1886

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

lowish brown, beginning withthe petiole. This oak is nearlyas extensively distributed inNorth America as the whiteoak ; and, except in the districtof Maine, and the northern w

1756

part of New Hampshire, Ver-mont, and Tennessee, this spe-cies is found throughout theUnited States, on both sidesot the Alleghanies; and it iseverywhere called the blackoak, except in some parts ofNew England, where, according to Dr. Brown (St//, Amer.), it is called theyellow oak. It flourishes in Maryland, and in some parts of Virginia, wherethe soil is lean, gravelly, and uneven ; and it generally will grow in a poorer soilthan the white oak. This oak was one of those enumerated by the elderMichaux, as being advisable to introduce into France, and of which he sentseeds to that country in 1786 (see p. 142.); notwithstanding which, it doesnot appear that there are any large specimens in France; and the plantsraised by Michaux were probably lost during the revolution of 1789, whena great part of the plantations of Rambouillet were destroyed. It was in-troduced into England in 1800, by the Messrs. Fraser, but has been but verylittle cultivated, though it is a tree of great regularity and beauty, and, even inthis country, might possibly become of use for its bark.

Proper hex and Uses. The wood, though coarse-grained and porous, ismuch more esteemed for strength and durability than that of any other Ame-rican oak of biennial fructification. In Philadelphia, it is employed in building;and, in most parts of the northern states, it is used as a substitute for thewhite oak, whenever that tree is scarce; and a large proportion of what arecalled the best red oak staves, which are used, in Canada and the West Indies,to form casks for flour, salted provisions, and molasses, are made of the woodof this tree. The bark is extensively used in tanning; for which it is welladapted, as it is produced in great abundance, and is rich in tannin. The onlyinconvenience is, that shoes made of leather tanned with it are apt to imparta yellow tinge to the stockings. This colour, however, may be discharged bysubjecting the leather to a particular process, when it is thought worth whileto incur the expense. The most useful product of this oak is the quercitron,which is much used in both America and England for dyeing ; and which isnot only equal to woad in the brilliancy of the yellow produced, but is so muchstronger, that Dr. Bancroft states that one part of quercitron yields as muchcolouring matter as 8 or 10 parts of woad. The colouring matter is con-tained in the inner bark, a decoction of which forms a brownish yellow dye,which may be rendered deeper by alkalies, and lighter by acids. A solution ofalum causes a small portion of the colouring matter to fall in a deep yellowprecipitate; and solutions of tin afford a more abundant precipitate, of abrighter hue. To dye wool, it is sufficient to boil the quercitron with an equal