CHAP. CV.

coryla'ceac. que'kcus.

1871

says Michaux, “ this species is thinly disseminated in the forests, and liashitherto been considered as a variety of the white oak. In Maryland, anda great part of Virginia, where it abounds, it is called the box white oak, andsometimes the iron oak, and the post oak. The last denomination only isused in the Carolinas, Georgia, and East Tennessee.” The steep banks ofthe Hudson, near New York, form its most northern boundary; and evenhere, Michaux observes, it is only preserved by the influence of the sea air,which somewhat moderates the severity of the winters. It thrives but in adry, sandy, or gravelly soil, not far from the sea; but it attains its largest sizenear Baltimore. The farthest point at which it was found to the west, wasabout 150 miles from Philadelphia, on the road to Pittsburg. It is mostabundant in Virginia and Maryland, between the Alleghanies and the sea.“ Growing in a less humid soil, its timber is less elastic, but finer grained,stronger, and more durable, than that of the white oak : hence it is pre-ferred, in America, for posts, and is used with advantage by wheelwrightsand coopers.” ( Michx .) In ship-building, it is employed principally for theknees, as it seldom produces planks large enough for the sides. The pre-ference given, in the West Indies, to the staves for casks procured fromBaltimore and Norfolk is due, in a great measure, to their being made, inthose districts, of the post oak. ( Michx .) Pursh calls this species theupland white, or iron, oak; and says that it is a spreading tree, from50 ft. to 60 ft. high, the timber of which is of great value in ship-building.It was introduced into England in 1819; and there are plants of it in theHorticultural Society’s Garden, and at Messrs. Loddiges’s.

Y 12. Q. i.vra'ta Walt. The lyrate, or ovcr-Cup, Oak.

Identification. Walt. Carol., 235.; Willd., No. 72.; Ait., No. 27. j Pursh, 2. p. 632.; Michx. Quer.,No. 3. t. 4.; N. Du Ham., 7. p. 181.; Smith in Rees’s Cycl., No. 79.

Synonymes. Swamp Post Oak, Water white Oak, Amer.

Engravings. Michx. Quer., No. 3. t. 4.; and our figs. 1733. and 1734.

Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves subsessile, glabrous, ly-rately sinuated; much contracted in the middle,but dilated at the summit, and attenuated at thebase ; lobes angular; the upper part of the leafdivided into three lobes, which are tricuspidateat their extremities. Calyx globular, rough, andalmost covering the acorn. {Michx.} The over-cup oak, according to the younger Michaux,forms a noble tree, of which he has seen spe-cimens, on the banks of the Savannah, more than80 ft. high, with a trunk from 8 ft. to 12 ft. incircumference. The elder Michaux, however, states its ordinary height tobe between 50 ft. and 60 ft. The leaves are from 6 in. to 8 in. long, smooth,narrow, lyre-shaped, deeply sinuated, andborne on short petioles. The lobes, espe-cially the upper ones, are somewhat trun-cated; and, from the resemblance in thisrespect to those of the post oak, this specieshas obtained the name of the swamp post oak.

The foliage is thick, and of a light agreeable 'tint; and the bark is white. The acorns arebroad, round, and depressed; and the cups,which are nearly closed over them, are thinand scaly, each scale being terminated by ashort firm point, or bristle. ( Michx .) Pursh,speaking of this tree, says that it is only from8 ft. to 15 ft. high; but, as all the otherwriters who have mentioned it describe it asa large tree, with a majestic appearance, andmost luxuriant vegetation, Pursh’s account of its height is probably a mis-

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