1880

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

several successive frosts, turn to a brilliant scarlet,instead of the dull red of those of Q. rubra. Theseleaves differ very greatlyin shape at different stagesin the growth of the tree.

When quite young, theyare scarcely lobed at all,as may be seen by fig.

1746., which is taken fromMichaux’s Histoire desGkenes, and represents aseedling a year old. Fig.

1747. is a leaf taken froma tree in the HorticulturalSociety’s Garden; andy%.1748., a sprig and acornfrom an old tree copiedfrom Michaux. Amidstall the varieties, however,in the shape of the leaf ofthe scarlet oak, it may always be distinguished from that of Q. rubra by thedifferent hue which it assumes in autumn; the colour of Q. coccinea beingalways a bright scarlet, or yellowish red, of more or less intensity; and that ofQ. rubra a dull crimson, or purplishred. The leaf is also larger, and theindentations in old leaves rounder.

The acorns are large, somewhatelongated, similarly rounded at bothends, and half-covered with scalytop-shaped cups. As the fruit ofthis tree varies in size with thequality of the soil, it is difficult todistinguish it from that of Q. tinc-toria : the only constant differenceis, that the kernel of the nut isalways yellowish in Q. tinctoria, andalways white in Q. coccinea. Thedifference between the scarlet oakand the red oak appears to be aboutas great as that which exists betweentwo very distinct varieties of apple and pear: for example, the nonpareil andthe golden pippin, or the jargonelle and the summer bergamot. These oaksare not, however, on that account the less worthy of being kept quite distinct;for it must always be recollected, that some of the finest plants in every de-partment of culture are the varieties of species, and not the species themselves.The scarlet oak, in the climate of London, and in Europe generally, may beconsidered as of equal hardiness and rapidity of growth with the red oak.The largest tree of it which we have seen, and know to be certainly of thescarlet oak, is at Syon, where it is 77 ft. high, with a trunk 2 ft. 9 in. indiameter.

Geography, History , §c. The scarlet oak, says the younger Michaux, is firstseen in the vicinity of Boston; but it is most abundant in New Jersey,Pennsylvania, and the upper part of the Carolinas and Georgia. In the northernstates, it is often confounded with Q. rubra, and in those of the south with Q.falcata. The scarlet oak was one of those discovered by Banister, and includedin his catalogue dated 1680. It was probably sent here by him to his patron,Bishop Compton (see p. 44.); as we are informed, by the Hortus Kewensis,that there was a plant of it in the bishop’s garden in 1691. It was, at first, sup-posed to be only a variety of Q. rubra, and it is mentioned as such in the first