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TO

SAMUEL UEOEGE MOETON, M. D.,

PRESIDENT OE THE ACADEMY OE NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA,

THIS EDITION

OF

MICHAUX’S NORTH AMERICAN SYLVA,

IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED
BY

HIS FRIEND AND BROTHER,

J. JAY SAIITH.

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PREFACE.

The foundation of the North American Sylva, was laid by the labo-
rious researches of the elder Michaux ; who, under the auspices of the
French government, devoted ten years, from 1785 to 1796, to a thorough
exploration of the country, from the sunny sub-tropical groves of Florida, to
the cold and inhospitable shores of Hudson’s Bay ; repeatedly visiting all
the higher peaks and deepest recesses of the Alleghany Mountains, and
extending his toilsome journeys westward to the prairies of Illinois, and the
banks of the Mississippi. He proposed to Mr. Jefferson, then Secretary of
State, to extend his researches to Oregon, but was prevented from doing
so by untoward circumstances.

Soon after his return to France, and the year before he fell a victim to
scientific zeal upon the coast of Madagascar, the elder Michaux published
his history of North American Oaks, which may be deemed the nucleus of
this more comprehensive work, subsequently issued by his son, who accom-
panied his father in the earlier portions of his travels. Revisiting this coun-
try in 1801, and again in 1807, the son made the extended and toilsome
researches of which these volumes are the result ; they were first published
in Paris, in 1810' — 13.

They were translated into English by Hillhouse, and printed in Paris with
French types, in 1819. This edition has been long since exhausted ; the
second English edition was produced at New Harmony, Indiana, but was
carelessly executed on very inferior paper, though like the present the engravings
were printed from the original copperplates partly engraved by the celebrated
Redoute, which had been brought from Paris by the liberal friend of educa-
tion and science, the late William McClure, with a view of making the work
more generally known among the American people ; his brother and execu-
tor, Alexander McClure, Esq., of New Harmony, still keeping in view the
future utility to the community of these expensive engravings, presented them
to my brother-in-law. Dr. Samuel George Morton, at present the successor of
William M'Clure in the Presidency of the Academy of Natural Sciences, at

Vlll

PREFACE.

Philadelphia, who has placed them, without charge, at the service of the
publisher.

In passing this edition through the press, I have not thought it advisable
to make extensive alterations in the text, but have left it, with some correc-
tions in the translation, as it was written by its distinguished author, adding a
few observations on soil, propagation, &c., &c. These additions may always
be distinguished by their being enclosed in brackets. For corrections of
Hillhouse’s translation, and in other particulars, I cannot but acknowledge
my great indebtedness to my friend Thomas Forrest Betton, M. D. of Ger-
mantown, Pennsylvania.

An improvement in the work would have consisted in rearranging the plates
according to the demands of modern Science and nomenclature, but this
would have required the renumbering of them, and thus all the numerous
references to these in other books, would have been erroneous and confused.

It was a singular circumstance, and a happy one it has proved for advanc-
ing science, that Mr. Nuttall arrived in this country the very year that the
younger Michaux left it. From that time he devoted his talents to Botany,
and after visiting a large portion of the United States, with an aptitude for
observation, a quickness of eye, tact in discrimination, and tenacity of
memory, rarely possessed by one man, he published his extended, and most
happily executed botanical work, the “ Genera of North American plants.”
In 1834 he crossed the Rocky mountains, and explored the territory of Ore-
gon and Upper California. With his peculiar qualifications, he prepared the
supplement to Michaux’s Sylva, in three handsome volumes, corresponding in
size with the present, the publication of which after many delays, was com-
pleted in 1849, by my son, in Philadelphia. The two works are now one
and homogeneous, the former most highly valued by all lovers of trees, and
the latter destined to be equally so, when the fine products of our newly
acquired western regions make their w-ay to our gardens and plantations.
The frequent references I have made to Mr. Nuttall’s volumes, will show the
reader that his additions to our Sylva, are both extensive and important ;
inspection will convince him that both authors stand on the highest pedestal
of merit.

J. JAY SMITH.

Philadelphia, February, 1850.

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the

'' ' NORTH AMERICAN SYLVA ;

OR

SI D^striptiuii

OF THE

FOEEST TEEES OF THE UNITED STATES,

CANADA, AND NOVA SCOTIA,

CONSIDERED PAETICÜLARLY WITH RESPECT TO THEIR USE IN THE
ARTS, AND THEIR INTRODUCTION INTO COMMERCE ;

TO WHICH IS ADDED

A DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST HSEFUL OF

THE EUHOPEAN FOREST TREES.

ILLUSTRATED

BY 156 COLOURED COPPERPLATE ENGRAVINGS,

BY REDOUTE, BESSA, ETC.

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF

F. ANDREW MICHAUX,

Alember of the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, etc.

WITH NOTES BY J. JAY SMITPI,

MEMBER OE THE ACADEMY- OP NATURAL SCIENCES, ETC.

ROBERT P. SMITH, PHILADELPHIA.

1 8 6 3 .

Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by ROBERT R SMITH, in tlie
Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

KITE & WALTON, PRINTERS.

THE

NOETÏÏ AMEEICAN

S Y L V A.

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 construction of houses and of vessels, and is commonly
selected for implements of husbandry. It seems, also, to have been mul-
tiplied by nature 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 increasing,
particularly on the Western Continent, and that its varieties are infinite.
These considerations determined my father, in 1801, after his return from
the United States, to publish a Treatise containing drawings and descrip-
tions of the Oaks of that country, which wms 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 (Introduct. 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 intermediate variety so nearly resem-
bles 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 impos-
sible, by the leaves, to recognize their identity in youth and at a more
advanced age. Others are so similar, that specific characters must be
1

2

OAKS.

derived from the fructification, which is itself liable to variations and
exceptions. 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
fruit. Neither was I able to found my distinction 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
summit or lobes are terminated by a bristle.

“ The interval between the appearance of the flower and the maturity of
the fruit is different in different species ; and this distinction I have admit-
ted as a secondary character.

“ All the Oaks are proved to be monecious. We know, too, that on
the European White Oak and other species the female flowers are situated
above the male upon the shoots of the same season; that both are axillary;
and that, immediately after the fecundation, the male flowers fade and fall,
wdiile 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 flow'ers remain stationary a whole year, and
begin to develop 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 subdivision 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 Continent whose fructification is biennial, such as the
Cork Oak, Quercus suher, etc.”

I have derived great assistance from my father’s work, and have
adopted his arrangement, which perfectly accords with my own obser-
vations. 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.

The chief distinction between my wmrk and his consists in the more
extended practical observations ; which are the fruit of my own resear-
ches. My constant aim was to appreciate the utility of each species in
the mechanical arts, and to point out those which are the most deserving
of attention in Europe and America. If in this respect mine has some
advantage, my father’s work will .always preserve its title to the attention
of botanists and amateurs of foreign plants, by other details not consistent

OAKS.

O

O

with my plan. They will find for example, quotations 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 com-
prising 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.

Linnæus, in the third edition of his Species Plantarum, 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 Plantarum^ pub-
lished in 1805, contains forty-four 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 provinces
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 48th degrees of north lati-
tude ; on the Old Continent, are enumerated only thirty, which are scat-
tered on both sides of the equator, beginning at the 60th degree north.

This sketch is not without utility, and appears naturally in this place ;
such parallels might perhaps contribute more than is generally thought to
the progress of botany and agriculture, and they deserve particular atten-
tion from naturalists travelling in foreign countries. It would be interest-
ing 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 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.

[For a continuation of the subject, and for further interesting particulars
respecting the oaks, see Nuttall’s Supplement to this work, vol. I. p. 1, et
seq. Six new species are there figured, with additional information
regarding several treated of by Michaux.

4

OAKS.

Soil, Situation and Climate. The Oaks, to attain their full size, require
a deep, loamy soil, a situation low, rather than elevated, and a climate
not liable to late spring frosts, which injure both the blossoms and leaves.
In elevated situations, or in the extreme north, those species which under
favourable circumstances, form the most magnificent trees become, as in
the case of other trees, mere shrubs. The Oaks which flourish on the worst
soils are the low-growing kinds belonging to the section Ilex, and espe-
cially those belonging to the group Phellos ; and those which require the
best soil are, the Quercus sessiliflora, the Q. cerris, and most of the sorts
composing the American group Rubræ.

Propagation^ ^c. The Oak is propagated wdth difficulty by every other
mode except from seed; and generally, time will be gained when the
acorns are sown where the plants are intended finally to remain. It is only,
therefore, where peculiar varieties are to be continued, that the process of
grafting is resorted to ; and the mode by approach is almost the only one
that is certain to be attended with success. The best stock for grafting on
is Q. cerris, on which some sorts may be successfully budded.

The acorns need not be gathered from the tree, but may be collected
from the ground immediately after they have dropped, and may either be
sown then, or kept till the following spring. If they are to be kept, they
should be made perfectly dry in the sun, or in an airy shed, mixed with
dry sand, in the proportion of three bushels of sand to one of acorns, or
with dry moss ; and then excluded from the air and vermin, by being put
into barrels or boxes, or laid up in a cellar, or buried in heaps and cov-
ered with a sufficient thickness of earth to exclude the wmather. When
acorns are to be sown in a nursery, the soil ought to be thoroughly pre-
pared and rendered fine ; and after the earth is drawn off the beds, or the
drills opened, the acorns may either be scattered over the beds, or along
the drills, so that the nuts may be about two inches apart. The acorns,
before covering, must be patted down with a back of a spade in the beds,
and with the back of a wmoden-headed rake in the drills. The covering,
of well broken soil, should vary in depth according to the size of the
acorn, I5 inches being enough for those of the largest size, and half
an inch for those of the smallest size. No mode of depositing acorns in
the soil can be worse than that of dropping them in holes made by too
small a dibble. The acorn drops into the hole, and becomes wedged by
its sides before it gets to the bottom ; and if the upper extremity should
be downwards instead of upwards, it can hardly be expected to grow.
Sown late in March, the period between the depositing the acorn and its
becoming a plant is lessened, and the danger from destruction by vermin
somewhat diminished. When it is necessary to remove the plant, the
tap root should first be shortened ; side pruning is soon necessary, when
the object is a straight clean trunk.

OAKS.

5

The American Oaks vary so exceedingly in their leaves at different sea-
sons of the year, in different stages of their growth, and in different locali-
ties, that some experience is necessary in deciding on them.

Like most other trees, the Oak seldom hears an abundant crop of fruit
for two years in succession, and it increases in productiveness with age.
All the species push up shoots from the collar when cut down, but only
one or two species from the root. After oaks have stood in good soil, and
a suitable climate for five or six years, they grow with rapidity till they have
attained the age of 30 or 40 years, and the life of some species is known to
extend to upwards of 1000 years.

There are some Oaks in Britain which are believed to have been old
trees in the time of William the Conqueror ; and Pliny mentions a Quercus
Ilex which was an old tree when Rome was founded, and which was still
living in his time. The Merton Oak measures at the surface of the
ground 63 feet 2 inches . — Abridged from Loudon’s Arboretum.

The Cowthorpe Oak, in Yorkshire, measures seventy eight feet in cir-
cumference near the ground, and its age is estimated as nearly coeval with
the Christain era. An Oak in Lower Charante, in France, is declared on
good authority, to measure from eighty-five to ninety-four feet. Dr. Gray,
JVort/i American Review, July, 1844.

Particular attention should be given to the remarks of the author on the
subject of planting the oak for future use. The General or State govern-
ments should never grant a charter for a rail-road or canal, without a clause
requiring the planting of useful trees, such as the White Oak for instance,
along both sides of the route. A store of ship-timber would thus be accu-
mulating for national or mercantile service, whence it could easily be
transported to the sea-board in emergencies ; a plan which Would shade the
road and be advantageous to the banks of a canal. The French Govern-
ment has shown a wise foresight in this particular ; her turnpikes are often
thus planted, and the product is at the call of the authorities.]

METHODICAL DISPOSITION

OF

THE OAKS OF NOETH AMEEICA

INCLUDING

THREE EUROPEAN SPECIES.

Monecia jjolyandria, Ltnn. Amentaceœ. Juss.
FIRST DIYIsiOK.

Fructification annual. — Leaves beardless.

FIRST SECTION. — Leaves lohed.

1. White Oak,

2. Common European Oak,

3. European White Oak,

4 Mossy-cup Oak,

5. Over-cup White Oak,

6. Post Oak, .

7. Over-cup Oak,

SECOND DIVISION

8. Swamp White Oak,

9. Chesnut White Oak,

10. Rock Chesnut Oak,

11. Yellow Oak,

12. Small Chesnut Oak,

Quercus alba.

Quercus robur.

Quercus robur pedunculata.
Quercus olivæformis.
Quercus macrocarpa.
Quercus obtusiloba.

Quercus lyrata.

— Leaves Toothed.

Quercus prinus discolor.
Quercus prinus palustris.
Quercus prinus monlicola.
Quercus prinus acuminata.
Quercus prinus chincapin.

SECOND DIVISION.

Fructification biennial; leaves mucronated, (except in the 13th species.)
FIRST SECTION. — Leaves obtuse or entire.

13. Live Oak, .

14. Cork Oak, .

15. Willow Oak,

Quercus virens.
Quercus suber.
Quercus phellos.

METHODICAL DISPOSITION, ETC.

7

16. Laurel Oak,

17. Upland Willow Oak,

18. Kunning Oak,

Quercus imbricaria.
Quercus cinerea.
Quercus pumila.

SECOND SECTION .' — Lcuves Lohed.

19. Bartram Oak,

20. Water Oak,

21. Black Jack Oak,

22. Bear Oak, .

Quercus heterophylla.
Quercus aquatica.
Quercus ferruginea.
Quercus banisteri.

THIRD SECTION. — Leuves multijid or many defied.

23. Barren Scrub Oak,

24. Spanish Oak,

25. Black Oak,

26. Scarlet Oak,

27. Grey Oak,

28. Pin Oak, .

29. Red Oak, .

Quercus catesbæî.
Quercus falcata.
Quercus tinctoria.
Quercus coccinea.
Quercus ambigua.
Quercus pcdustris.
Quercus rubra.

[ s ]

WHITE OAK.

Qüercüs alba. Q . foliis suhæqualiter pînnatijîdis ; laciniis oblongis, obtusis,
plerumque mtegerrimis ; fructu majusculo ; cupulâ craUratâ; tuber cu-
loso-scabratâ ; glande ovatâ.

Throughout tlie United States and in Canada, this tree is known by the
name of White Oak. The environs of the small town of Trois Rivières in
Canada, latitude 46° 20', and the lower part of the river Kennebeck in the
district of Maine, are the most northern points at which it was observed -
by my father and myself. Thence we traced it along the sea-shore to a
distance beyond Cape Canaveral, latitude 28°, and westward 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 vegetation is repressed by the severity of the winter. In the lower
part of the Southern States, in the Floridas and Lower Louisiana, it is
found only on the borders of the swamps with a few other trees, which
likewise shun a dry and barren soil. This region is generally so sandy,
that it is covered with a continued growth of Pines, as will be more par-
ticularly mentioned in the description of the Long-leaved Pine. The White
Oak is observed also to be uncommon on lands of extraordinary fertility,
like those of Tennessee, Kentucky and Genessee, and of all the spacious
valleys 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 most luxuriant vegetation.

The White Oak abounds chiefly in the Middle States and in Virginia,
particularly in that part of Pennsylvania and Virginia which lies between
the Alleghanies and the Ohio, a distance of about 150 miles, beginning at
Brownsville on the Monongahela. Near Greensburgh, Macconelsvillc,
Unionville and Washington Court-house, I have seen large forests, nine-
tenths of which consisted of White Oaks, whose healthful appearance
evinced the favourable nature of the soil, though in general they were
not more than fifteen inches in diameter. East of the mountains, this tree
is found in every exposure, and in every soil which is not extremely dry,
or subject to long inundations ; 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 wdth a mixture of calcareous stones, yields abundant crops of wheat.

By the foregoing observations, it appears that the severity of the climate,
the fertility of the soil, its dryness or humidity, are the causes which ren-

«

M.J‘

^.J\e</oiUé t/e/. ■

^Mule

(Jaei'ciL)'

Oak .

alha .

WHITE OAK

9

der 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,
Quercias 'pedunciduta^ which it resembles in foliage and in the qualities of
its v^mod. 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,
destitute of points; the sections appeared to be the deepest in the most
humid soils. Soon after their unfolding, they are reddish above and wdiite
and downy beneath ; when fully grown, they are smooth and of alight
green on th^ upper surface, and glaucous underneath. In the fall they
change to a bright violet colour, and form an agreeable contrast with the
surrounding foliage wdiich 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 white-
ness 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, con-
tained in rough, shallow, grayish cups, and borne singly or in pairs, by
peduncles 8 or 10 lines in length, attached, as in all the species wdth
annual fructification, to the shoots of the season.

The fruit ol the White Oak is rarely abundant, and frequently for several
years in succession a few handsful 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 -indications of this variety,
one a flourishing tree in the garden of Mr. W. Hamilton, [Now, 1850, the
Woodlands Cemetery] near Philadelphia, and the other in Virginia.

The trunk is clad in a white bark, variegated frequently wdth large
black spots. On stocks less than 16 inches in diameter, the epidermis is
divided into squares ; on old trees, growdng 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 wdiich occupy the intervals of the concentrical circles
are visibly less replete. But of all the American Oaks which I shall
describe, this is best and most generally used, being strong, durable,
and of large dimensions. It is less employed than formerly in build-
ing only because it is more scarce and costly.

* [In ornamental planting-, the White Oak should have abundant space around it for expand-
ing ; under such circumstances it will throw out long limbs and lateral branches of the most
picturesque beauty.]

2

10

WHITE OAK.

At Philadelphia, Baltimore, and in the smaller towns of the Middle
States, 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, the White Oak is substituted for the floors and for the exterior
covering of the frame, notwithstanding its liability to warp and split.

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

The wooden bridge, nearly 3000 feet long, that unites Boston and Cam-
bridge, is supported by posts of White Oak, from 14 to 50 feet in length,
which 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 Philadel-
phia, and its wares are highly esteemed for solidity both at home and
abroad. White Oak perfectly seasoned is employed for the frame of
coaches, wagons and sledges, for the mould board of ploughs, the teeth
of wooden harrows, the fellies and spokes of wheels, particularly the
spokes of coach-wheels. In the Northern, 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 always
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-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 fences, and beyond Laurel-PIill, 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 objects ; it is little used however, because
in the United States the bark of the trunk and large limbs only is employed ;
and on these the cellular tissue is much thinner in the White than
in the Red OaT:, 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 permanence 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 fitted for containing wine and spirituous liquors. The
domestic consumption for this purpose is immense, and vast quantities are

WHITE OAK.

11

exported to the West Indies, Great Britain, and the Islands of Madeira
and Teneriffe. The Post Oak might, indeed, be applied to the same use,
but even in Maryland and Virginia, where it is most common, it is not
sufficiently 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 prefer-
ence 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 parts of the Northern and
Middle States, and from New Orleans. Those which come from Balti-
more, 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 consider-
able. In 1808, the value received by England amounted to more than
$146,000, and the number of staves sent to the West Indies exceeded
53,000,000. I am unable to fix the proportion of the two species of White
and Red Oak ; probably more of the first are sent to England, and of the
second to the Colonies. The price of both have varied surprisingly within
a hundred years : In 1720, staves for barrels were sold at Philadelphia at
$3 a thousand ; in 1798, at $18 ; and in 1818, at $30. In August, 1807,
before the American Embargo, they were advertised at $55, and in April
1808, after that municipal regulation became known, at $100.

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 preferred 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 built of more durable
wood.

At Boston, the tree-nails, 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

12

WHITE OAK.

White Oak and the European Oak, I consulted French, English and Ame-
rican ship-wrights, in almost all the ports of the United States : They
generally agreed that the European Oak was tougher and more dura-
ble 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 adAmntage, though important in ship-
building, does not compensate for the openness of its pores. Experi-
ence, however, every day shows that by growing in places long inhabi-
ted its quality is improved ; and if the American vessels are less durable
than those built in Europe, it is because the timber is not thoroughly sea-
soned.

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

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

Before I conclude this article, I must be allowed to hazard a conjec-
ture 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 pre-
vent. 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 fifty years, be the most rare in the Middle
States, where it is now the most abundant, and in Tennessee, Kentucky,
Genessee, and further north, where it is the least multiplied, it will be the
most common, 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 Gray 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 valleys
that lie along the rivers are, with a few exceptions, the only places where

7

<i

>,

K

M.

9 .

COMMON EUROPEAN OAK.

13

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 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 employed 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 Iqss
frequently alienated, 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. Bartram, three 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.

[See NuttalPs Supplement, Vol. I. pp. 16. 20. 23 ]

COMMON EUROPEAN OAK.

Q,uercus robur. Q.foliis petiolatis, oblongis, glabrîs, shiuatis ; lobis
rolundatis ; fructibus oblongis, sessilibus.

To the particular attention bestowed upon this interesting tree in modern
times, is owing its division into two species, the Common European Oak,
Quercus robur ^ and the European White Oak, Quercus pedunculata.

These two species, which are much alike and are usually considered as
the same, grow in the same countries, and frequently together. They con-
stitute the greater part of the European forests, from the 60th to the 35th
degi'ee of north latitude, overspreading a great part of the north of Asia
and the northern extremity of Africa. They are most abundantly multi-

14

EUROPEAN WHITE OAK.

plied 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 petiolated, 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.

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 building and for works that require
great strength and durability.

The Common European Oak is subdivided into many varieties, the most
valuable of which are the European Black Oak, Quercus rolmr lanuginosa,
and the Quercus robur glomerata. The first is only 30 or 40 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.

M branch of the Common Eurojiean Oak with leaves and acorns of the natu-
ral size.

EUROPEAN WHITE OAK.

OUERCUS PEDUNCULATA. Q,folUs subsessiUbus, glabris, sinuatis ; fructibus

oblongis, pedimculatis.

The European White Oak grows of choice in rich bottoms, where the
soil is deep and moderately humid. It reaches the 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 sum-

[For a highly interesting account of this tree and the ensuing one, Q. pedunculata, see Lou*
don’s Arboretum Brittanicum, vol. 3, p. 1740.]

EUROPEAN WHITE OAK.

15

mit. The bark upon the body is very thick, and on old trees, deeply fur-
rowed ; upon the limbs and the young stocks it is grayish, smooth and
glossy. The leaves are of a light green on the upper surface, whitish
beneath, widened toward 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 discolored foliage persists through
the winter, and falls the ensuing spring.

Besides the difference of the foliage, this species is constantly distin-
guished from the preceding by its fruit, which is supported singly or in
pairs by slender peduncles, 2, 3, or even 4 inches long. The acorns are
of an oval shape, from 9 to 18 lines in length, according to the age and
vigor of the tree, and contained in shallow cups : they fall about a fort-
night 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 generally pre-
ferred to the common Oak, as it furnishes larger timbers, splits more regu-
larly, and is more easily wrought ; hence it is highly esteemed for the
construction of houses and ships, and extensively employed by the joiner,
the wheelwright 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,
lhat w'hich is taken from the branches and from small stocks is preferred,
because the epidermis is thinner, and the cellular tissue, which con-
tains 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 European 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 White Oak with leaves and acorns of the natural

[ 16 ]

MOSS Y- CUP OAK.

duERcus OLIVÆFORMIS. Q, fo/us oblougis, glcùbris, siibtus glciucis, 'profunde
inæqualiterqiie smuato-lobatis ; fructu ovato ; cupula projundim craterata,
superne crinitâ ; glande olivæformi.

I HAVE' observed this species of Oak only in the state of New York, on
the banks of the Hudson above Albany and in Genessee, where it is so
rare that it has hitherto received no specific name.

Its leaves are of a light green above and whitish beneath : they resemble
those of the White Oak in colour , but differ from them in form, being
larger, and very 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 configuration, of which the scales are prominent and
recurved, except near the edge, 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 im-
posing 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 toward the earth. This pecu-
liarity alone would render it a valuable acquisition for parks and gardens.

As I have met wnth this species only in uninhabited places, I have had
little opportunity of examining its wood ; 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. 1, Jin acorn with the cup. Fig. 2, .In
acorn without the cup.

[See Nuttal’s Supplement, vol. I. p. 14.]

/ ! J-Jiet^tyuée

Mo ssy Cxi p Oak

Ouerciis' olivœ/vj'jms .

Jiefiarcé Sa.

J^l.â

Over CiipM^Tnte O aie.

Quei'cuKf 7nacroca7'^<z.

7lena/'{{ *.Cc.

[ 17 ]

OVER-CUP WHITE OAK.

Q.UERCÜS MACROCARPA. Q.folUs suhtomentosis, profuncle lyraiimque siniiato-
lobat'is, obtusis ; fructu maximo ; cupulâ profundius craterata, superne cri-
nîtâ ; glande turgide-ovatâ.

This interesting species is most multiplied beyond, the Alleghanies, 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
Overcup White Oak, and by the French of Illinois, Chêne 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 15 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 fine flexible filaments. Sometimes, however, in compact forests, or
in very temperate seasons, the filaments 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 infe-
rior to that of the White Oak, it is little esteemed in the United States.

I have observed, as well as my father who first made the remark, that
the young branches are frequently covered with a yellowish fungous sub-
stance, like those of the elm and sweet Gum.

PLATE IV.

A leaf of half the natural size. Fig. 1, An Acorn in the cup, of the natu-
ral size.

* [According to Pursh on dry slate or limestone hills.]

3

'•V

[ 18 ]

POST OAK.

GluERciis OBTUsiLOBA. folîîs sîriKatîs, subtus puhescentîbus, lobîs obtusîsy
superioribus dilatatîs, bîlobis ; fructu mediocri ; glande brevi-ovatâ.

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 consid-
ered as a variety of the White Oak. In Maryland, and a great part of
Virginia, where it abounds, and where 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 Ten-
nessee.

The steep banks of the Hudson, nearly opposite to the city of New
York, are the most northern point at which 1 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
further inland it is not found in the forests. In the vicinity of South
Amboy, thirty 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,
150 miles from Philadelphia. Near Baltimore, at the distance of 210
miles 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 nowhere 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 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

/y. J.

Posl Oalv

0/(C/'C(fS

û/>/7H'i/ûùa .

J*. JHeJaufé olel^

Over Clip O ale

Qji£rciM 1^7 a ta .

Je- . '

/Y.ti.

POST OAK.

19

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 cultiva-
tion and abandoned.

The leaves are borne by short petioles, and are of a dusky green above,
and grayish beneath. They are four or five inches in length, thick, and
even coriaceous toward the end of summer, deeply and regularly sinuated,
and are divided into four or five rounded lobes, of which the two nearest
the summit are the broadest. Toward 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 grayish cup. They are very sweet, and form
a delicious food for squirrels and wild turkeys ; hence the tree is sometimes
called Turkey Oak.

The height of this species rarely exceeds 40 or 50 feet, with a diameter
of 15 inches. Its summit, even when compressed in the forests, is dispro-
portionately large, owing probably to the early division of the trunk into
several limbs, 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
tinge 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 pre-
ferred 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 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.

(See NuttalPs Supplement, Vol. 1, p. 13.)

[ 20 ]

OVER-CUP OAK.

Quercus lyrata. Q. foliis subsessilibus, gJabris, lyrato-sinuosis, sumrnitate
dilataiâ, divaricato-trilobâ, lobis acuiangulis, terminali tricuspide ; cupmlâ
depresso-globosa, muric.ato-scabratci ; glande siibtectci.

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 Mississippi 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 further north. In Georgia and Carolina it is not exten-
sively 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 denominations indicates an analogy
between its foliage and that of the Post Oak, and the second, a remarkable
peculiarity 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 Savannah 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 intersect the pine-barrens, but is found exclusively
in the great swamps on the borders of the rivers, which are often overflowed
at the rising of the waters, and are inaccessible 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 light 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 some-
times 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 firm 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 sup-

SWAiVlP WHITE OAK.

21

posed from tlie soil in which it grows ; the pores are observable only
between the concentrical circles, and are more regularly disposed than in
other trees.

This species is the largest and the most highly esteemed among the Oaks
that grow in wet grounds. Its propagation should be attempted in the
forests of Europe, 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
withput injury.

PLATE VI.

Ji branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

SWAMP WHITE OAK.

OuERcus PRiNus DISCOLOR, Q. folUs oblongo-obovatis subtiis albo-tomentosis,
grosse dentatis, basi integer rirais, dentibus inæqualibus dilatatis ; fructibus
longe ped'uncidatis .

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 Hampshire; 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 Susquehanna 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 comparison, 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, &c. In New Jersey it is associated with the Pin Oak, the
Red-flowering Maple, the White Ash, the Tupelo and the Shell-bark Hick-

22

SWAMP WHITE OAK.

ory. 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 line 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 slightly dark
green above, downy and light colored beneath ; they are entire toward the
base, which is cuneiform, but are widened and coarsely toothed for two-
thirds of their length toward 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 lower side of the leaf is of a silvery white, which is strikingly contrasted
with the bright green of the upper surface ; hence the specific name of
discolor was given it by Dr. Muhlenberg.

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 1 or 2 inches in length.

The trunk is clad in a scaly grayish-white bark. The wood is strong,
elastic, and heavier than that of the White Oak. In stocks more than a
foot in diameter, the grain is fine and close, and the pores are nearly oblit-
erateçl. It splits easily, and in a straight line, and is esteemed 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 consi-
dered 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.

(See NuttalPs Supplement, Vol. 1, p. 13.)

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[ 23 ]

CHESNUT WHITE OAK.

Q,uercus prinus palustris. Q. folîîs ohïongo-ovalihus, aciimînafis acutîsve.

subuniformiter dentatis ; cupulâ crateratâ, subsquamosâ ; glande ovatâ,

Quercus ’prinus. Willd.

The Chesnut White Oak is first seen within ten miles of Philadelphia ;
but it is less multiplied and less amply developed than further 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 Mississippi, which are
analogous to those of many rivers of the Southern States.

In Pennsylvania this species is confounded with the Rock Chesnut Oak,
which it strikingly resembles ; further south, where the Rock Chesnut
Oak is unknown, it is called Chesnut White Oak, Swamp Chesnut Oak,
and generally on the Savannah White Oak.

The Chesnut White Oak is adorned with beautiful foliage ; 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 contained in shallow scaly cups.
Being sweet-flavoured, and sometimes abundant, they are sought with
avidity by 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 Poplar, the Bitternut Hickory and the Devil Wood. In
this latitude it attains its utmost development, which is 80 or 90 feet in
stature, with a proportional diameter. Its straight trunk, undivided and of
a uniform size to the height of 50 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
pores, though nearly obliterated, are more open. But it is superior to

24

ROCK CHESNUT OAK.

many other species, and is employed for wheel-wrighls’ works and other
objects which require 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 15 years, or a third longer than
the Willow Oak. At AiiOTsta in Georgia it is considered as the best fuel,
and is sold at two or three dollars a cord.

The Chesnut White Oak endures the winter of Paris, but its vegetation
would be quicker in the more southern 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 proper-
ties it possesses only in a secondary degree, and in Europe it will probably
be confined to the pleasure grounds of amateurs.

PLATE VIII.

A hramh with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

ROCK CHESNUT OAK.

Quercus PRiNus MoNTicoLA. Q. folUs obovatis acutis grosse dentatis, den-
tibus subæqualibus ; fructu majusculo, cupulâ turbinatâ, scabrosâ ; glande _
oblongâ.

Quercüs montana. Willd.

This Oak is among the species which are not scattered promiscuously
in the forests, but which grow only in particular situations, and easily
escape observation ; hence it is difficult to assign its limits with precision.
It probably does not extend northward far beyond Vermont, nor eastward
beyond New Hampshire. 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 ; but is rarely mingled with other trees
in the forests, and is found only on high grounds thickly strewed with stones
or covered with rocks. Thus it is often seen on the steep and rocky banks

ROCK CHESNUT OAK.

25

of the Hudson and on the shores of Lake Champlain, and still more fre-
quently on the Alleghanies in Pennsylvania and Virginia. It forms nine-
tenths of the growth on some parts of these mountains, but the soil is so
meager that it is thinly disseminated and does not exceed 20 or 25 feet in
height, and 8 or 10 inches in’ diameter. I made this observation particu-
larly on the Dry Ridges 15 mile's 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 remarka-
able 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 denominations.

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 uni-
formly 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 fire per-
fectly smooth, whitish beneath, and of a delicate texture. The petiole is
of a yellow color, which becomes brighter toward the fall.

The acorns are brown, of an oblong-ovafi shape, and sometimes an inch
in length, a third part of which is contained in a spreading cup covered
with loose scales ; they are sweet tasted, and are a favourite nourishment
of wild and domestic animals.

The Rock Chesnut Oak is sometimes 3 feet in diameter, 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. i\t 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 NevV York for 10 or 12 dollars a cord. The epidermis is strongly
impregnated with the tanning principle, wdiich in other species resides
only in the cellular tissue.

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 construction of vessels. It is employed for the lower
4

26

YELLOW OAK.

y

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 frequently 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 respect 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 parti-
cular 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 already exist in the vicinity of
Paris.

PLATE IX.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.
[See NuttalPs Supplement, Vol. 1, p. 23.]

YELLOW OAK.

OuERCUS PRiNus ACUMINATA. Q.folus lougè pctiolatis, acuminatis, suh-sequal^
iter dentatis ; fructii mediocri ; cvpulâ subhemisphæricâ.

Quercus castanea. 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 Carolina. In the Middle 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 Lan-
caster in Pennsylvania, on the Monongahela a little above Pittsburg, and
in several small tracts near the Holston and Nolachukyin East Tennessee.

YELLOW OAK.

27

In the Monography of American Oaks, my father takes notice of its' exis-
tence 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 with the
Chesnut White Oak and Rock Chesnut Oak, to which it bears some resem-
blance in its foliage.

The leaves are lanceolate, acuminate, 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 horizontally. I invariably found it in valleys where the soil
was loose, deep and fertile. The bark upon the trunk is whitish, very
slightly furrowed, and sometimes divided 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 obliterated, irregu-
larly disposed, and more numerous than those of any other American Oak :
this organization 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 appear surprising that
I should not have witnessed the application of its wood in the arts, or have
found occasions of accurately appreciating its qualities. Its agreeable
form and beautiful foliage render it proper for the embellishment of pic-
turesque gardens.

PLATE X.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

[ 28 ]

SMALL C;HESNUT OAK.

GIuercus I'rinus chincapin. Q.foliis obovaf is grosse dentatis, subtùs glaucis ;

ciipulâ hemisphæricâ ; glande ovafâ.

Quercus prinoides, 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 Carolinas 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 sometime covers tracts of
more than 100 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 vicinity of Providence in Rhode Island, of Albany in New
York, of Knoxville in Tennessee, and on the Alleghany Mountains in Vir-
ginia. It grows spontaneously in the park of Mr. W. Hamilton near Phil-
adelphia.

This species, and another which is found in the Pine forests of the
Southern States, rarely exceed 30 inches in height : they are the most
diminutive of the American Oaks, and are mentioned only to complete the
series.

The leaves of the Small Chesnut Oak are oval-acuminate, regularly but
not deeply denticulated, of a light green above and whitish beneath. The
acorns are enclosed for one-third of their length in scaly sessile cups ; they
are of middle size, somewhat 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 XI.

Abranch ivith leaves and frvit of the natural size.

[See. NuttalPs Supplement, Vol. l,p. 23.]

Pi n

del

Small Clie suut Gale.

Qifex-cm' PP ciu/icajin/i

[ 29 ]

LIVE OAK.

duERcus VIRENS. Q. folUs pevennantibus, coriaceis, ovato-ohlongis, juniorihus
(lentatis, vetustioribus integris ; cupulâ turbinaiâ, squamulis abbreviaiis ;
glande oblongâ.

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 becomes mild enough for its growth near Norfolk in
Virginia, though it is less multiplied and less vigorous than in a more
southern latitude. From Norfolk it spreads along the coast for a distance
of 1500 or 1800 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 main land, and never more than 15 or 20 miles from the
shore.

It is the most abundant, the most fully developed, and of the best qual-
ity about the bays and creeks, and on the fertile islands, which in great
numbers lie scattered for several hundred miles along the coast. I particu-
larly observed it on the islands of St. Simon, Cumberland, Sapelo, etc.,
between the St. John and the St. Mary, in an excursion of 400 or 500
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 mova-
ble sands upon the downs, wFere it had preserved its freshness and vigour,
though exposed during a long lapse of time to the fury of the wintry tem-
pest and to the ardour of the summer’s sun.

The Live Oak is commonly 40 or 45 feet in height, and from one to two
feet in diameter ; but it is sometimes much larger ; Mr. S. president of
the Agricultural Society of Charleston, assured me that he had felled a
trunk, hollowed by age, which was 24 feet in circumference. Like most
other trees, it has, when insulated, a wide and tufted summit. Its trunk
is sometimes undivided for 18 or 20 feet, but often ramifies at half this
height, and at a distance has the appearance of an old Apple Tree or
Pear Tree. The leaves are oval, coriaceous, of a dark green above and
whitish beneath ; they persist during several years, and are partially re-
newed every spring. On trees reared upon plantations, or growing 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 an elongated oval form, nearly black, and contained
in shallow, grayish pedunculated cups. The Indians are said to have
expressed an oil from them to mingle with their food ; perhaps, also, they

30

LIVE OAK.

ate 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 abun-
dant, and it germinates with such ease that if the weather is rainy at the
season of its maturity, many acorns are found upon the trees with the
radicle unfolded.

The bark upon the trunk is blackish, hard, and thick. The wood is
heavy, compact, fine-grained, and of a yellowish color, which deepens
as the tree advances in age. The number and closeness of the concenürical
circles evince the slowness of its growth. As it is very strong, and incom-
parably more durable than the best White Oak, it is highly esteemed in
ship building, and is consumed not only in the country which produces it,
but still more extensively in the Northern States. From its great durabi-
lity when perfectly seasoned, it is almost exclusively 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 disadvantage by furnishing a great number
of knees, of which there is never a sufficient 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 tree-nails 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.

In the South, particularly at Charleston and Savannah, this species is used
for the naves and fellies 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 accidentally 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 trebled
within twenty years, in consequence of the immense development 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 procure sticks of considerable size
in the Southern States, and they are sought on the western coast of East
Florida 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 its constitution, is multiplied

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Kir M P'ii;':^ - - f . ■' ■’ '-,

* V>.f

F/.J3

Jerfj'a- cùi'.

C ort Oak.

ûairiel •pa/7p

Û/rc7Tf/é'

CORK OAK.

31

with difficulty, I cannot but consider its disappearance throughout the Uni-
ted States within fifty years as nearly certain. It will then be found only
in the form of a shrub, like the Quercus ilex, which formerly skirted the
southern coast of France and Italy.

PLATE XII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

\

[See NuttalPs Supplement, vol. I., pp, 16. 19.]

»

CORK OAK.

GtuERCus SÜBER. Q. folUs ovato-ohlongîs, indivisis, serratis, subtus glaucis ^

cortice rimoso, fungoso.

The Cork Oak grows naturally in the southern parts of France, in Spain,
Portugal, Italy and the States of Barbary, which 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, and being of a
' sweetish taste, are eagerly devoured by swine.

The wood is hard, compact and heavy, but less durable than that of the
I Common European Oak, particularly when exposed to humidity. The
I worth of the tree resides in its bark, which begins to be taken off at the
■ age of 25 years. The first growth is of little value ; in ten years it is re-
newed ; but the second product, though less cracked than the first, is not
i thick enough for corks, and is used only by fishermen to buoy up their
nets. It is not till the tree is 45 or 50 years old that the bark possesses all
The qualities requisite for good corks, and from that period it is collected
once in eight or ten years. Its thickness is owing to the extraordinary
1 swelling of the cellular tissue. It is better fitted than any other substance
Tor the use to which it is appropriated, as its elasticity exactly adapts it to
the neck of the bottle, and its impenetrable structure refuses exit to the
ifluid.

32

CORK OAK.

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 excellence cpnsists in being compact, supple and elastic,
and it should be from 15 to 20 lines thick.

The cork produced in France may be reckoned at 17,000 or 18,000
quintals, and when the sheets are smooth and even, each quintal affords
7,000 or 7,500 corks 18 lines long. The common price is a dollar and
seventy cents a thousand, of which fifty cents must be allowed for the
expense of making. It is computed that 110 or 115 millions of corks are
annually consumed in France.

This tree would be an important acquisition to the Uuited States, and
would grow wherever the Live 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 too thin, and the sand beneath so homogeneous,
that the roots of the Pines, instead of shooting downward, fold themselves
back, as if repelled by a solid rock.

Both public and private interest requires the inhabitants of the Southern
coast, and especially the neighbouring islands, to rear the Cork Oak about
their plantations, and in places that are unfit for the cultivation of cotton.
It should also be introduced into West Tennessee, and with the more rea-
son as the Vine may be cultivated there with success.

As the young stocks are injured by transplanting, they should be per-
manently fixed the second or third year. To favour their growth, the
earth should be loosed 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 further 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 Mulberry. To fit their produce for consumption, particularly that
of the Mulberry, requires complicated processes, which can be performed
wdth advantage only in populous countries. Flence the attempts made 70
or SO years ago in Georgia to introduce the rearing of silk worms proved
abortive ; and the old White Mulberry Trees that still remain are monu-
ments of that ill-calculated speculation. The bark of the Cork Oak, on
the contrary, might be transported to the Northern States, or made into

i-

y.

t

»

%

y

WILLOW OAK.

33

corks upon the spot by a simple operation performed by a single person
with implements of which the price does not exceed two or three dollars.

PLATE XIII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

WILLOW OAK.

OuERcus PHELLOs. Q. folUs Uneari-lanccolatis, integerrimis, glabris, apice
setaceo-acuminatis, junioribus dentatis lobatisve ; cupula scutellatâ ; glande
suhrotundâ, minima.

This species, which is remarkable for its foliage, makes its first appear-
ance in the environs of Philadelphia ; but it is more common and of a lar-
ger size in Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, where the milder tempera-
ture of the winter is evidently favourable to its growth. It is seen, how-
ever, 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
severe. 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 Red-flowering Maple, the Red Bay and
the Water Oak, it borders the swamps in the lower part of the Southern
States. In these situations it attains its greatest expansion, which is 60
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 thickness of its cellular tissue. The leaves are 2 or 3 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
5

34

LAUREL OAK.

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, very 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 porous to contain
wine or spirituous liquor, and its staves are classed with those of Red Oak.
The quantity, however, is small, as the tree is so little multiplied, that
alone it wmuld 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 for the fellies
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
plantations 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.

 branch luith leaves and fruit of the natural size.

[See NuttalPs Supplement, Vol. 1, p. 15.]

LAUREL OAK.

ClUERcus IMBRICARIA. Q.folUs suhsessUihus, ovali-oblongis, acutis, integerri-

mis, nitidis ; glande subhemisphæricâ.

East of the Alleghanies this species is rare, and has received no specific
name ; west of the mountains, where it is more multiplied and has attracted

»! t7^J^e</ouéé (/e/ .

Laurel Oalc.

Qnercuj' jmhricai'i/x

LAUREL OAK.

35

more attention, it is called Jack Oak, Black Jack Oak, and sometimes,
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 Philadelphia to Pittsburg, 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 Chêne à 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 probable from its flourishing in 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 50 feet high, and 12 or 15 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 atten-
tion only of amateurs desirous of adorning their rural retreats with a variety
of exotic trees.

PLATE XV.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

[ 36 ]

UPLAND WILLOW-OAK.

Q,üercus cinerea. Q. foliis petiolatis, Icmceolato-ohlongis, acutis, integerri.
mis, suhtiXs cinereo-pubescentibus ^ cupuU scutellatâ; glande subhemi-
sphærîca.

The Upland Willow-Oak is confined to the maritime parts of the South-
ern 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 situations are so different in appearance that they might
easily be mistaken for distinct species : in the pine barrens they are 18 or
20 feet high, and 4 or 5 inches in diameter, with the leaves entire, 2è
inches 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 ascertained 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 that succeed the Pines
on lands which have been cleared for cultivation and abandoned on
account of their sterility. In these places, as in the pine barrens, it is 20
feet in stature, and its trunk, crooked and covered with a thick bark, begins
at a third of this height to divide by numerous ramifications. In the
spring it is distinguished 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 respect, nor even for fuel.

The Quercus nana of Willdenow is certainly the smaller 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.

Ff. 1Ô'.

T. .HeJoiite de/.

[ plaiid \\ illow Oalv

Oiie/'(Vd eme/Y'd .

Ériir-iinniiÉJliBitiiiifiiiiirr --- lî

JI-

Jirruï/'d S<'4i//f

Tviniiimg; Oalc.

Oucrcuj’ pimiila .

[ 37 ]

RUNNING OAK.

GIuercus pumila. Q. foins decîduîs, lanceolatîs, întegerrîmîs, basî attenuatîs,
apice dilatatis ; cupulâ scutellatâ ; glande subhemisphæricâ.

Quercus sericea, Willd.

This species, whicli 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 pme-baiTens, amid the numerous varieties
of Whortleberry and other plants w'hich 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 advances. 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 is biennial, the acorns are destroyed before they arrive at
maturity.

My own observations, and those of Messrs. Bose and Delille, distin-
guished 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.

branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

C 38 ]

BARTKAM OAK,

Q,uercus heterophylla. Q. foliis longé petiolatis, ovato-lanceolatis, mtegris
vel inæqualiter dentatis ; glande subglobosâ.

Every botanist who has visited different regions of the globe must have
remarked certain species of vegetables 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 myself, have spent years in exploring
the United States, and who have obligingly communicated to us the result
of their observations, have, like us, found no traces of this species except
a single stock in a field belonging Mr. Bartram, on the banks of the Schuyl-
kill, 4 miles from Philadelphia. This is a flourishing tree, 30 feet in height
and 8 inches in diameter, and seems formed to attain a much greater
development. Its leaves are of an elongated oval form, coarsely and irre-
gularly toothed, smooth above, and beneath of a dark green. 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 affinity ; but the leaves of that vspecies
are never indented, 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 XVIII.^

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

[See NuttalPs Supplement, vol. I. p. 15, by which it appears that this
tree has been discovered near Cincinnati, Ohio.]

* [Erroneously referred to in Nuttall as plate 16,]

r.

• j

c/e/

Barti-am's Oak .

Sc .

Æiâ.

Quey^cjicŸ /leéej^ojD/uILz'.

' ' K'’

\f

4 -.Vr . jr 4c. - 1

V.-.-

•■ ;-■ ^. . ■ . ^ fy-

1^

“ ''V >'

:;v.‘

4

î-'sC'-

k:U- '^‘

f - .

,. 'i>'

W.

7ÿ;j.

H; ■■

■\

• '. tz

1 -'

k ..

l"»- *■

^.. • y-S’.;*;-# :..

V. ■ \ ■ -'i' V

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_ • *• • i • A .

’ • V-Y^ ' ^ '

31

'-■’i

■ '-i* k i - ei 'j*

- •.- ■*• AV

< ->■

•" 'r-¥\ ■

-■

a A

- 'i.

-t.

I#T’

'A*

c

-*1

:-ç..

.’**-,• * i «. . . B •

’-'. rl« . ♦ ,

f V

■ '-• *r

PI TO.

C 39 ]

WATER OAK.

duERCus AQUATicA. Q. folUs ohovalî-cuneatîs, basi acutis, summitate subin-

tegris, variève trilobis, glabris ; cupulâ modice crateratâ ; glande subglobosâ.

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 parts of the Carolinas and Georgia, and in East
Florida. Under the name of Water Oak it is sometimes confounded 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 pyriform — 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.

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 preserve their fecundity for several months.

The bark upon the oldest trunks is smooth and very slightly furrowed *
it is little used in tanning, either because 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 esteemed by carpen-
ters and wheel-wrights than that of the White Oak and Chesnut White
Oak.

As this species is destitute of interest, it will probably become extinct,
like many others which are rapidly diminishing. In France, it would flour-
ish only in the southern departments.

PLATE XIX.

•B. bi anch with leaves and J^ruit oj^ the natural size.

[See NuttalPs Supplement, Vol. 1, p. 23.]

[ 40 ]

BLACK JACK OAK.

Quercus ferruginea. Q. foliis coriaceîs, summitate dilatatis, retusosuhtri-
lobis, basi retusis, subtus rubiginoso.pulverulentis ; cupulâ turbinatâ', squa-
mis obiusis, scariosis ; glande brevi ovatâ.

Quercus nigra, Willd.

I observed this species for the first time in the forests near Allentown
and Cranbery, small towns of New Jersey, about 60 miles east of Phila-
delphia ; but it is smaller and less multiplied 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 the Black Oak is appropriated
in the United States to the Quercus tinctoria.

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 valleys and the
swamps with their surrounding acclivities, is covered with forests impover-
ished by fire and the cattle that subsist in them during a great part of the
year. They are composed principally of Yellow Pine, Post Oak, Black
Oak and Scarlet Oak. In the Carolinas and Georgia, where the soil gra-
dually improves in retiring from the shore towards the mountains, the same
trees form a band 15 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 insulated 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 pine-barrens it grows chiefly on the edges of the branch-swamps ^
where the soil is a little stronger than is necessary 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 account of
their sterility ; and in these situations it is larger than in the forests.

The Black Jack Oak is sometimes 30 feet high and 8 or 10 inches in

P/.20.

Black Jack Oak

Ouerowc^ /~rrr7f2/uiea .

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'ii.^VîC.VJLfï ■f' 'ir^^

E ear’s Oak.

Çi/e/’ri/j' ùa/L7<\'à’p{ .

i

BEAR OAK.

41

diameter, 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
tissue of a dull red. The summit is spacious even in the midst of the
woods. The leaves are yellowish, and somewhat downy at their unfold-
ing in the spring ; when fully 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 handsful 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 decays 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.

The species deserves the attention of amateurs in Europe, for the sin-
gularity of its foliage.

PLATE XX.

J1 branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size,

BEAR OAK.

Q.UERCUS BANisTERi, Q.folUs loHge pctiolatis, acutangulo^quinque-lobis, mar-
gine integris, sicbtus cinereis ? cupula subturbinatâ ^ glande sub globosâ.

This diminutive species is known in the Northern and Middle States by
the names of Bear Oak, Black Scrub Oak and Dwarf Red 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 lemember to have seen the Bear Oak in the lower part of the

6

42

BEAR OAK.

Southern States ; it is common 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 Pennsyl-
vania, which is crossed by the road to Pittsburg. It is never found insu-
lated nor 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 acci-
dentally insulated, and nourished by a vein of more fertile soil, it sometimes
equals 8 or 10 feet. It usually grows in compact masses, which are tra-
versed with diiBculty, though no higher than the waist. As the individuals
W'hich compose them are of a 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
hind feet.

The presence of this Oak is considered as an infallible 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 advantage, by planting it about
the fields for the purpose of strengthening the fences. Though this exper-
iment seemed to have failed, I believe the Bear Oak might be usefully
adopted in the Northern States for hedges, which might be formed from
20 to 24 inches thick, by sowing the acorns in three parallel furrows.
They would be perfected in a short time, would be agreeable to the eye,
and probably would be sufficient 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 Philadelphia 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 impetuous winds, perhaps it might serve to shel-
ter the infancy of other more valuable trees in such exposures. The
want of some such protection is the greatest obstacle to the success of

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ihiSricÔ Oo '

Barrens Scrub Oal^

(^iwi'cus caù’sl^ot’i .

BARRENS SCRUB OAK.

43

plantations on the downs, as I was told near the Hague upon the coast of
Plolland.

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 nourishment 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 XXL

Jl branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

BARRENS SCRUB OAK.

CluERcus CATESBÆI. Q.folUs brevîssîmè petîolatîs, basî angusiatîs, acutîs, sub-
palmato lobatis, lobis înterdùm subf alcalis : cupulâ rnajusculâ\ squamis
marginalïbus introflexis : glande brevi ovatâ.

Accouding 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
Raleigh, N. C., latitude 40'. It grows in soils too meager to sustain
any other vegetation, such as the vicinity of Wilmington, N. C., where the
light movable sand is wholly destitute of vegetable 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 Fayetteville and Wilmington, an interval of
60 miles, where it forms nearly one-tenth of the woods : the Pines them-
! selves, throughout the barrens, are scattered at the distance of 15 or 20
feet.

i The foliage of this tree is open, and its leaves are large, smooth, thick
I and coriaceous towards the close of summer, deeply and irregularly lacin-

44

SPANISH OAK.

iated, and supported by short petioles. With the first frost they change
to a dull red, and fall the ensuing month. The acorns are pretty large,
of a blackish colour, and partly covered with a fine grey dust, which is
easily rubbed off between the fingers : they are contained in thick cups
swollen toward the edge, and distinguished from all other species, by hav-
ing the upper scales bent inward. The oldest trees alone are productive,
and their fruit never exceeds a few handsful.

In the winter it is difficult to distinguish the Scrub Oak from the Black
Jack Oak, which it nearly resembles. Like that, it is crooked, ramified 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 color, 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
insufficient -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 flourishing upon the most sterile soils.

PLATE XXII.

Ji branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

SPANISH OAK. •

GIuercus falcata. Q.foliis longé petiolatls, svhpalmato-lohatis, suhtiis exlmic
tomentosis, lohis falcatis ; cupulâ crateriformi ; glande subglobosâ.

Quercus elongata, Wjlld.

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 acquires its perfect development, and where its leaves exhibit their
appropriate form. Further south, it is constantly found among the most

À

Jel .

Spaïusli Oak.

Û7/ercï/,r /(ilcata .

ûaSrie^ Je .

SPANISH OAK.

45

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 Carolinas 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 i'-' just or not, I am unable to say ; hut it is unknown to the
inhabitants who have adopted the name. The denomination of Red Oak,
which is used only in the more Southern States, was probably given it on
account of the great analogy between its wood and that of the species 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 30 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 limbs they are more acutely laciniated,
with the sections more arching than those represented in the figure. This
remarkable difference led my father to describe as a distinct species, under
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 color, and contained in slightly
scaly cups supported by peduncles one or two lines in length. They
resemble those 'of the Bear Oak, and, like them, preserve for a long time
the faculty of germination.

The bark upon the trunk is blackish and deeply furrowed, with a cellular
tissue 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 Red Oak : hence its staves are fit
only to contain mêlasses, salted provisions and dry goods. I have been
told that in the West Indies the Red Oak staves from the Southern States,
where this species abounds, are the most esteemed, 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 occa-
sion a difference in the price.

From its want of durability the Spanish Oak is less esteemed than the

46

BLACK OAK.

White Oak, the Post Oak, and other species of annual fructification. It is
rarely employed in building, and is used by wheelwrights only at Baltimore,
where it is preferred to the White Oak for the fellies of large wheels.

The principal merit of the Spanish Oak, which gives it a superiority
over most other species in the United .States, resides in its bark. This is
preferred for tanning coarse leather, which it renders whiter and more
supple ; it is consequently sold at Philadelphia and Wilmington 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 Sj)anish Oak is adapted to the climate of the 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 its bark should prove equal to that of
the European Oak. Butin 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 quality, such as
compose a large part of that section of the United States.

PLATE XXIIL

Ji branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

BLACK OAK.

Q.UERCUS TiNCTORiA. Q.folHs profimdè sinuosis, subtus pulverukntis j cupulâ
turbinatâ, squamosa ; glande brevi ovatâ.

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 everywhere 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.

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» 4 • •'

BLACK OAK.

47

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 constantly united in the forests with the Scarlet, Spanish
and Post Oaks, and the Alockernut 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 4 or 5 feet in diameter. The leaves are large, deeply laci-
niated, 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 roughened with small glands, which are sensible to the eye and to
the touch. The same appearance is observed 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 thick-
ness, and always of a black or very deep brown colour, whence probably
is derived the name of the tree. North-east of Pennsylvania, the com-
plexion of the bark is the only character by which it can be distin-
guished from the Red, Scarlet and Gray Oaks, when the leaves are fallen.
Further south, this character is not sufficient to distinguish it from the
Spanish Oak, the bark of which 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 cel-
ular tissue of each ; that of the Black Oak is very bitter and gives a yel-
low tinge to the saliva, which is not the case with the other.

The wood is reddish and coarse-grained, with empty pores : it is, how-
ever, more esteemed for strength and durability than that of any other
species of biennial fructification. At Philadelphia it is employed for want
of White Oak, in building ; and the farmers of the Northern States, with
false economy, substitute it in the place of the White Oak for fences.

As this species is abundant in the Northern and Middle States, it fur-
nishes a large proportion of the Red Oak staves exported to the colonies or
employed at home to contain flour, salted provisions and mêlasses.

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 color to the leather, which must be discharged by a particular
process, to prevent its staining the stockings ; it is a great error to assert
that this color augments its value.

From the cellular tissue of the Black Oak is obtained the quercitron, of
which great use is made in dying wool, silk and paper-hangings. Accord-
ing 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

1

48

SCARLET OAK,

quercitron yields as much colouring matter as eight or ten parts of \ 70 ad.
The decoction is of a brownish yellow, which is rendered 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 afford
a more abundant precipitate of the same color, but of a much brighter
hue.

To dye wool, it is sufficient to boil the quercitron with an equal weight
of alum ; in dipping the stuff, the deepest shade is given first, and after-
wards 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 may be substituted for woad, in giving all the shades of yellow
to silk; the proportion is one part by weight to twelve parts of silk. In
the advertisements of Philadelphia for February, 1808, this substance is
rated at forty dollars a ton, and from that city chiefly it is exported to Europe.

Though the wood of the Black Oak is of a better quality than that of
the Scarlet, Spanish, Red, Pin, Gray, Willow and Water Oaks, which are
all comprehended under the name of Red Ocd:, it is much inferior to that
of the European Oak. But its stature, the rapidity of its growth in the
coldest climates and on the most indifferent soils, and above all, the value of
its bark in dying, recommend it powerfully to the notice of European
foresters.

PLATE XXIV.

J1 leaf of the natural size.

]SfoTE. — The small branch with the acorns belongs to the Scarlet Oak.

SCARLET OAK.

Q,uercus COCCIXEÂ. Q, foliis longé petiolatis, oblongis, profunde siniiatis,
glabris ; lobis dentatis, acutis ; cupulâ insigniter sejuamosa ; glande brcvi
ovatâ.

The Scarlet Oak is first seen in the vicinity of Boston, but it is less
multiplied than in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the upper

Scarlet Oak.

Oiierciùf cûfcuiea

|:

? '

I ;

fi

Î:

i

4

, !

:

t I

1

i

7

i

I

SCARLET OAK.

49

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, produce nothing but Pines. I
have not seen it in the District of Maine, the States of New Hampshire
and Vermont, nor beyond Utica in Genessee. 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 by the inhabitants, it will probably be adopted, as the
tree is evidently a distinct species.

This is a vegetable of more than SO feet in height and of 3 or 4 feet in
diameter. The leaves, which are supported by long petioles, are of a
beautiful green, smooth, shining on both sides, and laciniated in a remark-
able manner, having usually four deep sinuses very broad at the bottom.
They begin to change with the first cold, and, after several successive frosts,
turn to a bright red, instead 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 alone a sufficient inducement to culti-
vate 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 Scarlet.

The wood of this Oak is reddish and coarse-grained, with open pores.
As it decays much more rapidly 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 Gray and Red Oaks.

That this tree will flourish in France, is shown by an example at Ram-
bouillet, 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, shotfld afford such indifferent wood that we can-
not recommend its introduction into the forests of Europe, nor its preserva-
tion in those of the United States.

PLATE XXV.

A leaf of the natural size.

Note. — The acorns in this plate belong to the Black Oak,

7

[ 50 3

GRAY OAK<

Q,üercus borealis. Q. foliis sinuatis, glabris, sinitbus subacutis ; cupulâ

subscutelîatâ ; glande turgîde ovatâ.

The Gray Oak appears, by my father’s notes, to be found further north
than any other species in America ; in returning from Pludson’s Bay he
saw it on the St. Lawrence between Quebec and Malabaie, in latitude
47° 50'. Under that parallel, and near Halifax in Nova Scotia, where I
first observed it, it is not more than 40 feet high ; and though the bloom
is annual, the winter is so rigorous and long that the fruit is said to be
matured only once in three or four years. Three degrees further south,
in Maine and New Hampshire, and on the shores of Lake Champlain in
Vermont, it is more multiplied, and is 50 or 60 feet in height and 18 inches
in diameter. It is called by the inhabitants Gray Oak, but it has been
confounded by botanists with the Red Oak, to which it bears a close ana-
logy in its foliage, as it does to the Scarlet Oak in its fruit : on this resem-
blance 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 middle size, rounded at the end, and
contained in scaly cups.

The wood is similar to that of the other species included 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 superior to the Birch, the Beech, and the Pine.
Thus the Gray Oak is employed for the knees of vessels and for wheel-
wright’s 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 more valuable, such as the White Oak, the
Swamp White Oak, and the Rock Chesnut Oak.

PLATE XXVI.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

P/. 2 6

(raùriel Sca/pP

Grav Oak.

t

Oue7'a/,f a7n(n^iu7.

P-j ■■

Pill Gap.

Oiie/'r//s j[)aù/é'//'hr

[ 51 ]

PIN OAK.

Q,uercus palustris. Q.foliis profundè sinuatis, glabris, sinubus latis ; fructu
parvo ; cupulâ scutellatâ, levi ; glande subglobosâ.

This species, like the preceding, grows in Massachusetts, 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 Pittsburg
in Ohio, and in East Tennessee, and my father found it multiplied in the
country of the Illinois : I feel assured that it does not exist in Maine, Ver-
mont and the Southern 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 sufhciently
appropriate ; but I have preferred the second, because it is less liable to
mistake, and is indicative of a characteristic arrangement of the branches.

The Pin Oakis a tall tree, which grows constantly in moist places,
and prefers the swamps enclosed 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 stuffed. This singular disposition renders it distin-
guishable 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, supported
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 tissue. 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 shafts of mill-wheels when White Oak
of sufficient dimensions cannot be procured ; it is also sometimes, 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 species with which
I am acquainted in Europe, is in a garden near Antwerp ; it was about 20

52

RED OAK.

feet high in 1804, and its brilliant and vigorous vegetation proved how
well the soil and climate was adapted to it.

PLATE XXVII.

Ji branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

RED OAK.

Q-uercus rubra. Q. foliis longé petiolatis, glabris^ obtuse sinuatis ; cuptdâ

scutellatâ, sublævi ; glande subovatâ.

Next to the Gray 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. Further 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 Carolinas and Georgia.
This remark confirms an observation which I have often made, that its
perfect development requires a cool climate and a fertile soil. It is uni-
versally known by the name of Red Oak, except near Lancaster in Penn-
sylvania, where it is sometimes confounded with the Spanish Oak.

The Red Oak is a tall, wide-spreading tree, frequently more than 80
feet high, and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. 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 stocks 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 beneath,
while those of the Red Oak are perfectly smooth. In the autumn they
change to a dull red, and turn yellow before they fall.

The acorns are very large and abundant, rounded at the summit, com-
pressed at the base, and contained in flat cups covered with narrow com-
pact 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

P1.2S.

Red Oalc

Qiœrciàr rubra..

s

i

I

ADDITION TO THE OAKS.

53

enough for the passage of a hair : it is strong hut 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
such dry wares as are exported to the islands, and in the colonies, to
receive mêlasses and sugar.

The bark consists of a very thin epidermis and a very thick cellular
tissue. It is extensively used in tanning, but is less esteemed than that of
the Spanish, Black and Rock Chesnut Oaks.

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

PLATE XXVIII.

^ branch ivith leaves and fruit of the natural size.

ADDITIONS TO THE OAKS.

In the Flora Âmericœ Septentinonalis, of Pursh, published in England
in 1814, the following species of Oak are added to those which I have
described :

Quercus MARiTiMA. Q. folUs perennünUhus, coriaceis, integerrimis^ glabris, basi
attenuatis, apice mucronatis ; ciipulâ scutellatâ ; glande subrotundà.

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

Quercus myrtifolia. Q. foliis pere7inantibus, coriaceis, oblongis, integerrimis,
glabris, utrinque acutis, supra nitidis, margine revolutis.

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

Quercus hemisphærica. Q. foliis perennantibus, oblong o-lanceolatis, trilobis sinu-
atisque, lobis mucronatis, utrinque glabris. Willd.

ADDITIONS TO THE OAKS.

54

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

QuERcrs NANA. Q. foUis cuneiformis, glabris, apice trilobis, basi snbsinuatis, lobis
divaricatis, mucronatis, intermedio majore ; capulâ scutellatâ.

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

Quercus discolor. Q. foliis oblongis, pinnatijido-sinuatis, subtus pubescenlibus,
lobis oblongis, dentatis, setaceo-mucronatis ; cupula turbinatâ.

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

OAKS found in New Spain by Messrs. Humboldt and Bonpland, and de-
scribed in their Nova Genera et Species Plantarum. Paris, 1816.

Quercus confbrtieolta. Q. ramulis abbreviatis ; foliis brevissime petiolatis, con-
fertis, lanceolatis, acuminatis, mucronato-arislatis, mtegerrimis, coriaceis ; margine
subrefexis, subtus pubescenlibus ; fructibus subgerninis, sessilibus.

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

Quercus crassipes. Q. ramulis tuberculosis ; foliis br éviter petiolatis, lanceolato-
oblongis, mucronatis, basi rotundatis, integerrimis, coriaceis, subtùs cmereo-tomento-
sis ; fructibus pedunculatis subgerninis ; pedunculis incrassatis ; cupulis subturbinatis.

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

Quercus mexicana. Q. ramulis foliisque, subtus stellatim pubescenlibus, supra
nitidis, lineari- oblongis, acutis, sub mucronatis, subcordatis, undulato-subsinuatis,
subcoriaceis ; fructibus solitariis, breviter pedunculatis', cupulis cijatlii for mibus.

This species rises from 15 to 20 feet : it is very abundant between Aca-
pulco and the city of Mexico, near Mojonera, Quajiniquilapa and Chilpal-
cino-o, and is also found near Moran, Regia, Guanajuato and Santa Rosa :
it fructifies in September.

Quercus lanceolata. Q. ramulis tuberculatis ; foliis oblong o-lanceolatis, utrinque
acutis, undulato-repandis, coriaceis, supra nitidis, subtus stellatim pubescenlibus ; fruc-
tibus subternis, brevissime pedunculatis ; cupulis cyalMformibus.

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 immense forests : it fructifies in September.

Quercus tridens. Q. ramis lœvibus ; foliis oblongis, basi rotundatis, apice cuspi-
dato-tridentatis,membranaceis, supra pubescenlibus, subtus tenuiter cinereo-tomentosis ;
fructibus ternis aut quinis, breviter pedunculatis.

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

Quercus laurina. Q. ramulis glabris, foliis oblongis, acuminatis, basi suhrotunda-
tis ; apicem versus subdentatis, coriaceis, glabris, nitidis ; fructibus solitariis aut ter-
ms, sessilibus; cupulis cyathiformibus.

ADDITIONS TO THE OAKS.

55

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

Quercus PvEpanda. Q. fructicosa, procumhens ; ramulis foliisque^suhtus albido-to-
mentosis, subsessilibus, oblongis, obtusiusculis, busi inœqitalibus, sinuato-repandis
coriaceis ; fructihus subsolitariis, sessilibus.

This is a shrub about 2 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 pubescentibus ;foliis sem-
pervirentibus, oblongis, acutis, basi rotundatis, argute et remote dentatis, rigidis,
glabris, nitidis ; fructibus geminis aut ternis, br éviter pedunculatis.

This species is an evergreen shrub, numerously ramified, 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, pubescentibus ; foliis oblongis, basi
rotundatis ^apicem versus cuspidato-dentatis, membranaceis, supra nitidis, subtus tenu-
issime aureo-tomentosis ; fructibus ternis aut quinis, pedunculatis.

This tree, which has a thin foliage, rises to the height of 30 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 Regia, and flowers
in May.

Quercus jalapensis. Q. ramis tuberculatis ; foliis longe petiolatis, ovato-oblongis,
acuminatis, remote cuspidato-dentatis, subcoriaceis, glabris ; fructibus solitariis aut
geminis, breviter pedunculatis ; cupulis cyathiformibus.

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

Quercus acutifolia. Q. foliis ovato-lanceolatis, acu7ninatis, inœqualiter subcorda-
tis, subtus pulverulento-tomentosis, ferrugineis, sinuato-de^itatis ; dentibus elongatis^
cuspidatis ; fructibus geminis aut quaternis, hrevissime pedunculatis.

A very lofty tree, about 2 feet in diameter, which grows on the west
side of the mountains between Venta de Acaguisolta and la Majonera : it
fructifies in May.

Quercus stipuuaris. Q. ramulis ferrugineo-tomentosis ; foliis obovato-oblongis,
subcordatis, argute et grosse dentatis ; crasse coriaceis, supra nitidis, subtus flavido-
tomentosis stipulis pej'sistentibus ,■ fructibus solitariis aut geminis, sessilibus.

This tree rises to the height of about 50 feet, and has a thick foliage :
it is found on the mountains of Mexico near Actopan, and fructifies in
May.

Quercus syderoxyla. ramulis pubescentibus / foliis obovato-oblongis, basi rotun-

datis, apicem versus argute serratis, cordatis, remote et obtuse dentatis, membranaceis,
subtus tomentosis ; fruct ibus longe pedunculatis, subspicatis ; cupulis hemisphæricis.

A very lofty tree, from 1 to 2 feet in diameter ; it grows in the temperate

56

ADDITIONS TO THE OAKS.

regions of New Spain, near 'Villalpando and Santa Rosa, and fructifies in
September.

Qtjercus pulchella. Q. ramis tuberculatis ; foliis obovato-oMongis, subcordatis,
argute dentatis, coriaceis, supra nitidis, subtus tenuissime incano-tomentosis ; fructibus
geminis, breviter pedunculatis ; cupulis depresso-sphœricis.

This tree is from 15 to 20 feet in heio-ht, and o-rows in the mountainous
regions of New Spain between Guanajuato and Santa Rosa; it fructifies
in September.

Qpercus reticulata. Q. ramulis suhpubescentibus ; foliis subsessilibus, obovatis,
cordatis, remote dentatis, coriaceis, rugosis, subtus tenuissime tomentosis ; fructibus
geminis, longe pedunculatis ; cupulis cyathiformibus.

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

Quercus crassifolia. Q. ramulis sulcatis, foliisque subtus flavescenti-tomentosis,
breviter petiolatis, obovatis cordatis, remote detitatis, crasse coriaceis ; fructibus subter-
nis, pedunculatis ; cupulis subsphœricis.

This tree is from 30 to 40 feet high, and has a very thick foliage ; it is
found in the stony and mountainous regions of New Spain near Chilpan-
cingo, and fructifies in April.

Quercus spicata. Q. ramulis tomentosis ; foliis ellipticis, sinuato-dentatis, coriaceis,
supra nitidis, subtus tenuissime canescenti-tomentosis ; fructibus subgeminis, brevissime
pedunculatis ; cupulis cyathiformibus.

This species is from 30 to 40 feet in height, and is found in shady situa-
tions near el Oyamel, el Jacal, and Cerro de las Nabajas ; it fructifies in May.

Quercus pandurata. Q. ramulis lævibus, hirtis, foliis obovato-oblongis, subpandura-
tis, subcordatis, sinuato-dentatis, coriaceis, subtus pubescentibus ; fructibus subquinis,
pedunculatis ; cupulis cyathiformibus.

This species is about 15 feet high : it is found on the sides of the moun-
tains in the kingdom of Mechoacan, between Ario and Patzcuaro : it fruc-
tifies in September.

Quercus ambigua. Q. ramulis glabris, obovato-oblongis, obtusis, basi rotundahs, sub-
repandis, membranaceis, subtus tenuissime pubescentibus ; fructibus quinis aut 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 Ventoso and Omilton : it flowers in May.

Quercus glaucescens. Q. ramulis angulatis ; foliis brevissime petiolatis, obovato-
oblongis, obtusiusculis, basi cuneatis, dentato-sinuatis, membranaceis, glaucescentibus ;
fructibus quinis aut septenis, pedunculatis.

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

Quercus obtusata. Q. ramulis tuberculatis, tenuiter pubescentibus , foliis oblongis,
obtusis basi inœqualibus, répandis, coriaceis, subtus pulverulento-pubescentibus ; fruc-
tibus subquinis, pedunculatis ; cupulis campanulato-globosis.

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

WALNUTS.

Of the various trees which compose the vast forests of North America east
of the Mississippi, the Walnut ranks after the Oak, among the genera, the
species of which are most multiplied. In this particular, the soil of the
United States is more favoured than that of Europe, in no part of which is
any species of this tree indigenous. I have distinguished in the United
States ten species of Walnut, and others will probably be discovered in
Louisiana : travellers who visit these regions to explore their natural his-
tory, should direct their attention 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 Pecannut
Hickory, of rapid improvement by the aid of grafting and attentive culti-
vation. Some weight is given this consideration, by an observation which
I have often heard repeated by my father, that the fruit of the Common
European Walnut, in its natural state, is harder than that of the American
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 variety of fruits, equally
salutary and beautiful.

The Walnuts of North America appear to present characters so distinct
as to require their division into two sections. These characters consist
principally in the form of the barren aments or catkins, and in the greater
or less rapidity of vegetation in the trees. The first section is composed
of WMlnuts with single aments, (PI. 29 and 30,) and includes two species :
the Black Walnut and the Butternut; to which is added the European
Walnut. The second section consists of such as have compound aments,
(PI. 36,) and comprises eight species : the Pecannut Hickory, Bitternut
Hickory, Water Bitternut Hickory, Mockernut Hickory, Shellbark Hickory,
Xhick Shellbaik 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, beginning with the Pecannut Hick-
8

58

WALNUTS.

ory which, by its numerous leaflets, most nearly resembles the Black Wal-
nut and the Butternut, whose buds are also uncovered.

Throughout the United States, the common name of Hickory is given
to the species of the second section. This universal appellation is due to
certain properties of their wood, which, however 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 leaflets.
To these sources of confusion, must be added another in the fruit, which
is often so various in its appearance, 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 founded ; 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 resorted 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 resem-
blance 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.

[For additional information on the Walnuts, see Nuttall’s Supplement,
vol. I. p. 39.

The genus Carya, has been separated from Jùglans byNuttall, chiefly on
account of a technical distinction in the fruit.

Propagation, &c. The species is propagated by the nut; which when
the tree is to be grown chiefly for its timber, is best sown where it is finally
to remain, on account of the taproot, which will thus have its full influence
on the vigour and prosperity of the tree. In soils, on moist, or otherwise
unfavourable subsoils, if sown where it is not finally to remain, a tile, slate,
or flat stone should be placed under the nut at the depth of three or four
inches, to give the taproot a horizontal direction ; or if this precaution is
neglected, the taproot may be cut through with a spade six or eight inches
below the nut. In a dry or rocky subsoil, or among rocks, no precaution
of this kind is necessary. The varieties may be propagated by budding,
grafting, inarching, or layering, and, possibly, by cuttings of the root.

The nuts may be sown as soon as gathered, if there is no danger from
vermin ; but if there is, defer sowing till February. The most convenient

W A L N U T S.

59

mode is to deposit the seed in drills, two feet apart from each other, plac-
ing the seeds at from three to six inches apart in the drills. If germinated
in a heap before sowing, the points of the taproot may be pinched off before
planting. Whether sown in drills or broad cast, almost the only attention
required in their culture while in the nursery is, to shorten once a year,
the tap, or main root, in order to induce them to throw out fibres, for
the purpose of facilitating their transplantation, which if performed in the
autumn, should be followed in the spring before the sap begins to rise, by
cutting the head of the tree entirely off, leaving only a main stem, termina-
ting in the stumps of the principal branches. The wounds of these stumps
are carefully covered with plaster composed of loam and cowdung, or graft-
ing clay, secured from the weather by straw and cords. Trees thus treated,
push out shoots of great vigour the first year, and these being thinned out
or rubbed off, the remainder soon form a head.

Soil and situation. The Walnuts attain the largest size in a deep loamy
soil, dry rather than moist ; but the fruit has the best flavour, and produces
most oil, when the tree is grown in calcareous soils, or among calcareous
rocks; in a wet-bottomed soil, it will not thrive^ The Walnut is not a
social tree, and neither produces good timber nor fruit when planted in
masses. The Walnut is generally considered injurious, by its shade, both
to man and plants.

Hickories planted in masses should be thinned when the plants have
attained the height of from five to eight feet, the larger trees being left for
timber, for ornament, or for fruit. Managed in this way, and gradually
exposed to the action of the sun and air, they will have their peculiar
beauties developed in the fullest manner. The wood which has grown
most rapidly is the most valuable, having least of the heart wood. The
ashes of the Hickories abound in alkali, and are considered better for the
purpose of making soap, than any other of the native woods, being next to
those of the Apple tree. The shellbark grows best on the border of culti-
vated land, or on the edge of a forest. Some of our gardeners have paid
attention to procuring the best nuts for cultivation, and the “true thin-
shelled” may now be purchased from the nurseries ; the nuts, however,
will differ in different soils and situations, and even on individual trees
growing in immediate proximity.]

[ 60 ]

METHODICAL DISPOSITION

OF THE

WALNUTS

OF

NORTH AMERICA.

Monœcîa Polyandrîa, Linn. Terebinthaceæi Juss.

FIEST SECTION.

Simple aments. {PL 29 and 30.)
VEGETATION RAPID.

1. Common European Walnut, . , Juglans regia.

2. Black Walnut, . . Juglans nigra.

3. Butternut. . . Juglans cathartica.

SECOND SECTION.

HICKORIES.

Compound aments, each peduncle hearing three. {PL 36,^^. 3.)

VEGETATION SLOW.

4. Pecannut Hickory,

5. Bitternut Hickory,

6. Water Bitternut Hickory,

7. Mockernut Hickory,

8. Shellbark Hickory,

9. Thick Shellbark Hickory,

10. Pignut Hickory,

11. Nutmeg Hickory.

Juglans [Cary a) olivæformis.
Juglans {Cary a) amara.

Juglans {Cdrya'^ aquatica.
Juglans {Carya^ tomentosa.
Juglans {Cary a) squamosa.
Juglans {Carya'^ laciniosa.
Juglans {Carya'j porcina.

Juglans {Carya'^ myrisHcæformis.

Coiiinioii European V\/^aliixit

[ G1 ]

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

JuGLANs REGIA. J. foUolis subseptcnis, ovalibus^ glabris, subserratis, subæquaU

ibus : f7'uctibus subovalibus.

The Walnut which for several centuries has been cultivated in Europe
is a native of Asia. According to an ancient 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 that part of the East to examine
its natural productions, first ascertained with exactness, the origin of this
tree : he found it in the natural state, in the province of Ghilan, which lies
on the Caspian Sea, between the 35th and 40th degrees of latitude.

The period of its introduction into Europe, a point on which ancient
authors leave us in obscurity, is proved 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 Rosière, instituted by St. Medard,
at Salency, Department of the Oise, 1200 years ago, it is directed, that an
offering composed of nuts and other fruits of the country, shall be presented
to the young maid who is crowned : which proves the tree to have been
already naturalized in that part of France.

The Walnut is common throughout the centre of Europe, but it flourishes
most in the western and southern Departments of France, in Spain and in
Italy, which approach nearest to the latitude in which it grows natu-
rally. In France, it is only in the west and south, where the vegetation
of the Walnut is perfectly secure from frost, that its wood is of a superior
quality, and that its fruit is regularly yielded in sufficient abundance to be-
come an article of commerce.

The European Walnut is one of the tallest and most beautiful among
fruit trees, and one of the most remarkable 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 gray 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 leaflets, surmounted by an odd one. The leaflets
are oval and smooth ; when bruised, they exhale a strong aromatic odor.
In the extreme heat of summer, the emanations from the Walnut are so
powerful as to produce unpleasant effects upon some persons, if they slum-
ber in its shade.

The flowers of the Common European Walnut, like those of the Black
Walnut and Butternut, appear before the unfolding of the leaves ; the bar-

62

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

ren ones in single, pendulous, imbricated aments ; the fertile ones on
separate branches, at the end of the young shoots, 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 principle becomes perfectly
formed; they are then oppressive if immoderately eaten.

A dessert of an excellent relish is made by extracting the kernels a fort-
night 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
Cerneaux, 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.

The Common Walnut is more multiplied in the Departments of France
which lie between the 45th and the 48th degrees 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 the
centre : 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 attentions are necessary
to insure its fineness. When the fruit is gathered, and the nuts are separ-
ated from the husks, they should be kept dry, and occasionally moved till
they are used. The proper time for the operation is at the close of win-
ter, 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 crack-
ed by striking it on the end with a small mallet, and pains are taken not to
bruise the kernel. The slight ligneous 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

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

63

in bags of strong linen and submitted to the press. The oil which flows
under this first pressure without the application of heat, is of the best qua-
lity. 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 unaccustomed
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 during the first months, carefully corked, and stored 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 moderately heated in coppers. It is then replaced
in the sacks' and returned to the press. The oil of the second discharge
is highly colored, and very speedily becomes rancid ; it is therefore em-
ployed only in the preparation of colors. The cakes which remain after
the expression is finished, are used for fattening fowls.

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

In copper-plate printing, walnut oil is considered, in Paris, indispensably
necessary for a fine impression, in black or in colors. But there are peculiar
modes of preparing it for the several colors with which it is to be mixed.
Thus for white, blue, light green, and the intermediate 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 facilitate the
process, one tenth part of linseed 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
rapidly, 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 necessary evaporation is effected, and
are then taken out, charged with mucilaginous particles. The principal
advantage of this oil, in the preparation of white lead for painting the
interior of houses, as well as of the colors 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; after they have steeped three
wmeks, the brandy is filtered through brown paper, and a quarter of a
pound of loaf sugar is added. This cordial improves by age.

Dyers obtain, by boiling the husks when they begin to dscay, and the

64

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

bark of the roots, a substantial dark brown, with which they dye woolens.
Cabinet-makers also make use of it, in staining other pieces 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 furni-
ture 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 furnish excellent screws for large
presses. Great quantities of wooden shoes are manufactured of Walnut,
which are more highly esteemed than others.

The wood of the European Walnut is largely exported 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
careful cultivation. There are seven or eight cultivated varieties, whose
superiority is principally apparent in the augmented 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 Si. Jean and the Jauge Walnuts.
The St. John Walnut, is a variety obtained within a few years. It yields
fruit as large and as abundant as the common Walnut, and for that part of
Europe which lies beyond the 45th degree of latitude, it possesses an
advantage, in opening its vegetation three weeks later, and in being thus
secure from the injuries 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 excellency of its
fruit, and the decided superiority of its oil in the preparation of colors, that
the European Walnut should be warmly recommended to the attention of
Americans. It would thrive better than elsewhere in places where the
Black Walnut naturally abounds.

PJ.jRedouâe < 2 ^/,

Blade Walnut .

i Jui/Ia/ M nit^ra . .

JjMf'i/l ücu/p /

COMMON EUROPEAN WALNUT.

65

In some parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland, the Black Walnuts have
been preserved in clearing the lands : great advantage would be found in
grafting them with the European Walnut. The limbs should be cut 15
inches from the trunk, and from the stumps will spring vigorous shoots,
which the second year may be grafted 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 fifth year. On estates where no Black Walnuts exist, the
deficiency may be supplied by planting the nuts, and grafting the young
stocks when they come to the height of 8 or 10 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, otherwise 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 trees have generally sprung from the
seed, which is the cause of the inferiority of their fruit. For it is observed
that, with a few accidental exceptions, the finest fruits and flowers degen-
erate in reproduction. This inconvenience 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
importation from Bordeaux of young grafted trees, which will soon furnish
the means to such proprietors as wish to enrich their estates with this useful
and magnificent tree.

PLATE XXIX.

Fig. 1. J1 leaf of half the natural size. Fig. 2. Barren Flowers. Fig. 3,
Fertile flowers. Fig. 4. A nut in its husk of the natural size. Fig. 5, A
nut without its husk. Fig. 6. A nut deprived of half the shell to show the
kernel.

4

* [Since this was written, the European W alnut has been extensively introduced in America,
but as far north as Philadelphia it does not produce fruit abundantly, except in sheltered situa-
tions, or when surrounded by hard surface ground.]

9

[ 66 ]

BLACK WALNUT.

JuGLANs NIGRA. J . folîoHs qumdenîs, subcoî'dütîs, supernè angustalis, serratis ;
fructu globoso, punctato, scabriusculo ; nuce corrugalâ.

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 State of New Jersey, in
the latitude of 40° 50^*. West of the Mountains, it exists abundantly two
degrees further north, in that portion of Genessee -which is comprised
between the 77th and 79th degrees 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
multiplied in the forests about Philadelphia, and with the exception of the
lower parts of the Southern States, where the soil is too sandy, or too wet
as in the Swamps, it is met with to the banks of the Mississippi, through-
out an extent of 2000 miles. East of the Alleghany mountains in Virginia,
and in the upper part of the Carolinas and of Georgia, it is chiefly confined
to the valleys where the soil is deep and fertile, and which are watered
by creeks and rivers : in the western country, in Genessee, and in the
States of Ohio and Kentucky, where the soil in general is very rich, it
grows in the forests, with the Coffee-tree, Honey Locust, Red Mulberry,
Locust Shellbark Hickory, Black Sugar Maple, Hack Berry, and Red Elm ;
all which trees prove the goodness of the soil in which they are found.

It is in these countries that the Black Walnut displays its full proportions.
On the banks of the Ohio, and on the islands of thatbeautiful river, I have
often seen trees of 3 or 4 feet in diameter and 60 or 70 feet in height. It
is not rare to find them of the thickness of 6 or 7 feet. Its powerful vegeta-
tion clearly points out this, as one of the largest trees of America. When
it stands insidated, its branches, extending 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
odor. They are about 18 inches in length, pinnate, and composed in gen-
eral of 6, 7 or 8 pair of leaflets surmounted by an odd one. The leaflets
are opposite and fixed on short petioles ; they are acuminate, serrate, and
somewhat downy. The barren flowers are disposed in pendulous and

* [It is found in Massachusetts. Emerson.]

BLACK WALNUT.

B7

cylindrical aments, of which the peduncles are simple, unlike those of the
Hickories, (PL 30, fig. 1.) The fruit is round, odoriferous, of rather an un-
even surface, and always appears at the extremity of the branches : on young
and vii^orous trees, it is sometimes 7 or 8 inches in circumference. The
husk is thick, and is notas in the Hickories divided into sections ; but
when ripe it softens and gradually decays. The nut is hard, somewhat
compressed at the sides, and sulcated. The kernel, which is divided by
firm ligneous partitions, is of a sweet and agreeable taste, though inferior
to that of the European Walnut. These nuts are sold in the markets of
New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and served upon the tables. The
size of the fruit varies considerably, and depends upon the vigor 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 the husk is 7 or 8 inches in
compass, with the nut proportionally large : in Genessee, 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 volume. Some variations are observed in the form
of the fruit, and in the moulding of the shell ; but these I consider as
merely accidental differences. Indeed, there is no genus of trees in Ame-
rica, in which the fruit of a given species exhibits such various forms, as
in the Walnut ; and doubtless this circumstance has misled observers, who,
being acquainted only with the small number of trees existing in European
gardens, have described them as distinct species.

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 violet color, which after a short exposure to the air assumes an inten-
ser shade, and becomes nearly black : hence probably is derived the name
of Black Walnut. There are several qualities for which its wood is princi-
pally 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 tena-
cious : 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 Alleghanies, its timber is not exten-
sively used in building houses, but in some parts of Kentucky and Ohio,
it is split into shingles 18 inches long and from 4 to 6 inches wide, 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 some-
times made, which from the accidental curlings of the grain is highly beau-

68

BLACK WALNUT.

tiful ; but as its color soon changes to a dusky hue, the Wild Cherry wood
is frequently preferred for this use. The Black Walnut is also employed
for musket stocks ; it is stronger and tougher than the Red-flowering Maple,
which, from its superior lightness and elegance, is chosen for fowling
pieces. In Virginia, posts ar'e very commonly made of Black Walnut, and
as it lasts undecayed in the ground from twenty to twenty-five years, it
appears every way fit for this, purpose. I have been assured that it makes
excellent naves for wheels, which further proves its strength and durability.
At Philadelphia, coffins are very frequently made of it.

The timber of this tree is also excellently adapted to certain uses in
Naval Architecture. It should never be wrought till it is perfectly seas-
oned, after which it is asserted to be more durable, though more brittle,
than the White Oak. Brecke], in his History of North Carolina, affirms
that it is not liable, like the Oak, to be attacked by sea-wornis in warm
latitudes. This advantage, if it is real, is highly important, and deserves
to be ascertained by further 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, towns on the Ohio, it consti-
tutes a principal part of the frame. On the river Wabash, canoes are made
of it which are greatly esteemed for strength and durability. Some of
them fashioned from the trunk of a single tree, are more than 40 feet long,
and 2 or 3 feet wide.

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

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

This tree has long since been 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 American Wal-
nut. 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 com-
pact, heavier and much stronger ; that it is susceptible of a finer polish,
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

* [The demand for Walnut wood in the Atlantic cities, and the want of attention to its culti-
vation, have since made it necessary for the cabinet makers, &c., to import from the west the
greater portion of their supplies. This resource must fail intime, and the wood may not impro-
bably become nearly as costly as Mahogany, which it resembles in many of its properties.]

pi.:h.

JRenard Jc • *

P.J.RedouPz

Butter Nut .

Jmjians cal/iarhc/ï

/

BUTTERNUT.

69

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 cultivation of trees or herba-
ceous 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 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 ten feet, their advantages, with respect to the quality both of wood
and of fruit, might be united.

PLATE XXX.

A leaf of half its natural size. Fig. 1, A nut ivith its hush. Fig. 2, A
nut ivithout its hush. Fig. 3, A barren ament.

BUTTERNUT.

JuGLANs CATHARTICA. 'S . foUoUs subquinclenis, lanceolatis, basi rotundato-ob-
tusis subius. tomentosis^ leviter serratis : fructu oblongo, ovato, apice mam-
moso, viscido, longe pedunculato^ nuce oblongâ, acuminalâ, insigniter
insculptè-scabrosû.

This species of Walnut is known in North America, under different de-
nominations. In Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, it bears
the name of Oibnut : 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 neighborhood 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 de-

BUTTERNUT.

70

finitively substituted for that of Cinerea^ by which it has hitherto been
distinguished among botanists. This last appellation, derived from the
color of the secondary branches, whose bark is smooth and grayish, suggests
only an unimportant characteristic, 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 Tennes-
see, 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 Forida, where the
nature of the soil and the intemperate heat of the summer, are unfavora-
ble to its vegetation. In cold regions, on the contrary, its growth is luxu-
riant, 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 circum-
ference of 8 or 10 feet. I have nowhere seen it more abundant, than in
the bottoms which border the Ohio between Wheeling and Marietta : but
the thickness of these forests which are hardly penetrated by the sun, ap-
pears 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, unproductive, 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 10 or 12 feet in cir-
cumference, and which were 50 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 distance of 40 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 uncov-
ered. In the spring its vegetation is forward, and its leaves unfold a fort-
nio-ht 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 cylindrical aments, which are
single, 4 or 5 inches long, and attached to the shoots of the preceding
year ; the fertile flowers on the contrary, come out on the shoots of the
same spring, and are situated at their extremity. The ovarium is crowned
by twm rose colored 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 of seam. It is often 2è inches in length,
and 5 inches in circumference, and is covered wdth a viscid adhesive sub-

[ It occurs in all the New England states. Emerson.]

BUTTERNUT.

stance, composed of small transparent 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 furrowed. They are ripe, in the neighborhood
of New York, about the 15th of September, a fortnight earlier than the
other species of Walnut. Some years they are so abundant, that one per-
son may gather several bushels 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 boiled 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 sometimes used for making pickles, being first plunged into
boiling water, and thoroughly wiped, to clean it of its down, and afterwards
preserved in vinegar.

The Black Walnut and Butternut, when young, resemble each other in
their foliage, and in the rapidity of their growth ; but w^hen arrived at
maturity, their forms are so different as to be distinguishable at first sight.
Remarkable peculiarities are also found, on examining their wood, espe-
cially when seasoned : the Black Walnut is heavy, strong, and of a dark
brown color ; 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, Butter-
nut timber is never used in the cities, in the construction of houses, though
it is sometimes employed for this purpose in the country. In some Dis-
tricts 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 designed 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 coaches and chaises ; the
workmen find it excellently adapted to this object, not only from its light-
ness, 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.

72

BUTTERNUT.

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
sweetened with honey, is acknowledged to be one of the best cathar-
tics afforded by the materia medica ; its purgative operation is always
sure, and unattended, in the most delicate constitutions, with pain
or irritation. Experience has shown that it produces the best effects
in many cases of dysentery. It is commonly given in the form of
pills, and to adults, in doses from half a scruple to a scruple. 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 spiing, for the wants of their families
and of their neighbors. 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 liquid, already
enriched with extractive matter. I have also seen this bark successfully
employed as a revulsive, in inflammatory opthalmias and in the toothache :
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 color ; but the bark of the Black Walnut is preferable for this
purpose.

On a live tree, the cellular tissue, when first exposed, is of a pure
white, in a moment it changes to a beautiful lemon color, and soon after to
a deep brown.

If the trunk of the Butternut is pierced in the month which precedes the
unfolding of the leaves, a pretty copious 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 recom-
mend its introduction into the forests of the old continent ; it should find
place only in our pleasure grounds.

PLATE XXXI.

Jl leaf of half its natural size. Fig. 1, .R nut with its husk. Fig. 2, A nut

without its husk.

* [Previously, by Dr. Rush, in the war of the Revolution; the officinal extract is the only one
now used by practitioners.]

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P ac aneim t Hi c ko .
^hu/Iaiîs oàuæ^rrms.

[ 73 ]

PECAI^NÜT HICKORY.

JuGLANs oLivÆFORMis. '5 . foUoUs pluvîmis, suhpetîoïatîs, falccitîs, serratîs ;
fructu oblongo, prominulo-quadrangulo ; nuce olivæformi, levi.

Càrya olivæformis, Nutt.

This species, which is found in upper Louisiana, is called by the French
of Illinois and New Orleans, Pacanier, and its fruit Pacanes. This name
has been adopted by the inhabitants of the United States, who call it Pe-
cannut. On the borders of the rivers Missouri, Illinois, St. Francis, and
Arkansas, it is most abundantly multiplied : it is also common on the river
Wabash ; on the Ohio, it is found for 200 miles from its junction with the
Mississippi : higher than this, it becomes more rare, and is not seen beyond
Louisville. My father, in traversing this country, learned from the French
inhabitants, 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 latitude of 42° 51k*

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, opposite to the
river Cumberland, which is said to be entirely covered with it, and. which
is called by the French, la pacaniere.

The Pecannut is a beautiful tree, with a straight and well-shaped trunk;
in the forests, it reaches the height of 60 or 70 feet. Its wood is coarse-
grained, and like the other Plickories, heavy and compact : it possesses
also great strength and durability ; but in these respects, it is inferior to
some species hereafter 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 somewhat angular, and
slightly downy in the spring. Each leaf is composed of 6 or 7 pair of
sessile leaflets, and terminated by a petiolated odd one, which is commonly
smaller 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 below the middle
of the leaflet.

The nuts, which are usually abundant, are contained in a husk from one
to two lines thick, and have four slightly prominent angles, corresponding

* [It bears fruit in gardens near Philadelphia, but can scarcely be said to perfect it ]

10

74

BITTERNUT HICKORY.

to their internal divisions. They 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 color, marked, at the period of perfect maturity, with blackish
or purple lines. The shell is smooth and thin, though too hard to be broken
by the fingers: the kernel is full, and not being divided by ligneous parti-
tions, is easily extracted. These nuts, which are of a very agreeable taste,
form an object of petty commerce, between Upper and Lower Louisiana.
From New Orleans, they are exported to the West Indies, 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, wild varieties of the Pecannut
are found, the fruit of which is much larger than that of the European Walnut
unimproved by culture. I am of opinion then, that this tree merits the
attention both of Americans and Europeans, and that by assiduous culti-
vation it may be brought to a high degree of perfection. 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 practice should be successfully adopted, of grafting the Pecannut
on the Black Walnut, or on the Common Walnut, its vegetation would be
incomparably more rapid, and no motive would discourage its propagation
in Europe.

PLATE XXXII.

A leaf of half its natural size. Fig. 1, A nut with its husk. Fig. 2, A
nut ivithout its husk.

BITTERNUT HICKORY.

JuGLANs AMARA. J. urhoT maxima, foliolis 7 — 9°'®, glabris, conspicue serratis,
impari breviter petiolato : fructu subrotundo-ovoideo, superné suturis prom-
inulis ; nuce levi, subglobosâ, mucronatâ : putamine fragili, nucleo amaro.

Cà-rya Amara. N utt.

This species is generally known in New Jersey by the name of Bitternut
Hickory ; in Pennsylvania, and particularly in the county of Lancaster, it is
called White Hickory and sometimes Swamp Flickory ; further south, it is

/'/ 33

TlJteJouA’ ,/e/

Bitter Nut HicBor^,

t/u^Iiuis a7?iara .

BITTERNUT HICKORY.

confounded with the Pignut Hickory ; the French of Illinois, like the
inhabitants of New Jersey, give it the name of Bitternut, which, as it indi-
cates 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 45th degree of latitude. 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 further south. In Ber-
gen woods, six miles from New York, and in the bottoms which stretch
along the Ohio, it grows to a very lofty stature ; I have measured 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
cool, and often inundated by creeks and rivers. It is probably because it
thrives most in such situations, that it is sometimes called Swamp Hickory.
Of 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 15 inches in length
and nearly as much in breadth ; the size, as in other vegetables, varies
according to the nature of the soil, and the situation of the leaf upon a
lower or upon an upper branch. Each leaf is composed of 3 or 4 pair of
leaflets, and terminated by an odd one, which is larger than the preceding
pair. The leaflets are about 6 inches in length, and an inch in breadth,
sessile, oval-acuminate, deeply toothed, smooth, and of a dusky green.
When the tree has shed its leaves, it may be distinguished by its yellow
and naked buds.

In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Bitternut Hickory blossoms about
the 25th of May. The peduncles of the male 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 female aments, which are
not conspicuous, are placed at the extremity.

The fruit is ripe about the beginning of October ; it is so plentiful that
several bushels are sometimes gathered from a single tree. The husk is
thin, fleshy, and surmounted on its upper half by four wing-like appen-
dages. It never becomes ligneous, like those of the other Hickories, but
softens and decays. The form of the nut in this species is more constant
and more regular than in the others. It is broader than it is lono-, beino-
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 foldings. It is so
harsh and bitter, that squirrels and other 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 burning in lamps and other infe-
rior purposes. But from these experiments, in which individuals have

76

WATER BITTERNUT HICKORY.

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 spe-
cies of Walnut, is abundant enough in the United States.

In the texture of its bark, and in the color of its heart and sap, the Bit-
ternut 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 considered superior to the White Oak, nor sold at a higher price.

The Bitternut Hickory exists and bears fruit in several gardens in
France ; but it is of no value for its nuts, and flourishes only in very fertile
soils ; as its wood, also, is proved in America to be inferior to that of the
following species, I think it should not be propagated in the forests of
Europe.

PLATE XXXIII.

A leaf of the natural size. Fig. 1, A nut with its husk. Fig. 2, A nut

without its husk.

WATER BITTERNUT HICKORY.

JuGLANS AQiJATicA, J. foUoUs 9 — 1 L^‘% lanceolato-ucuminatis, suhserrafis,
sessilibus, impart hr éviter petlolato : fructibus pedunculatis, nuce subdepressci,
parvâ, rubiginosâ, tenerâ.

Càrya Aquatica, Nütt.

No specific name has hitherto been given this species, which is confined
to the Southern States ; it is confounded with the Pignut Llickory, 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
ditches which surround the rice fields, where it is accompanied by the Red
flowering Maple, Tupelo, Cypress and Carolina Poplar. The Water
Bitternut Hickory grows to the height of 40 or 50 feet, and in its general

t/e{ ^

W a ter Litter Nrit Hickory.

cu^i/ahca

Pl.5ô.

Be^'jOü deù.

Mocker Nul Hickorv-

t.

Tlej'ifin, Je ■

MOCKERNUT HICKORY.

77

appearance, resembles the other Hickories. Its leaves are 8 or 9 inches
long, and of a beautiful green. They are composed of 4 or 5 pair of sessile
leaflets surmounted by a petiolated odd one. The leaflets are serrate, 4 or
5 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 color, and very tender. The ker-
nel is very bitter, formed in folds like that of the Bitternut Hickory, and,
as may be supposed, is not eatable. The wood of this species, though
partaking of the common properties of the Hickories, is in every respect
inferior to the others, from the nature of the grounds on which it grows.

The Water Bitternut Plickory, which I have introduced into France,
flourishes unchecked by the rigor of our winters ; but I do not think it
deserves to find a place in the forests of Europe, nor to be spared in clear-
ing 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 XXXIV.

branch with leaves of the natural size. Fig. 1, Nuts with their husks.

Fig. 2, Nuts without their husks.

MOCKERNUT HICKORY.

JuGLANs TOMENTOSA, 1 . foRoUs 7-— Uvitcr serratis, conspicue villosis, impari
subpetiolato ; amentis compositis, longissimis, fliformibus, eximie tomen-
tosis : fructu globoso vel oblongo ; nuce quadrangulâ, crassâ, durissimâque.

Càrya Tomentosa, Nutt.

In the parts of New Jersey which lie on the river Hudson, and in the
City of New York and its vicinity, this species is known by the name of
Mockernut Hickory, and, less commonly, of White-heart Hickory ; at Phil-
adelphia and Baltimore, and in Virginia, that of Common Hickory is the
only one in use. The French of Illinois call it Noyer dur, or Hard Walnut.

78

MOCKERNUT HICKORY.

The first of these denominations, which is descriptive of the fruit, I have
for that reason adopted.

This species is not, as the name which it bears in that country would
indicate, more multiplied in Pennsylvania, and further south, than the
other Hickories. I have not seen it north of Portsmouth in New Hamp-
shire, though 100 miles south, in the neighborhood of Boston and Provi-
dence, 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 be-
comes more rare in approaching the sea, as the sterility of the soil, in
general dry and sandy, is unpropitioiis to its growth. I have noticed,
however, that this is the only Hickory which springs in the Pine Barrens :
the sprouts are burnt every 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 Mockernut 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 10 feet.

Like most of the Walnuts, the Mockernut Hickory flourishes in rich
soils, and chiefly oq the gentle acclivities which surround the swamps,
where it grows, mingled with the Sweet Gum, Poplar, Sugar Maple, Bit-
ternut Hickory, and Black Walnut. In these situations it reaches its
greatest size, which is commonly about 60 feet in height, and 18 or 20
inches in diameter. I remember to have seen larger Mockernut Hickories
near Lexington in Kentucky, but this extraordinary growth in several
species of trees is rarely seen on this side of the Alleghany, and is attribut-
able to the extreme fertility of the soil, in the Western country. Of all the
Hickories, however, the Mockernut succeeds best on lands of a middling
quality ; for it forms a part of the waste and impoverished forests which
covmr the meager sandy soil of Lower Virginia, though under these disad-
vantages it exhibits but a mean and stunted appearance.

The buds of this species are large, short, of a grayish 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 ^
or 10 feet in height. In the beginning of May, the buds swell, the exter-
nal scales fall off, and the inner ones soon after burst and display the young
leaf. The leaves grow so 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, slightly
serrate, odorous, pretty thick, and hairy underneath, as is also the common
petiole to which they are attached. With the first frost, the leavms change
to a beautiful yellow, and fall soon after. The male flowers appear on
pendulous, downy, axillary aments, 6 or 8 inches long ; the female flowers

MOCKERNUT HICKORY.

79

which are not very conspicuous, are of a pale rose color, and are situated
at the extremity of the young shoots.

The fruit is ripe about the 15th of November. It is odorous, sessile or
rarely pedunculated, and commonly united in pairs. In form and size, it
exhibits remarkable 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 15 lines in diameter, and sometimes of less than
half this size. It differs also in weight, as well as in configuration and
volume, varying from one drachm to four. The largest nuts might be con-
founded with those of the Thick Shellbark Hickory, and the 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, somewhat channeled, and
extremely hard. The kernel is sweet but minute, and difhcult to extract,
on account of the strong partitions which divide it : hence, probably, 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 rugged bark. Its wood is of the same color and texture with the other
Hickories, and characterized by the qualities which render this class of
trees so remarkable. It is particularly esteemed for 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. color of which is reddish, is not yet developed,
it frequently goes by the name of White-heart Hickory. In the country, a
greenish color is sometimes extracted from the bark, but it is not exten-
sively in use.

Of all the Hickories, this species is of the slowest 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 Callidium
jlexuosum, whose larva eats within the body of the tree. These consider-
ations appear sufficiently weighty to induce cultiv'ators, in forming large
plantations, to prefer some of the species which are described in the sequel.

PLATE XXXV.

A leaf of the third of its natural size. Fig. A nut with its husk. Fig. 2,
A nut without its husk. Fig. 3, Callidium flexuosum.

[ 80 ]

SHELLBARK HICKORY.

JuGLANs SQUAMOSA. J. foHoHs quînîs, majonbus, longé petiolatis, ovato-acumu

natis, serratis, subliis villosis, impari sessili^ amentis masculis, compositis,

glabris,Jiliformibus: fructu globoso, depresso, majore ; nuce compressa albâ.

Càrya Alba. Nutt.

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, who in-
habit the parts 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 JVoyer
tendre^ 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 rigor
of the climate, its stature is low and itg fruit small. I have not found it in
the forests of the District of Maine,"*^ nor in those of Vermont, situated a
little higher toward the north. It abounds on the shores of Lake Erie,
about Geneva in Genessee, along the river Mohawk, in the neighbourhood
of Goshen in New Jersey, and on the banks of the rivers Susquehannah
and Schuylkill in Pennsylvania. In Maryland, in the lower parts of Vir-
ginia, and in the other Southern States, it is less common. In South Caro-
lina, I have not 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 frequently as the following species, — the Thick Shellbark Hickory,
to which it bears a striking analogy, and with which it is confounded hy
the inhabitants. East of the Alleghanies, the Shellbark Hickory grows
almost exclusively 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 species grows to the
greatest height with proportionally the smallest diameter, for it is some-
times seen 80 or 90 feet high, and less than two feet thick. The trunk is
destitute of branches, regularly shaped, and of an almost uniform size for
three quarters of its length, thus forming a very fine tree. The greatest

* [The Shellbark Hickory is found in the county of York, in Maine. Emerso.v.]

/y.3ù

ShelUiarkHickorT,

l

( fl 1^1(7 ns syiia/iwsii .

Mm

■=*4!V. >“üV<.V,'v/

i®^8

vx-s. •'•. . ,-),a*i’

g^S>

A’..-..-,, ,ASf-

lA/'/ve/ Je ■

SHELLBARK HICKORY.

81

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 outward at the ends,
and adhere only in the middle. Bristling 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 exceed 10 inches in diameter, though it is much earlier in-
dicated by seams. This characteristic, by wTich the tree may be recog-'
nised 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. It is my opinion, 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 p,ré 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 sessile odd
one. The leaflets are very large, oval-acuminate, serrate, and slightly
downy underneath. The male flowers, w^hich in the State of New York
appear from the 15th to the 20th of May, are disposed as in the preceding
species, on long, glabrous, filiform, pendulous aments, of which three are
united on a common peduncle, attached at the base of the young shoots ;
the female flowers, of a greenish hue, and scarcely apparent, are situated
at the extremity. The fruit of the Shellbark Hickory is ripe about the be-
ginning of October. Some years it is so abundant, that several 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 5J inches 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 completely into equal sections. The entire sepa-
ration 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 dis-
tinct angles, which correspond to the divisions of the husk.

The Shellbark nut contains a fuller and sweeter kernel than any American
Walnut, except the Pecannut. The shell, though thin, must be cracked
before being brought upon the table, as it is too hard to be crushed in the
11

82

SHELLBARK HICKORY.

fingers like the European Walnut, which is certainly a superior fruit.
These nuts are in such request, that they form a small article of commerce,
registered on the list of exports of the products of the United States.
This exportation, which does not exceed 400 or 500 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 dollars 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 notic-
ed to have been used near Goshen in New Jersey, and on several estates
about 30 miles beyond Albany,

The Indians who inhabit the shores of Lakes Erie and 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 food.

Before speaking of the properties of the wood, I cannot forbear menti-
oning a fine variety of Shellbark nuts, produced upon a farm at Seacocus, v.
near Snakehill in New Jersey. They are nearly twice as large as any that
I have seen elsewhere, and have a white shell with rounded prominences
instead of angles. A century of cultivation, perhaps, would not advance
the species generally to an equal degree of perfection, and probably this
vmriety might still be improved by grafting.

The wood of the Shellbark Hickory possesses all the characteristic pro-
perties of the Hickories, being strong, elastic, and tenacious. It has also
them 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 the large trees
near the sea ports being already consumed. Its wood is found to split
most easily and to be the most elastic ; for this reason it is used for making
baskets, and also for whip-handies which are esteemed for their suppleness,
and of which several cases are annually exported to England, For the same
excellence, and for the superior fineness of its grain, it is selected, in the
neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia, for the back-bows of Wind-
sor chairs, which are wholly of wood. I have frequently observed that
among the Hickory wood brought to New York for fuel, this species pre-
dominated.

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 majestic
appearance : I should therefore recommend its introduction into the Euro-
pean forests, where it should be consigned to cool and humid places, con-
genial with those in which it flourishes in America. In the North of

(ja^rtc/ ■ .

Tliiclc Sliell l)ark Hickorv-

C ■

83

THICK SHELLBARK HICKORY.

Europe it could not fail of succeeding, as it securely braves the most
intense cold.

PLATE XXXVI.

Fig. 1, J1 nut with its husk. Fig. 2. section of the husk. Fig. 3, •rl
nut without its husk. Fig. 4, •hi barren ament divided into three parts.

THICK SHELLBARK HICKORY.

JuGLANs LAciNiosA. J. folHs majoribus,foUolis 1 — ovato-acuminatis, serra-
tis, subtomentosis, impari, petiolato : fructu majore, ovato ; nuce oblongâ,
crassâ, mediocriter compressa.

Càrya Sulcata, Nutt.

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 Schuyl-
kill river 30 or 40 miles from its junction with the Delaware, and in the
vicinity of Springfield, 15 or 20 miles from Philadelphia, where its fruit is
called Springfield nut. It is also found in Gloucester county, in Virginia,
under the name of Gloucester Walnut. These different denominations
confirm my observation, that this species is little multiplied on the eastern
side of the Alleghany Mountains ; 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
unites with the Honey Locust, Black Maple, Hackberry, Black Walnut,
Wild Cherry, White and Red Elm, Box Elder, White Maple, and Button
wood, to form the thick and gloomy forests which cover these valleys.
Like the Shellbark Hickory, it grows to the height of SO feet, and its ample
head is supported by a straight trunk, in diameter, proportioned to its
elevation. The bark exhibits the same singular arrangement with that of
the Shellbark Hickory : it is divided into strips from 1 to 3 feet long, which
are warped outward at the end, and attached only at the middle. They
fall and are succeeded by others similarly disposed. It is only observable

84

THICK SHELLBARK HICKORY.

that in this species the plates are narrower, more numerous, and of a lighter
color ; from which dilTerences, I have thought proper to give it the specific
name of laciniosa. 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
nnfolding, and are similar in size, configuration and texture ; but they differ
in being composed of 7 leaflets and sometimes of 9, instead of 5 the inva-
riable number of the Shellbark Hickory. The male aments are disposed
in the same form, though they are, perhaps, a little longer than in the
other species. The female flowers appear, not very conspicuously, at the
extremity of the shoots of the same spring. They are succeeded by a large
oval fruit, more than 2 inches long, and 4 or 5 inches in circumference.
Like that of the Shellbark Hickory, it has four depressed seams, which, at
its complete maturity, open through their whole length for the escape of
the nut. The nut of this species is widely different from the other ; it is
nearly twice as big, longer than it is broad, and terminated at each
end in a firm point. The shell is also thicker and of a yellowish hue,
while that of the Shellbark nut is white.

From the color of its nut, the Shellbark Hickory received the specific
name of alha, 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 Hickory, each leaf being
composed of 4 pair of leaflets with 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 quantity does not exceed a few bushels,
and they are generally sold mixed with those of the Mockernut Hickory,
which resemble some varieties of this species. The Gloucester Plickory I
consider only as a variety of the Thick Shellbark Hickory, to which it
bears the strongest resemblance, 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 Gloucester Walnut 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 color, they resemble the nuts of the Mocker-
nut Hickory, with the finest varieties of -which they might, from this cir-
cumstance, be confounded.

The Thick Shellbark Hickory, as has been said, is nearly related to the
Shellbark Hickory, and its wood, which is of the same color and texture,
unites the peculiar qualities of that species with such as are common to the
Hickories. Its fruit, though larger, is inferior in taste, and this considéra-

THICK SHELLBARK HICKORY.

85

tion should induce proprietors in the Western country, in clearing their
new lands, to spare the true Shellbark Hickory in preference, when both
species are found upon the same soil. For the same reason, and for its
favorable growth in less fertile grounds, and even in elevated situations, a
fact which I have observed near Brownsville on the Monongahela river, the
same preference should, I think, be given to it in the forests of Europe.

In the description of the Scalybark Hickories, it has been seen, that they
exhibit many striking traits of resemblance, which may warrant the group-
ing of them into a secondary section. Beside 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 Hick-
ories are, three-clefted, pliable, and pendulous male aments, and certain
common properties of the wood. To these are added, in the Scaly Hick-
ories, a very thick husk covering the nut completely, and divided into four
parts when ripe ; a shaggy bark on the trunk, indicated, in my opinion, by
the external scales of the buds not adhering to those beneath ; and leaves
composed of very large leaflets of a uniform shape and texture. In com-
paring the three species with each other, essential differences are observed.
The Shellbark Hickory, for instance, and the Juglans ambigua are con-
stantly distinguished by the number of leaflets, which is always 5 in the
first species and 9 in the last. The 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 Gloucester Hickory is determined to be a distinct species
from the Thick Shellbark Hickory, it will be observed that they resemble
each other in their leaves, composed of 7 and sometimes of 9 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
color, and in the Gloucester Hickory spherical and very large, with a large
grayish white nut, nearly round, whose shell is 2 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
abundantly multiplied, in regions far remote from each other.

PLATE XXXVII.

A leaf of one third of its natural size. Fig. 1, A section of the husk. Fig.
2, Nuts.

[ 86 ]

PIGNUT HICKOIIY.

JuGLANs poRciNA. J. foUolis 5 — ovalo-acuïïiînatis, serratis, glabris ;
amentis masculis compositis,filiform,ibus, glabris ; fructu pyriformi vel glo-
boso ; nuce mînîmâ, levi, durîssimâ.

Càrya Porcina, Nutt.

This species is generally known in the United States by the name of
Pignut and Hognut Hickory, sometimes 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,
toward the north, the climate of this tree. A little further 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, espe-
cially near the coast, it is less common in the woods, being found only on
the borders of the swamps, and in places which are M^’et without being
absolutely marshy, or exposed to be long inundated. This tree is met with
in the Western country, but less frequently, I believe, than the Thick
Shellbark and Mockernut Hickories. I have observed that the last men-
tioned species grows wherever the Pignut is found, but that the Pignut
does not always accompany 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. It appears then,
that with the exception of the States of Vermont and New Hampshire, of
the District of Maine, of the Genessee country, and of the cold and moun-
tainous 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 Bitternut Hickory, by its
naked and yellow buds. The buds of this species, as in the other Hick-
ories 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 color.
They do not fall till the leaves are 5 or 6 inches long. The leaves are

/>/.?<?

i

Pio’imt Hickory

r

K'.

V

• :w»

V. • ■....

i

I

.r

4 t

:-V:

*;

#

I

PIGNUT HICKORY.

87

\

compound, and vary in size and in the number of leaflets, according to the
moisture and fertility of the soil. In rich grounds, they are 18 inches
long ; and the complete number of leaflets is 3 pairs with an odd one. The
leaflets are 4 or 5 inches long, acuminate, serrate, nearly sessile, and gla-
brous or smooth on both sides. On vigorous trees, which grow in shady
exposures, the petiole is of a violet color.

The male aments are smooth, filiform, flexible, and pendulous: they
are 2 inches long, and in their arrangement resemble those of the other
Hickories. The female flowers are greenish, not very conspicuous, and
situated at the extremity of the shoot : the fruit succeeds them in pairs as
often as singly. 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 the thickness of the shell. Its kernel
is sweet but meager, and diflicult to extract, from the firmness pf the parti-
tions. These nuts are never carried to market, but serve for food to swine,
raccoons, 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 covered with their husks
resemble young figs ; 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 exami-
nation of the young shoots and of the aments, consider these differences in
any other light than as varieties. The two most remarkable of them are
described in the new edition of the Species Plantarum, by Willdenow, as
distinct species. That with oblong fruit is called Juglans glabra^ and that
with round fruit and a husk somewhat rough, Juglans ohcordata. Dr.
Muhlenberg 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 color 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
affirmed that 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 axe
helves. These considerations lead me to recommend its introduction into
the forests of Europe, where its success would be certain.

PLATE XXXVHI.

J1 branch with its leaves of one third of the natural size. Fig. I, A nut with
its husk {oblong variety). Fig. 2, A nut without its husk. Fig. 2, A nut with
its husk {round variety). Fig. 4, A nut without its husk.

[ S8 ]

NUTMEG HICKORY.

JuGLANS MYRISTICÆFORMIS. 1 , folUs qilinîs, foHoHs ovato-acumhiatis, scrratis,
glabris: fructu ovato, scabriuscido ; mice minima, durissimâ.

Càrya myristicæformis, Nutt.

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

I have not myself found this tree in the forests, 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 with the Nutmeg Hickory only by a branch
and a handful of nuts, given me at Charleston in the fall of 1802, by the
gardener of Mr. H. Izard, which he had gathered in a swamp on his mas-
ter’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 4 or 6 leaflets with an odd one, are
symetrically arranged. I remarked also, that the shoots of the preceding
year were flexible and coriaceous.

The nuts are very small, smooth, and of a brown color 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. The fruit is
inferior even to the Pignut.

I suspect that the Nutmeg Hickory is more common in Lower Louis-
iana it belongs to inquirers who engage in researches analogous to those
which I have pursued in the Atlantic and Western Slates, to study this
tree more fully than I have been able to do, and to complete the imperfect
description which I have given of it.

«

PLATE XXXIX. •

^ branch and nuis with their husks. Fig. 1, nut without its husk.

* In the interesting work of Mr. W. Darby on Louisiana, published at Philadelphia in 1817,
tlic Nutmeg Hickory is said to abound on the waters of Red river in the Mississippi Territory.

F. A. M.

iNutnieg' HickorjrISFiit

1

1

[ 89 ]

RECAPITULATION

OF

THE PROPEHTIES 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,
exhibit 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 effect of soils of different degrees of moisture. Hence result, in
many cases, mutual resemblances so striking, 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 off the epidermis, or
dead part, the same organization is observed in the bark of all the Hicko-
ries. In other trees, the fibrous and the cellular tissue are confounded;
here, on the contrary, they are separate, and the fibrous is regularly disposed
in the form of lozenges, which are smaller in young trees than in such as
are more fully grown. An arrangement so peculiar and remarkable has a
beautiful effect, and great advantage might be taken of it in cabinet-mak-
ing. if this bark was not, like other species, liable to warp. It affords,
nevertheless, an interesting object in vegetable physiology. So close an
analogy exists in the wood of these trees, that when stript of the bark, no
difference is discernible in the grain, which is coarse and open in all, nor
in the color of the heart, which is uniformly reddish. To these conspicuous
properties are added others worthy 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
12

90

RECAPITULATION.

exposed to heat and moisture, and peculiar liability to injury from worms.
According to these prominent excellencies and defects, the uses of their
wood are pretty well determined, and to these uses they are indiscriminately
applied.

Hickory timber is employed in no part of the United States in the build-
ing 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, adapt it to 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 this reason some other
wood is, by many mill-wrights preferred. The rods which form the back
of Windsor chairs, coach- whip-handles, ramrods, rake-teeth, flails for thrash-
ing grain, and the bows of ox yokes ; all these are objects ordinarily made
of Hickory. At Baltimore, it is used for the hoops of sieves, and is more
esteemed 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 fit
for thisu se it must have been cut long enough to have become perfectly
dry.

Of the numerous trees of North America east of the Alleghany Moun-
tains, none except the Hickory is perfectly adapted to the making of hoops
for casks and boxes. For this purpose vast quantities of it are consumed
at home, and exported to the West India Islands. The hoops are made
of young 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 fastened by notches, instead of being bound at the
end with twigs, like those made of Chesnut. From the solidity of the
wood, this method is sufficiently secure.

When it is considered how large a part of the productions 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 cannot
lay up a store of them for future use, for unless employed within a year,
and often six months after being cut, they are attacked by two species of

RECAPITULATION.

91

insect ; one of these, which eats within the wood, and commits the greatest
ravages, is represented on the Plate of the Mockernut Hickory, the wood
of which species I have observed to be peculiarly liable to 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 Shellbark and Pignut Hickories have been taken for
keels, and are found to last as long as those of other wood, owing to their
being always in the water. Of the two species, the Pignut would be pre-
ferable as being less liable to split, but it is rarely found of as large dimen-
sions 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 the cordage it makes excellent pegs, which are stronger
than those of Oak: but they should set loosely in the holes, as otherwise
for want of speedily seasoning, they soon decay. For handspikes, the
Hickory is particularly esteemed on account of its strength : it is accord-
ingly employed in most American vessels, and is exported for the same
purpose to England, where it sells from 50 to 100 per cent higher than
Ash, which is brought also from the north of the United States. The
Hickories are cut without distinction for this use, 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, compact, and long lived coal. In this respect, no wood of the
same latitude, in Europe or Arnerica, can be compared 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 cir-
cumstances burn no other wood, and though it is sold 50 per cent higher
than Oak, it is found profitable in use. It sold at New Yojk, the 20th of
October, 1807, at 15 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 predominated in the fuel, and at Philadel-
phia and Baltimore, the Mockernut. At Baltimore, the Shellbark, easily
recognized by its scaly bark, is never seen.

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 excellence ; though
experience shows the Mockernut to be the best and the Bitternutthe poor-
est. This difference, however, is too slight to be generally regarded.

Of the uses to which the Hickory is devoted in the United States, two
will principally contribute, together with the slowness of its growth, to its
entire extermination ; these are, the cutting of the saplings for hoops and of
the trees for fuel. These considerations,_independently of many accessory

92

RECAPITULATION.

causes, which hasten the destruction of the forests in this part of the new
world, lead me to believe, that in less than 50 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
forests 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 the nuts, previously made to germinate in boxes fdled 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.

It has been seen by what precedes, that though the Hickory wood has
essential defects, they are compensated 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 effected except by planting nuts in the woods, for the trees, even when
very young, with difficulty survive transplantation. Before they are 3 lines
in diameter and 18 inches tall, they have a tap-root 3 feet long and desti-
tute of fibres. Hence it has happened, that of more than a hundred thou-
sand young plants, produced by nuts which I have at different times sent to
France, very few are found alive. They have perished in the removffi from
the nursery, or in the second transplantation to the place of their ultimate
destination. The Black Walnut and Bitternut, on the contrary, whose
roots do not descend deeply and are plentifully garnished with fibres, easily
recover after transplantation, even when 6 or 8 feet high at the time of
their removml.

In concluding this article, I recommend particularly 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 Pecannut merits attention from promoters of useful cul-
ture, not so much for its wood as for its fruit, which is excellent and more
delicate than that of the European Walnut. It might probably be doubled
in size, if the practice was successfully adopted of grafting this species upon
the Black Walnut or upon the Common European Walnut.

* [Or for walking-sticks, for which the consumption is considerable, and the demand con-
stantly increasing. Emerson, “ Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts

[ 93 J

MAPLES.

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

The Maples, in general, are lofty and beautiful trees. One of their prin-
cipal characters consists in opposite leaves divided into several very dis-
tinct lobes. Capable of enduring an intense degree of cold, they 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 precede the Chesnut and the Oak. Such, at least, seems to
be in America, between the 43d and 46th 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 Red Maple, Acer coccinewm, which is a
diminutive species, and concerning w^hich I do not possess adequate mate-
rials 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
Red Maple. The Black Sugar Maple grows to'about the same height with
the Sugar Maple, but it is plainly a distinct species. In the collection of
dried plants made by Captains 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 differ so
widely in quality in different species, that it becomes difficult to charac-
terize it by general observations : it may be remarked that it speedily fer-
ments 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

94

M A P L Ë S.

useful in the arts and in domestic economy. For more particular informa-
tion, I must refer the reader to the descriptions of the respective species.*

\Propagation and culture. The Jlceràceæ prefer a free, deep, loamy soil,
rich, rather than sterile, and neither wet nor very dry. The situation that
suits them best is one that is sheltered, and shady rather than exposed.
They are seldom found on the north sides of lofty mountains, or on moun-
tains at all, except among other trees ; but in the plains they are found by
themselves. Though the species only attain perfection ,in favorable soils
and situations, they will spring up and live in any situation whatever.

They are chiefly propagated from seeds ; but some sorts are increased by

layers, cuttings of the shoots or roots, or by budding or grafting. The seeds

of most of the species ripen in October, and may be gathered by hand, or

shaken from the tree, when the keys begin to turn brown. The maturity

of the seed may be proved by opening the key, and observing if the cotyl-

«

edons are green, succulent and fresh ; if the green coloris wanting, the seeds
are good for nothing. The seeds may either be sown in autimirf or in
spring; the latter is preferable where moles abound, as they are very fond
of the seeds. Sown in spring, they come up in five or six weeks, with the
exception of Acer campestre^ which never grow till the second or third
year. The seeds should not be covered with more than from a quarter to
half an inch of soil. The surface of the ground in which they are sown
may be advantageously shaded with leaves, fronds of firs, or straw.

The Acer argenteum, or Silvery-leaved, and Acer ruhrum^ or Scarlet
Maple, perfect their seeds in May, and these should be sown immediately
after having been collected ; they will vegetate directly, and produce fine
plants the first season, if kept free from weeds. The seeds of the former
do not keep well till spring.]

* [For a large additional list of Maples, see Nuttall’s Supplement, Vol. 2, p. 77, et se.q. Many
of these are deserving of the attention of our planters ; especially the large leaved Maple, some-
times 90 feet high, with leaves nearly a foot in diameter, affording an impervious end complete
shade. See also Emerson’s Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts, p. 481,]

C 95 ]

METHODICAL DISPOSITION

OF THE

MAPLES

OF

NORTH AMERICA.

INCLUDING TWO EUROPEAN SPECIES.

Polyandna dîœcia, Linn. Mcera, Juss.

FIRST SECTION.

Sessile flowers. {Fructiflcation vernal.'^

1. White Maple. . . Acer eriocarpum.

2. Red-flowering Maple, . Acer ruhrum.

SECOND SECTION.

Pedunculated flowers. Fructification autumnal.

3. Sugar Maple,

. Acer saccharinum.

4. Black Sugar Maple,

. Acer nigrum.

5. Norway Maple,

. Acer platanoides.

6. Sycamore,

. Acer pseudo-plat anus.

7. Aloose Wood,

. Acer striatum.

8. Box Elder,

Acer negundo.

9. Mountain Maple,

. Acer montanum.

[ 96 ]

WHITE MAPLE.

Acer eriocarpum. A. foliis opposîtîs, quinquelobis, prof unde sînuatîs^ inæ-
qualîter dentatis, subtùs candidîssîmîs : floribus pentandris, apetalîs.

Acer dasycarpum, Ehrenberg.

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 the Acer eriocarpum 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 the White Maple. But, like many other vegetables, it
is pinched by the rigorous winters of this latitude, and never reaches the
size which it attains a few degrees further 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 sin-
gularly by its magnificent foliage 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 contemplated with unwearied
admiration. Beginning at Pittsburg, and even some miles above the
junction of the rivers Alleghany and Monongahela, White Maples 12 or 15
feet in circumference are continually met with at short distances.

The trunk of this tree is low and divides into a great number 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
■^vaters and a gravelly bed, and never in swamps and other wet grounds
enclosed in forests, where the soil is black and miry. These situations,
on the contrary, are so well adapted to the Red Maple, that they are fre-
quently occupied by it exclusively. Hence the last mentioned species is

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WHITE MAPLE.

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common in the lower parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, where the
White Maple is no longer seen ; for as soon as the rivers, in descending
from the mountains towards the ocean, reach the low country, they begin
to be bordered by miry swamps covered with the Cypress, Blackgum, Large
Tupelo, etc.

The White Maple blooms early in the spring : its flowers are small and
sessile with a downy ovarium. The fruit is larger than that of any other
species which grows east of the Mississippi. It consists of two capsules
joined at the base, each of which encloses one roundish seed, and is termi-
nated by a large membranaceous, falciform wing. In Pennsylvania, it is ripe
about the 1st of May, and a month earlier on the Savannah river, in Geor-
gia. 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 divi-
ded by deep sinuses into four lobes, are toothed on the edges, of a bright
green on the upper surface, and of a beautiful white beneath. The foliage,
however, is scattered, and leaves an open passage 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 procured. At Pittsburg,
and in the neighboring towns, it serves in cabinet-making, instead of Holly,
for inlaying furniture of Mahogany, Cherry tree, and Walnut: though as it
soon changes color, itis less fitted for this purpose. The hatters of Pitts-
burg prefer the charcoal of this wood to every other for heating their boil-
ers, as it affords a heat more uniform, and 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 unrefined 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, begin-
ning to ascend about the 15th of January; so that the work of extracting
the sugar is sooner completed. The cellular tissue 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
unimportant uses to which it is devoted.

In Europe, the White Maple is multiplied in nurseries 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 forraino'
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

98

RED FLOWERING MAPLE.

annual inundations: in such situations its vegetation would be surprisingly
beautiful aud rapid.

PLATE XL.

A branch with leaves of the natural size. Fig. 1 , Barren flowers. Fig. 2,
Fertile floivers. Fig. 3j A seed of the natural size.

[For measurements of several White Maples see Emerson’s Trees and
Shrubs of Massachusetts, p. 489.]

RED FLOWERING MAPLE.

Acer rubrum. A.foliis oppositis, trilobis, inæqualiter dentatis, sublus glaucis:
Jloribus rubris, aggregatis ; germine glaberrimo ; umbellis sessilibus : cap-
sulis rubris, pedunculatis.

Different names are given to this tree in different parts of the United
States : east of the Alleghany Mountains, 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 appro-
priate, as the young shoots, the flowers, and the fruit are red.

Toward the North, the Red-flowering Maple appears first about Male-
baye, in Canada, in the latitude 48° ; but it soon becomes more common
in proceeding southward, and is found abundant to the extremities of Flo-
rida and Lower Louisiana. Of all the trees which flourish in wet grounds
occasionally 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 inundated, and always miry.
In these situations, it is accompanied by the Blackgum, Sweetgum, Shell-
bark Hickory, 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, Loblolly Bay, Tupelo, and Red Bay. It is a remark-
able fact, that wmst of the mountains, between Brownsville and Pittsburg,
the Red-flowering Maple is seen growing on elevated ground with the Oaks

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RED FLOWERING MAPLE.

99

and the Walnuts. I have nowhere observed it of as ample dimensions as
in Pennsylvania and New Jersey : in these States exist extensive 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 10th to the
15th of April. The blossoms, of a beautifully deep red, unfold more than
a fortnight before the leaves. They are sessile, aggregate, and situated
at the extremity of the branches. The fruit is suspended by long flexi-
ble peduncles and is of the same hue with the flowers, though it varies in
size and in the intensity of its coloring, according to the exposure and
dampness of the soil. The leaves are smaller 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 extremities 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 30 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, like that of the White Oak and Sweetgum, becomes brown and chap-
ped. 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 centre of large trunks, with
points from 1 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 employ-
ed for the lower part of Windsor chairs : the pieces are turned in the coun-
try, 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 neighboring towns, and for exportation to
the Southern States and to the West India Islands. The whole frame of
japanned chairs is of this wood, except the back, for which Hickory is cho-
sen on account 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 saddletrees, 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 fol-

100

RED FLOWERING MAPLE.

lowing a perpendicular direction, is undulated, 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 brcinches of
such as exhibit it in the trunk; it is also less conspicuous at the centre than
near the circumference. 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 entirely to the
inflection of the rays of light ; W'hich is more sensibly perceived in view-
ing 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 of lustre, exceed the finest Maho-
gany. 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 solid-
ity resulting from the accidental direction of the fibre.

The cellular tissue of the Red-flowering Maple is of a dusky red. By
boiling, it yields a purplish color, which on the addition of sulphate of
iron, becomes dark blue approaching to black. It is used in the country,
with a certain portion of alum in solution, for dyeing black.

The wood of the Red-flowering Maple does not burn well, and is so lit-
tle 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 preceding 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 wffiere the bottom is composed of fertile soil.
When the population of the country becomes denser, these tracts will be
cleared and improved by some mode of culture more profitable than the
growth of wmods, 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, 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 is not such as to
entitle it to preservation, and it will 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 preserve those which have escaped de-
struction, the American Forester will find among the Oaks, the Walnuts,

H. J.Jledaa^ iM- ' ffairul

Siiœar Maple.

Are/' irarAi^ï/’i7i7(//i .

SUGAR MAPLE.

101

and the Ashes, many species more deserving of his care. The Sugar Ma-
ple also will be preferred, which grows on uplands, and possesses in as
superior degree all the good properties of the other. From these consid-
erations, the Red-flowering Maple appears to have no pretensions to a
place in European forests.*

PLATE XLL

A branch with leaves of the natural size. Fig. 1, Barren flowers. Fig, 2,
Fertile Flowers. Fig. 3, Seeds of the natural size.

SUGAR MAPLE,

Acer sacchartnum. A. foliis quinque-partito-palmatis, glabris, margine
mtegris, sublus glands: Jloribus pedu7iculatis, pendentibus.

This species, the most interesting of the American Maples, is called
Rock Alaple, Hard Maple, and Sugar Alaple. The first of these names is
most generally 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 4Sth degree of latitude, which, in the rigor of its winter,
corresponds to the 68th degree in Europe. It is nowhere more abundant
than between the 46th and 43d degrees, 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 composi-
tion of the forests with which they are still covered. Further south, it is
common only in Genesee, in the State of New York, and in the upper
parts of Pennsylvania. It is estimated by Dr. Rush, that, in the northern
parts of these two States, there are ten million of acres which produce
these trees in the proportion of thirty to an acre. Indeed, I have noticed,
in traversing these districts, large masses of woods formed of them almost
exclusively. In Genesee, however, a great part of the Alaples belong to a

* [See Emerson’s Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts for some additional particulars, and for
remarks on the autumnal color of leaves, in which it is asserted that frost has very little influ-
ence on them.]

102

SUGAR MAPLE.

species which I shall describe, which has hitherto been confounded by
Botanists with the Sugar Maple.

In the lower parts of Virginia, of the Carolinas, and of Georgia, and
likewise in the Mississippi 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 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 bottoms of
the valleys ; these forests are called Black loood lands. The second class
consists 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 multi-
plied. They grow on level grounds or on gentle declivities, and form what
are denominated Hard wood lands. In proceeding from the 46th degree of
latitude northward, the trees of the second class are observed to become
more rare, and the resinous trees in the same proportion more abundant:
below the 43d degree, on the other hand, the resinous trees are found less
common, and the others lose their predominance in the forests, as they be-
come mingled with the numerous species of Oaks and Walnuts.

The Sugar Maple covers a greater extent of the American soil than any
other species of this genus. It flourishes most in mountainous places,
wdrere the soil though fertile is cold and humid. Beside 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 Alleghanies 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 feet, with a proportional
diameter; but it does not commonly exceed 50 or 60 feet, wflth 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 five inches broad, but they vary in length according
to the age and vigor of the tree. They are opposite, attached by long
petioles, palmated and unequally divided into 5 lobes, 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 color of the lower
surface, they nearly resemble 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 terminated by a membranous
wing. It is ripe near New York in the beginning of October, though the

SUGAR MAPLE.

103

capsules attain their full size six weeks earlier. Externally, they appear
equally perfect, but I 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 fine and close,
and when polished it has a silken 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 exposed to moisture it soon
decays, and for this reason it is neglected in civil and naval architecture.
In Vermont, New Hampshire, the District of Maine, and further north,
where the Oak is not plentiful, this timber is substituted for it, in prefer-
ence 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 em-
ployed, as well as the Red-flowering Maple, in the Manufacture of Wind-
sor chairs. In the country, where the houses are wholly of wood. 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.

This wood exhibits two accidental forms in the arrangement of the fibre,
of which cabinet-makers take advantage for obtaining beautiful articles of
furniture. The first consists in undulations like those of the curled Maple,
the second, which takes place in old trees which are still sound, and
which appears to arise from an inflexion of the fibre from the circumfer-
ence toward the centre, produces spots of half a line in diameter, some-
times 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 writing desks,
which are elegant and highly prized. To obtain the finest effect, the log
should be sawn in a direction as nearly as possible parallel to the con-
centric circles.

When cut at the proper season, the Sugar Maple forms excellent fuel.
It is exported from the District of Maine for the consumption of Boston,
and is equally esteemed with the Hickory. The opinion entertained of it '
in this respect, in the North of America, accords with the interesting expe-
riments of Mr. Hartig on the comparative heat afforded by different species
of European wood, from which it results, that the Sycamore, Acer pseudo-
platanuSj is superior to every other.

The ashes of the Sugar Maple are rich in the alkaline principle, and it
may be confidently asserted, that they furnish four-fifths of the potash ex-
ported to Europe from Boston and New York.

104

SUGAR MAPLE.

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 the Middle and Southern States :
a fact which sufficiently evinces that this Maple acquires its characteristic
properties in perfection, only in northern climates.

The wood of the Sugar Maple is easily distinguished, from that of the
Red-flowering Maple, which it resembles in appearance, 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 of the 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 make daily use of tea and coffee.

The process by which it is obtained is very simple, and is every where
nearly the same. Though not essentially defective, it might be improved
and made 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 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 situa-
tion, 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 I of an inch
in diameter, small troughs to receive the sap, tubes of Elder or Sumac, 8
or 10 inches long, corresponding in size to the auger, and laid open for a
part of their length, buckets for emptying the troughs and conveying the
sap to the camp, boilers of 15 or 18 gallons capacity, moulds to receive
the sirup when reduced to a proper consistency for being formed into
cakes, and lastly, axes to cut and split the fuel, are the principal utensils
employed in the operation.

The trees are perforated in an obliquely ascending direction, 18 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 shown the most abundant flow of sap to take place
at this depth. It is also recommended 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,

SUGAR MAPLE.

105

the Mulberry, which is very abundant, is preferred. The Chesnut, the
Black Walnut, and the Butternut, should be rejected, as they impart to the
liquid the coloring matter and bitter principle with which they are im-
pregnated.

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 fill the boilers. The evaporation is kept up by a brisk fire,
and the scum 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 sirup, after which it is left to cool, and then strained through
a blanket or other woolen stuff, to separate the remaining impurities.

Some persons recommend leaving the sirup twelve hours before boiling
it for the last time ; others proceed with it immediately. In either case,
the boilers are only half filled, and, by an active, steady heat, the liquor is
rapidly reduced to the proper consistency for being poured into the moulds.
The evaporation is known to have proceeded far enough when, upon rub-
bing a drop of the sirup between the fingers, it is perceived to be granu-
lar. If it is in danger of boiling over, a bit of lard or of butter is thrown
into it, which instantly calms the ebullition. The mêlasses being drained
off from the moulds, the sugar is no longer deliquescent, like the raw sugar
of the West Indies.

Maple Sugar manufactured in this way is light colored, in proportion to
the care with which it is made, and the judgment with which the evap-
oration is conducted. It is superior to the brown 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 equals
in beauty the finest sugar consumed in Europe. It is made use of, how-
ever, 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 matter, and sometimes even incapable of
crystalization. In this case, it is consumed in the state of mêlasses, 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 fermentation.

In a periodical work published at Philadelphia several years since, the
following receipt is given for making Sugar Maple beer : Upon 4 gallons
of boiling water pour one quart of Maple mêlasses ; 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.

Th.e process which I have described for extracting the sugar is the most
com.mon one, and it is the same from whatever species of Maple the sugar
is yjiade.

14

106

SUGAR MAPLE.

The amount of sugar manufactured in a year varies from different causes.
A cold and dry winter renders the trees more productive than a change-
able and humid season. It is observed, that when a frosty night is follow-
ed by a dry and brilliant day, the sap flows abundantly ; and 2 or 3 gallons
are sometimes yielded by a single tree in twenty-four hours. Three per-
sons are found sufficient to tend 250 trees, which give 1000 pounds of su-
gar, 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 sac-
charine 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 vig-
orous Sugar Maple, the product of the remainder is, proportionally, most
considerable.

While I resided in Pittsburg, the following curious particulars appeared
in the Greensburg Gazette ; “ Having 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 pounds of sugar : 33 pounds have been made
this season from the same tree ; which supposes 100 gallons of sap.” It
appears here, that only a little more than 3 gallons was required for a
pound, though 4 are commonly allowed.

In the foregoing experiments, 5 quarts were drawn in one day from each
tube, which is about equal to the quantity discharged when two pipes are.
employed. 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 diverted to this issue from the neighboring 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 organization appeared not to be
affected; but this is not sufficient to warrant the conclusion, that these
vessels would be in condition to give passage to the sap the succeeding
year. It may be objected, that trees have been drained for 30 years, with-
out diminution of their produce. But a tree of 2 or 3 feet in diameter pre-
sents an extensive surface, and the tubes are every year shifted ; besides,
the successive layers of 30 or 40 years would restore it nearly to fhe state
of one that never had been perforated.

In the United States, Maple sugar is made in the greatest quantifies in
the upper part of New Hampshire, in Vermont, in the State of New l^ork,
particularly in Genesee, and in the counties of Pennsylvania which lie on

SUGAR MAPLE.

107

the eastern and western branches of the Susquehannah ; west of the Moun-
tains, in the country bordering on the rivers Alleghany, Monongahela, and
Ohio. The farmers, after reserving a sufficient store for their own con-
sumption, sell the residue to the shopkeepers in the small towns of the
neighborhood at 8 cents a pound, by whom it is retailed at 11 cents. A
great deal of sugar is also made in Upper Canada, on the Wabash, and
near Michilimackinac. The Indians dispose 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
mountains of Virginia and the Carolinas, where these trees are sufficiently
common, the manufacture is less considerable, and probably six-sevenths
of the inhabitants consume imported sugar.

It has been stated, and doubtless correctly, that the northern parts of
New York and Pennsylvania contain 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 upon excellent lands,
which, by the influx of emigrants from the older settlements, and by the
surprising increase of the population already established, are rapidly clear-
ing ; so that in less, perhaps, than half a century, the Maples wdll be con-
fined to exposures too steep for cultivation, 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 gen-
erally 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 into enclosures to sate themselves with it.

The details into which I have entered, concerning the Sugar Maple,
furnish the means of estimating its importance, with reference both to its
sap and to its wood. I have indicated the regions where it grows, and the
soil in which it thrives; and I feel authorized in seriously recommending
it for propagation in the north of Europe. Its sap and its wood are supe-
rior to 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.

108

BLACK SUGAR TREE.

PLATE XLII.

^ branch with leaves and seeds of the natural size. Fig. 1, A small twig
with flowers.

[For later and distinct remarks on the product of this tree, see Emer-
son’s Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts, p. 489. Count Wingersky is
said to have planted a great many of these trees on his estates in Moravia,
and to have made very good sugar from their sap when they had attained
the age of 25 years. But in consequence of drawing sap every year, the
trees became sickly, and soon died.]

BLACK SUGAR TREE.

Acer nigrum. A. foliis quinque.partito-palm.atis, sinuhus apertis, margine
integra, subtus pubescentibus, atroviridibus : Jloribus corymbosis : capsulis
turgide subglobosis.

In the Western States, and in the parts of Pennsylvania 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 cha-
racteristic denomination of Black Sugar Tree ; probably on account of the
dark color 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 prin-
cipally 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 same name. The two species have also been con-
founded by Botanists, in describing the vegetable productions of America.

Toward 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 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 valleys through which flow the gi’eat rivers

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AiLa

NORWAY MAPLE.

109

of the West. In these bottoms, it is one of the most common and one of
the loftiest trees.

The leaves are 4 or 5 inches long, and exhibit, 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 a thicker texture, and in
having more open sinuses; they are also slightly downy, which is most sen-
sibly perceptible on the main rib.

The flowers, like those of the Sugar Maple, are suspended by long, flex-
ible peduncles : the seeds, also, are similar, and are ripe about the same
time, that is, about the 1st of October.

The wood is much like that of the other species, but it is coarser grained
and less brilliant when polished. 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 esteemed for building and for
cabinet-making. It is, however, preferred for the frames of Windsor chairs,
and is considered, after the Hickories, as the best fuel. Its most important
use is for making sugar of which it annually yields a vast amount in the
neighborhood of Pittsburg.

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

PLATE XLIII.

Jl branch ivilh a leaf and seeds of the natural size.

NORWAY MAPLE.

Acer platanoides. A. foliis quinque-lobis, acuminatis^ utrinque glabris,
lohis dentatis : corymbis erectis, pedunculis glabris.

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 diameter of several

110

NORWAY MAPLE.

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 color ; in shape, they re-
semble 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
broken a milky fluid distils from it, which does not take place in the Ame-
rican species.

The flowers of the Norway Maple are small, yellowish, and suspended
by pretty long peduncles. The seeds grow in two capsules, which are uni-
ted at the base, compressed, and garnished with large divergent, membra-
nous wings. They are ripe in the month of September.

In the winter, when the Norway Maple and the Sycamore are stripped of
their leaves, they may still be distinguished by their buds. On the Syca-
more, the last year’s shoots are larger than on the Norway Maple, and the
buds are of a yellowish color, while those of the other species are of a red-
dish complexion, and are united in groups of three. On the two species
of American Sugar Maple, the shoots are still more tapering and slender,
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 with
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 Europe for the embellishment of gardens ; for which purpose trees are
preferred that develope their foliage early, and shed it late, and that afford
through the intemperate season a refreshing shade ; all which advantages
are united in the Norway Maple.

PLATE XLIV.

Fig. 1, Ji leaf of half the natural size. A seed of the natural size.

[ This is unquestionably one of the best ornamental trees ; its beautifully
formed head, and the density of its shade, should give it a preference over
most of the Maples for the landscape gardener. Scarcely too much can be
said in its praise.]

FL. 4-4^

[ 111 ]

SYCAMOEE TEEE.

Acer pseudo-platanus. A. foliis quinque lohis^ inæqualîter dentatis subtus
glances centibus ; Jloribus subspicaiis^ pendulis.

This beautiful tree is diffused over all the centre of Europe, and abounds
especially in Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland. It thrives most luxuriantly
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 is spacious, and
its foliage thick; On old trees, the bark of the trunk is deeply furrowed ;
on such as are less than 6 inches in diameter, it is perfectly smooth. The
leaves of the Sycamore are opposite with long petioles, large, and distinctly
divided into five unequal lobes ; they are of a dark green above, and whi-
tish 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 pendulous clusters from 3 to 4 inches in length. The seed is
in capsules about an inch in length, united at the base and terminated by
a membranous wing.

When the Sycamore is fully grown, its wood is fine grained and suscep-
tible of a brilliant polish. In those parts of Europe where it is most com-
mon, it is in demand with turners for making wooden ware. It is used
for making violins, and when its grain is undulated, for ornamenting forte-
pianos. By the interesting experiments of Mr. Hartig, Grand Master of
the forests of Prussia, on the comparative value of different species of wood
as combustibles, the Sycamore was found to afford more heat than any
other wood of the north of Europe.

Sugar has been made from the Sycamore, in Bohemia and Hungary.
Though the attempt 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
development 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 in-
jured than that of others, by the saline vapors wafted from the sea ; hence
it is chosen for situations exposed to these winds. The justness of the
observation I have never had an opportunity of examining.

The Sycamore appears to me to possess no one superior property, which

112

MOOSE WOOD.

entitles it to preference in the United States, over the Sugar Maple and the
Black Sugar Tree.

PLATE XLIV.

Fig. 2; leaf of half the natural size. Ji seed of the natural size.

[ Its growth is very rapid, particularly when it is in a deep, free, rich soil,
and in a mild climate. It arrives at full growth in 50 or 60 years. In
marshy soil, or dry sand, the tree never attains a great size.

“ There is a very interesting tree of this species standing at the entrance
of the village of Trons, in the Grisons, the cradle of liberty in the Rhœti-
an Alps. Under the once spreading branches of this now hollow and cloven
trunk, the Gray League, was solemnly ratified in 1424. Upon the supposi-
tion that it was only a century old when the meeting, to which its celebrity
is owing, took place, and a younger tree would hardly have been selected
for the purpose, it has now attained the age of 520 years and may be much
older.” Fr. Grey^ in N. American. Rev. July 1844.]

MOOSE WOOD.

Acer striatum. A,foliis infernè rotundatis, supernè acuminato-tricuspidi-
bus, argute serratis : racemis simplicibus, pendentibus.

A. Demisylvanicura. L.

In the Province of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, 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 Pennsyl-
vania, it is called Striped Maple. This last denomination, which is pre-
ferable as being descriptive, I have thought proper to reject, because it is
in use only in a part of the United States where the tree is rare, and is

MOOSE WOOD.

113

■wholly unknown, in those parts in which it abounds. The name of Moose
Wood was given it by the first settlers, from observing that the Moose, an
animal now rare 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 47th de
gree of latitude, that is to say, a little further north than the preceding spe-
cies. In Nova Scotia and the District of Maine, where I have most par-
ticularly observed it, it fills the forests. Toward the Hudson it becomes
more rare, and beyond this boundary, 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 termination in Georgia.

In the District of Maine I have always found the Moose Wood most
vigorous in rnixt forests, or what are called Mixture lands ; where the woods
are composed of the Sugar Maple, the Beech, the White Birch, the Yellow
Birch, and the Hemlock Spruce. In these forests, it constitutes a great
part of the under growth ; for its ordinary height is less than 10 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 dis-
tinguishable, 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 colored, 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 3 deep acute lobes. The flowers are of a
greenish cast, and grouped on long, pendulous peduncles. The fruit,
which in the main resembles that of the other Maples, is remarkable for a
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 car-
pentry, but as it is white and fine grained, the cabinet-makers of Hali-
fax employ it instead of the Holly, ’which does not grow in so northern a
climate, for forming the white lines with which they inlay Mahogany. Its
principal advantage consists in furnishing the inhabitants, at the close
of winter, when their forage is exhausted, a resource 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 crop
with avidity. Poor as this resource may appear, it is not w^holly inade-
quate, since the twigs 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 cultivated in Europe in parks and
15

114 BOX ELDER OR ASH-LEAVED MAPLE.

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 pleasing effect
of the white veins, which variegate its trunk. In the primitive forests,
where it grows beneath a canopy of impervious shade, these veins are
black ; the change of color seems owing to its being planted in drier soils,
more open to the sun. Most of the trees of this species which now grow
in Europe, have been grafted on the lofty Sycamore, whose vigor is felt
by the Moose Wood, and expands it to four times its natural dimensions.

PLATE XLV.

A branch with fruit of the natural size. Fig. 1, Bark of a tree in the
forests of North America. Fig. 2, Bark of a tree cultivated on dry and ope?i
ground,

[From the great beauty of its bark, this tree deserves a place in every
collection. The delicate rose color of the buds and leaves on opening, and
the elegance of the ample foliage afterwmrds, the graceful pendulous ra-
cemes of flowers, succeeded by large, showy keys, not unlike a cluster of
insects, will also recommend it.]

BOX ELDER,

V

O R

ASH LEAVED MAPLE.

Acer negundo. A. foliis pinnatis ternatisve, inæqualiter serratis : floribus

dioïcis.

In 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 attentively observed, it has received no specific name. Some persons,
however, distinguish it by that of Ash-leaved Maple, which is a perfectly

J^/40-

I

Box Elder .

(jaâ/'ie/

Acer' 7uy/i7u/o

BOX ELDER OR ASH LEAVED MAPLE. 115

appropriate denomination : I have chosen the other, though absolutely

insignificant of any characteristic property of the tree, because it is sanc-
tioned by general use. The French of Illinois call it Erable à Giguières.

The leaves of the Box Elder are opposite, and are from 6 to 15 inches
long, according to the vigor of the tree, andl the moisture of the soil in
which it grows. Each leaf is composed of two pair of leaflets with an odd
one. The leaves are petiolated, oval-acuminate, and sharply toothed :
toward fall, the common petiole is of a deep red. The male and female
flowers are borne on different trees, and are supported by slender, pendul-
ous peduncles, 6 or 7 inches in length.

Of all the Maples of the United States, this species ventures least into
northern latitudes, for in the Atlantic States, it is first seen on the banks of
the Delaware, in the neighborhood 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 Mountains, on the contrary, it is extremely multiplied, and instead
of being confined, as in the upper parts of Virginia and of the Carolinas,
to the river sides, it grows in the woods, with 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 50 feet in height, and 20 inches in diameter, and trees of
these dimensions are found only in Tennessee 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 Eider expands into
a head like that of the Apple tree. I have remarked this form, particularly,
on the banks of the Ohio, where I have also observed that the trunk
bulges into knots at unequal 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 idea of their appearance in the forests,
on the rivers Monongahela and Ohio. 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, Pittsburg, and
Paris.

The Box Elder branches at a small height. The bark of its trunk is
brown, and I have remarked a disagreeable odor in the cellular tissue.

The proportion of the sap to the heart is large, except in very old trees ;
in these the heart is variegated with rose colored and bluish veins. Some
cabinet-makers in the Western Country employ it to ornament furniture
made of Mahogany or Wild Cherry Tree. The wood is of a fine and
close grain, and is said to split with difficulty: but as it soon decays when

116

MOUNTAIN MAPLE.

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 fifty years since, the Box Elder was introduced into France
by Admiral La Gallissonière. Subsequently, it has spread into Germany
and England, where it is in great request for adorning pleasure grounds, on
account of the rapidity of its growth, and the beauty of its foliage, whose
bright green forms an agreable contrast with the surrounding trees. Its
young branches, of a lively green, contribute to the favor in which it is
held, and serve to distinguish it in the winter, when its leaves are fallen.

The utility of its wood, I believe, has of late 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 wLich, during the first years, shoot with astonish-
ing rapidity. The success of this experiment will be more certain if it is
made on grounds convStantly 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 conversing with seve-
ral 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 XLVL

 hranch with leaves and seeds of the natural size.

MOUNTAIN MAPLE.

Acer montanum. A. foliis tri-subqumquelobis, aewminatis, dentatis, rugosis :
racemis spiciformibus, siiberectis, petalis linearibus.

‘ This species is more abundant in Canada, Nova Scotia, and along the
whole range of the Alleghany Mountains, 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

p^- 4-7

T, Bedim ^?ue.

Mountain Maple.

(ral^rtel o’eu^’

Acer mojitanum .

\\

\

MOUNTAIN MAPLE.

117

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 3 acute and indented lobes: they are slightly hairy at their unfolding,
and when fully grown, they are uneven and of a dark green upon the up-
per surface. The blossoms are small, of a greenish color, and produced
in semi-erect spikes from 2 to 4 inches in length. The seeds, which are
smaller than those of any other American Maple, are fixed upon slender,
pendulous footstalks : they are reddish at maturity, and each of them
is surmounted by a membranous wing, and has a small cavity upon one
side.

The Mountain Maple is too small to be profitably cultivated for its wood,
and as its flowers, its roots, and its bark are destitute of any very sensible
odor, it promises no resources to medicine. It is found in the gardens of
the curious, rather to complete the series of species, than for any remark-
able property of its foliage or of its flowers.

This species is commonly grafted upon the Sycamore, and, like the
Moose wood, it is thus augmented to twice its natural dimensions. This
surprising development evinces how great are the advantages which may
be derived from this process and from continued cultivation, in improving
inferior vegetables.

PLATE XLVII.

J1 branch with the leaves and flowers of their natural size. Fig. 1, .d bunch
of seeds of the natural size.

[According to Emerson the Mountain Maple sometimes attains the height
of twenty-four feet; the leaves assume, towards autumn, various rich
shades of red, with the seeds yellowish, and in this state it has considerable
beauty .3

Tetrandria monogynia, Linn. Caprifolia, Juss.

Cornus florîda. C. foliis ovaKbus^ acumînatîs subtiis aJMcaniibis : floribus

sessiliter capitatis ; involucro maximo^foliolis apice deformi quasi obcorda-

tis : 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 most 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 it is
also called Box Wood.

The Dogwood is first seen in Massachusetts, between the 42d and 43d
degrees of latitude, and in proceeding southward, it is met with uninter-
ruptedly 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 ; further south, in the Carolinas, Georgia, and the
Floridas, it is found only on the borders of swamps, and never in the pine
barrens, where the soil is too dry and sandy to sustain its 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 30 or 35 feet in height, and 9 or 10
inches in diameter; but it does not generally exceed the height of 18 or
20 feet, and the diameter of 4 or 5 inches. The trunk is strong, and is
covered with a blackish bark, chapped into small portions, wdiich are often
in the shape of squares more or less exact. The branches are proportion-
ally less numerous than on other trees, and are regularly disposed nearly
in the form of crosses. The young twigs are observed to incline upwmrds
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.
Toward 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 fully blown about the

. - '
t

/** ■*

Dogwood.

C or?tu6‘ yionda .

DOGWOOD.

119

10th or 15th of May, while the leaves are only beginning to unfold them-
selves. The flowers are small, yellowish and collected in bunches, which
are surrounded with a very large involucre composed of 4 white floral
leaves, sometimes inclining to violet. This fine involucre constitutes all
the beauty of the flowers, which are very numerous, and which, in their
season, robe the tree in white, like a full blown Apple tree, and render it
one of the fairest ornaments of the American 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, notwithstand-
ing their bitterness, they are devoured by the Robin, Turdus migraiorius,
which about this period arrives from the northern regions.

The wood is hard, compact, heavy, and fine grained, and is susceptible
of a brilliant polish. The sap is perfectly white, and the heart is of a
chocolate color. This tree is not large enough for works which require
pieces of considerable volume ; it is used for the handles of light tools,
such as mallets, small vises, etc. In the country, some farmers select it
for harrow teeth, for the liâmes 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, port-
able casks ; but the consumption in this way is inconsiderable. In the
Middle States, the cogs of mill-wheels are made of Dogwood, and its di-
vergent 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.

The Uher or interior bark of the Dogwood is extremely bitter, and proves
an excellent remedy in intermittent fevers. It has been known and suc-
cessfully used by the country people, as a specific in these maladies, for
more than fifty years. Its medicinal properties were made the subject of
a thesis defended in the College of Physicians at Philadelphia, in 1803, in
which was presented an analysis of the Bark of the Dogwood and of the
Blue Berried Dogwood, compared with the Peruvian bark; by the experi-
ments made on this occasion, the Dogwood bark wms shown to have a close
analogy to the Peruvian bark, and to be capable, in many cases, of sup-
plying its place with success. The author of this excellent piece cites a
physician of Pennsylvania, who, during twenty years, had constantly em-
ployed it, and who estimated 35 grains of it to be equivalent to 30 grains
of the Peruvian bark. The only inconvenience accompanying its use was
that, if taken within a year after being stript from the tree, it sometimes
occasioned acute pains of the bowels ; but this evil was remedied by add-
ing to it 5 grains of Virginia Snake-root, Aristolochia serpentaria.

The same author gives a receipt for making an excellent ink, in which

120

GEORGIA BARK.

this bark is substituted for gall nuts : Put I an ounce of Dogwood bark, 2
scruples of sulphate of iron, and 2 scruples of gum arable, into 16 ounces
of rain wmter ; during the infusion, shake it repeatedly.

The Dogwood merits the attention of Europeans, for 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.

A branch with leaves and flowers of the natural size. Fig. 1, A branch
with fruit of the natural size.

[From the bark of the smaller roots the Indians obtained a good scarlet
color. The smaller branches, stripped of their bark, and used as a brush,
are said to render the teeth extremely white. Emerson.]

GEORGIA BARK.

Pentandria monogynia. Linn. Rubiaceae. Juss.
PiNCKNEYA PUBENS. P.folUs oppositis, ovalibus, utrinque acutis ; subtomentosis.

Obs. Floribus majusculis, pallentibus et purpureo-lineatis, fasciculato-paniculatis.

Capsulis subrotundis, modicè compressis; seminibusnunierosisalatis.

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 it grows also in the two Floridas 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 planted them in a garden which he possessed near that city. Though
entrusted to an ungrateful soil, they succeeded so well, that in 1807 I 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 substantial soil.

rr

Æ

P. J.Pes^a deL Jîemad o-ru///.

Coffee Tree .

(r2/7?inoc/ûdiùs' amxidensjs .

GEORGIA BARK.

121

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 conse-
crated it to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, an enlightened patron of the arts
and sciences, from whom my father and myself, during 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 favourable to
its growth. Its leaves are opposite, 4 or 5 inches long, of a light green
color, and downy underneath, as are also the shoots to which they are
attached. The flowers which are white with longitudinal rose colored
stripes, are pretty large, and are collected in beautiful panicles at the
extremity of the branches. Each flower is accompanied by a floral leaf,
bordered with rose color near the upper 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 use 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 intermittent fevers which, during the latter
part of summer and the autumn, prevail in the Southern States. A hand-
ful of the bark is boiled in a quart of water till the liquid is reduced one
half, and the infusion is administered to the sick. From the properties of
its bark, the Pinckneya has taken the name of Georgia Bark. It is to be
wfished that some intelligent physician would examine these properties
with care, and indicate with accuracy the manner of employing this indi-
genous remedy, and the effects to be expected from it : the tree which
produces it so nearly resembles the Peruvian vegetable, that some Botanists
have included them in the same genus.

PLATE XLIX.

A branch with leaves and flowers of the natural size. Fig. 1, A seed-vessel.

Fig. 2, A seed.

[ 122 ]

COFFEE TREE.

Diœcia decandria, Linn. Leguminosæ. Juss.

Gymnocladus canadensis. G,folns hipinnaiis, ampUssimis, deciduis ; foliolis
ovalibus, acurninatis. Floribus racemosis ; leguminosis polyspermis.

Upper Canada beyond Montreal, and that part of Genesee which bor-
ders 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 rivers Ohio and Illinois, between the 35th and
40th degrees of latitude. The large dimensions which it exhibits in these
regions, is attributable to the milder temperature of the seasons, and to the
extreme fertility of the soil.

The French of Canada call this tree Chicot', those of Illinois, Gros Fe-
vier ; and the inhabitants ofthe 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 Tree 50 or 60
feet high, does not generally exceed 12 or 15 inches in diameter.

In summer, this tree, when fully grown, has a fine appearance : its
straight trunk is often destitute of branches for 30 feet, and supports a
summit not very widely spread, but of a regular shape and of tufted foliage :
such at least is its form in primitive forests, where it is confined by the
trees which grow around it. In the winter, when its leaves are fallen, the
paucity of its branches and the size of the terminal ones, which are very
large in comparison with those of 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 epidermis, which is extremely rough,
and which detaches itself in small, hard, transverse strips, rolled backward
at the ends, and projecting sufficiently to render the tree distinguishable at
first sight. I have also remarked that the live bark is very bitter, so that
a morsel 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 atid thriving
trees : on old ones, they are not more than half as large. These leaves

COFFEE TREE.

123

are doubly compound, with oval-acuminate leaflets from 1 to 2 inches long.
The leaflets are of a dull green, and in the fall the petiole is of a violet color.

The Coffee Tree belongs to the class Dîœcia of Linnasus, which includes
all vegetables whose male and female flowers are borne by different plants;
in which case those only that bear the female 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 color, and of a pulpy consistency within. They contain
several large, gray 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 emi-
grants to Kentucky and Tennessee, who hoped to find in its seeds a substi-
tute for coffee : but the small number of persons who made the experiment
abandoned it, as soon as it became easy to obtain 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 it 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 qualities recommend it for propagation in the forests of the north and
of the centre of Europe.

The Coffee Tree was sent to France more than fifty years since. It
thrives in the environs of Paris, where there are trees that exceed 40 feet
in height ; but it does not yield fruit, and is multiplied only by shoots ob-
tained by digging trenches round the old trees. The divided roots produce
shoots 3 or 4 feet long the first year. The young trees are sought on
account of their beautiful foliage, for the embellishment of parks and pic-
turesque gardens.

PLATE L.

A branch with flowers of the natural size. Fig. 1, A pod of the natural size.

Fig. 2, A seed of the nat ural size.

[The Coffee tree thrives, as far north as Massachusetts. It requires a
rich, deep, free soil, and when isolated, spreads over a large space, and is
extremely beautiful.]

END OF VOL. I.

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