1898

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

to that of any other American oak for ship-building. According to the secondedition of the Hortus Kewensis , it was introduced by Mr. John Fraser, in 1786.It is not mentioned by the younger Michaux, probably, as Pursh conjectures,because he considered it only a variety of Q. imbricaria, from which it differsprincipally in the value of its wood. As, however, the American oaks arefound to vary very much, according to the soil and climate in which theygrow, these two kinds may possibly be the same; Q. /aurifolia being onlyfound in South Carolina and Georgia, and Q. imbricaria on the AlleghanyMountains. The whole of the American oaks belonging to the section Phel-los are remarkable for retaining their leaves, in particular soils and situations,for two, three, and in some cases even four, years, without their changingcolour; differing in this respect, both from evergreens, which change theirleaves in the spring of every year; and from those deciduous trees which re-tain their leaves in a withered state during winter. There is a tree of thespecies in the Hammersmith Nursery, which is upwards of 20 ft. high ; and,from its habit of growth and wand-like shoots, independently of any similarityin the leaves, we are strongly inclined to believe it only a variety of Q. Phellos.

S 28. Q. imbrica'ria Witld. The Shingle Oak.

Identification. WillcL Sp. PI., 4. p. 428. j Ait. Hort. Kew.,5. p.288.: Pursh FI. Amer,, Sept., 2.

p. 627.; Michx. Quer., No. 10. j N. Du Ham. j 7. p. 154.; Smith in Rees’s Cycl., No. 15.Synonymes. Q. iatifblia Hort .; Laurel Oak, Filed-Cup Oak, Jack Oak, Black Jack Oak, Amer. ;Chene a Lattes, Fr.

Engravings. Michx. Quer., 1.15,16.; N. Amer. Syl., 1. t. 15. j and our fig. 1777.

Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves elliptic-oblong, acute at each end, entire, almostsessile; downy beneath. Nut nearly globose. {Smith and Willd.) A tree,a native of the Alleghanies, 40 ft. or 50 ft. high. Introduced in 1786.Description, §c. The shingle oak is from 40 ft. to 50 ft. high, with a trunkfrom 1ft. to 1 ft. 3 in. in diameter. Its trunk, even when old, is covered with“ a smooth bark; and, for three fourths of its height, it is laden with branches.It has an uncouth form when bare in winter,but is beautiful in summer, when clad in itsthick tufted foliage. The leaves are long, lan-ceolate, entire, and of a shining green.” (A 7 .

Amer. Syl., i. p. 70.) Michaux adds that thetrunk is branching, and often crooked; andthe wood, though hard and heavy, has openpores, like that of Q. rubra. East of the Alle-ghanies, this species is rare; but west of themountains it is more multiplied, and betterknown. Its most northern boundary is theneighbourhood of Philadelphia; but it is foundin the greatest abundance in Kentucky andTennessee; also in the country of the Illinois,where it is called by the French chene a lattes,or the lath oak. “ In the western parts ofPennsylvania and Virginia, small lawns, coveredonly with tall grass, are frequently seen in theforests, around which this oak forms entiregroves: insulated trees are also found in coolhumid situations. It is, probably, from itsflourishing in open exposures, that it is most abundant in the country of theIllinois, which consists of immeasurable savannahs, stretching in every direction,to which the forests bear no sensible proportion.” (Michx.') This tree wasbrought to England in 1786, by Mr. John Fraser, but is rare in collections.According to the younger Michaux, it has no merit but in its foliage, the woodbeing even inferior to that of the willow oak, which it greatly resembles; andso crooked, as to be fit only for fuel. The elder Michaux, however, saysthat, in the country of the Illinois, it is used for shingles. There is a treeof this species in the Horticultural Society’s Garden.