself, durii-g our residence in South
Carolina , received multiplied proofs of benevolence
and esteem.

The Georgia Bark is a low tree , dividing itself into
numerous branches , and rarely exceeding the height of
25 feet, and the diameter of 5 or 6 inches at the base.
A cool and shady exposure appears the most favorable
to its growth. Its leaves are opposite , 4 or 5 inches
long , of a light green colour , and downy underneath ,
as are also the shoots to which they are attached. The
flowers , which are white with longitudinal rose colour-
ed stripes , are pretty large, and are collected in beauti-
ful panicles at the extremity of the branches. Each
flower is accompagnied by a floral leaf , bordered with
rose colour near the npper edge. The capsules are
round , compressed in the middle , and stored with a
great number of small winged seeds.

The wood of the Georgia Bark is soft , and unfit for
nse in the arts ; but its inner bark is extremely bitter,
and appears to partake of the febrifuge virtues of the
Cinchona , for the inhabitants of the southern parts of
Georgia employ it successfully in the intermitting fevers
which , during the latter part of summer and the autumn,
prevail in the Soulheru Slates. A handful of the bark is
boiled in a quart of walcr till the liquid is reduced one
half, and the infusion is administered to the sick. From
the properties of its baik the Pinckneya has taken the

262 GEORGIA BABK.

name of Georgia Bark. It is to be wished that some
intelligent Physician would examine these properties
with care, and indicate with accuracy the manner oi
employing this indigenous remedy , and the effects to
be expected from it : the tree which produces it so nearly
resembles the Peruvian vegetable , that some Bot-
anists have included them in the same genus.

PLATE XLIX.

A branch with leaves and flowers of the natural size.
Fig. I, A seed-vessel. Fig. 2 , A seed.

P.i Be.ura Je/.

Coffee Tree

jRena/u/ o\-u^.

}MVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV«AA/VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV«VVVVVVVVVVVVk^AnAVVVV\klVVVVVVVVV^^

COFFEE TREE.

Dioecia decandria. Linn. Leguminosa, Juss.

Gymnocladus canadensis. G. foliis bipinnatis , amplissi-
mis , deciduis ; foliolis ovalibus , acuminatis. Floribus
racemosis ; leguminosis polyspermis.

Upper Canadabeyond Montreal, and that part of Gene-
see which borders on Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, are the
most northern countries which produce the Coffee Tree :
but it is much less abundant in these climates than in the
States of Kentucky and Tennessee , and in the tract which
is bounded by the Ohio and Illinois rivers , between
the 36° and 40° of latitude. The large dimensions which
it exibits in these regions is attributable to the milder
temperature of the seasons , and to the extreme fertil-
ity of the soil.

The French of Canada call this tree Chicot ; those of
Illinois Gros Feder; and the Inhabitants of the Western
States , Coffee Tree.

The presence of the Coffee Tree is an index of the
richest lands ; on which it habitually grows in company
with the Black Walnut , the Red Elm , the Poplar , the
Blue Ash, the Honey Locust , and the Hackberry. These
trees it equals in height , but not in bulk , for a Coffee

264 COFFFE TT5EE.

Tree 5o or 60 feet high does not generally exceed 12
or i5 inches in diameter.

In summer this tree when fully grown has a hne ap-
pearance : its stiaighl trunk is often destitute of branch-
es for 3o feel, and supports a summit not very wide-
ly spread , but of a regular shape and of tufted fo-
liage: such at least is its form in primitive forests, where
it is confmed by the trees which grow around it. In the
winter when its leaves are fallen , the fewness of its
branches and the size of the terminal ones, which are
very large in comparison with those ol other trees ,
give it a peculiar appearance somewhat resembling a
dead tree. This is probably the reason of its being
called Chicot, Stump tree, by the French Canadians.
To this peculiar character is added another of the epi-
dermis , which is extremely rough , and which detaches
itself in small , hard , transverse strips , rolled backward
at the ends , and projectiijg sufficiently to render the tree
distinguishable at fust sight. I have also remarked that
the live bark is very bitter , so that a morcel no bigger
than a grain of maize chewed for some time produces a
violent irritation of the throat.

The leaves are 3 feet long , and 20 inches wide on
young and thriving traces : on old ones they are not
more than half as large. These leaves are doubly com-
pound, with oval-acuminate leaflets from i to 2 inches
long. The leaflets are of a dull green, and in the fall the
petiole is of a violet colour.

COFFEE TREE. 265

The Coffee Tree belongs to the class Dioecia of Lin-
naeus , which includes all vegetables whose barren and
fertile flowers are borne by different plants ; in which
case those only that bear the fertile flowers produce fruit :
to effect the fecundation it is necessary that there should
be male plants growing near them. The flowers and the
fruit are large , bowed pods , of a reddish brown co-
lour , and of a pulpy consistency within. They contain
several large , grey seeds which are extremely hard. The
French of Upper Louisiana call them Gourganes.

The name of Coffee Tree was given to this vegetable
by the early emigrants to Kentucky and Tennessee, who
hoped to find in its seeds a substitute for coffee : but
the small number of persons who made the experi-
ment abandoned it , as soon as it became easy to ob-
tain from the sea ports the Coffee of the West Indies.

The wood of the Coffee Tree is very compact and of
a rosy hue. The fineness and closeness of its grain fit
for cabinet -making, and its strength renders it proper
for building. Like the Locust, it has the valuable pro-
perty of rapidly converting its sap into perfect wood,
so that a trunk 6 inches in diameter has only 6 lines of
sap , and may be employed almost entire. These qua-
lities recommend it for propagation in the forests of
the north and of the center of Europe.

The Coffee Tree was sent to France more than 5o
years since. It thrives in the environs of Paris ,
where there are there are trees that exceed 4o feet in
I. . . 34

266 COFFEE TREE.

height ; but it does not yield fruit , and is muhiplied
only by shoots obtained by digging trenches round the
old trees. The divided roots produce shoots 3 or 4 feet
long, the fn'st year. The young trees are sought, on ac-
count of their beautiful foliage , for the embeUishment
of parks and pictoresque gardens.

PLATE L.

A branch with flowers of the natural size. Fig. i , A pod
of the natural size. Fig. 2 , A seed of the natural size.

TABLE.

Introduction.. , . . Page )

The Oak I

Methodical disposition ^. . g

White Oak Quercusalha ii

Common European Oak. . . Quercus robur 28

European White Oak. . . . Quercus pcdunculafa. . . 3o

Mossy Cup Oak Quercus olmrformis. . . . 33

Over Cup White Oak .... Quercus niacrocarpa. . . 35

Post Oak Quercus obtusiloba. ... 37

Over Cup Oak Qiercus lyrata 4"^

Swamp White Oak Quercus prinus discolor. . 4?

Chesnut White Oak Quercus prinus palustris. . 52

Rock Chesnut Oak Quercus prinus monficola. 56

Yellow Oak Quercus prinus acuminata. 6i

Small Chesnut Oak Quercus prinus Chincapin. 64

Live Oak Quercus virens 67

Cork Oak Quercus suber. 78

W illow Oak Quercus phellos 78

Laurel Oak Quercus imbricaria. ... 82

Upland Willow Oak .... Quercus cinerea 85

Running Oak Quercus punnla 88

Barlram Oak Quercus heterophilla. . . 90

Water Oak Quercus aquatica 92

Black Jack Oak Quercus ferruginea. ... 95

Bear Oak , Quercus banisleri 99

Barrens Scrub Oak Quercus calesboei io3

Spanish Oak Quercus fahala 106

Black Oak Quercus iinctoria 1 1 1

Scarlet Oak Quercus coccinea. . . . .116

Grey Oak Quercus borealis 119

Pin Oak Quercus palustris 122

Red Oak Quercus rubra 125

Additions to the Oaks 128

268 TABLE.

Walnuts Page i3j

Common European Walnut. Juglans regla i43

Black Walnut Juglansnigra i53

Butternut Juglans calharlica i6o

Pacanenut Hickory Juglans oUvcefonnis .... 167

Bitiernut Hickory Juglans amara 170

Water Bitternut Hickory. . . J uglans aquatica 174

Mockernut Hickory J uglans tomentosa 176

Shellbark Hickory Juglans squamosa 181

Thick shellbark Hickory. . . . Juglans laciniosa 188

Pignut Hickory Juglans porcina i()4

JSutmeg Hickory Juglans myristicceformis. . 198

Recapitulation 200

Maples 208

W^hite Maple Acer eriocarpum 2i3

Red flowering Maple Acer rubrum 217

Sugar Maple Acer saccharinum 223

Black Sugar Maple Acer nigrum 287

Norway Maple Acer platano'ides 240

Sycamore Acer pseudo-plaianus- . . 242

Moose wood Acer striatum 245

Box elder Acer negundo 249

Mountain Maple Acer montanum 253

Dogwood. Cornus jlorida 255

Georgia bark Pinckneya puhens 260

Coffee tree Gymnocladus canadensis. . 263