CHAP. CV.

CORYLA CE.E. QUE'RCUS.

1891

which subsist in them during the greater partof the year. They are composed principally ofthe Pinus palustris, Quercus obtuslloba, Q.nigra, Q. tinctoria, and Q. coccinea. In theCarolinas and Georgia, where the soil graduallyimproves in retiring from the shore towards themountains, the Black Jack oak forms a band15 or 20 miles broad, between the pine barrensand the forests of nobler trees. In Kentuckyand Tennessee, the Black Jack oak is only seenin the savannahs, where it is widely diffused;and where, preserved by the thickness of itsbark, and its insulated position, it survives theconflagrations that almost every year consumethe grass ; the fire, driven forward by the wind,having only time to devour its foliage. In thepine barrens, this oak grows chiefly on theedges of the branch swamps, where the soil islittle stronger than is necessary for the pines. With Q. cinerea and Q. Cates-bce'i,it possesses itself of the pine lands that have been cleared for cultivation,and afterwards abandoned on account of their sterility; and in these situations itbecomes larger than in the forests. (N. Amer. Si//., i. p. 80.) In New Jerseyand Philadelphia, this species is called the barrens oak; and in Maryland andthe more southern states, the Black Jack oak. The specific name of nigra wasgiven to it by Linnaeus, from the blackness of its bark and general appearance;but Michaux preferred the name of ferruginea, not only because the undersurface of the leaves is of a rusty brown, but because Q. tinctoria, in America,is generally known by the name of the black oak. The wood is heavy andcompact; but it decays so rapidly, when exposed to the weather, that it is notused in the arts: it makes excellent fuel, and is sold in Philadelphia for onlya little less than hickory, and for one third more than every other kind of wood.Notwithstanding theleathery texture ofthe leaves of thistree, they are attackedby the larva of Pha-lae'na lucida Sm. andAbb. Ins., t. 58., syn.

Dryocampa lucidaHarris, P. virginiensisDru. Ins., 2. t. 13. f.

2., and our fig. 1766.,the transparent-wing-ed white-spot moth.

The caterpillar of thismoth is pink, streak-ed with a yellowishgreen; andtheperfectinsect pink, brown,and yellow. The ca-terpillar buries itselfin the ground, butremains there only ashort time; one ob-served by Abbott bu-ried itself on the 12thof July, and the mothappeared on the 26th. The larva of P. quernaria Sm. and Abb. Ins., t. 93.>the American oak beauty, also feeds on the leaves of this species. There are

6 g 3